Burglar posing as maintenance worker targets Cape Coral elderly

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- Police are warning residents to be on the lookout for burglars targeting the elderly and posing as water utility workers.

86-year-old Monique Gambino says she still has trouble sleeping after what happened at her home on Del Prado Boulevard last week.

Gambino was home alone when she says a man came knocking on her door claiming to be with the water company. He said he needed to come inside and check her faucets.

She allowed the suspect inside and that’s when Gambino says he quickly started searching every room in the house.

Gambino says the man left after she told him she had no money.

She believes he may have stolen some jewelry from a drawer in her bedroom which is now empty.

The same afternoon, an 82-year-old woman who lives on Santa Barbara Place told police she was outside talking to a man who also claimed to be with the water company.

He was looking at her hose when two other men went inside and stole more than $6,000 worth of jewelry.

Gambino’s son says what the suspects are doing is shameful.

“Yeah, economics are bad but there’s still ways to work and make money without harming or scaring people,” said Armando Gambino.

Both women described the suspect as a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap and a goatee.

The second victim also told police that the suspect and his partners were driving a large, white work-style van.

If you have information on the suspects, call the Cape Coral Police Department at 239-574-3223.