Today's News

Details: Published: 28 April 2010; Created: 28 April 2010; Last Updated: 29 April 2010; Hits: 9185

If you wondered why the district locked down three elementary schools last Thursday, here is the story. New Rochelle Police received a report of a man jogging on Grand Boulevard toward Wilmot Road around 11 am on 4/19. He was said to be wearing army fatigues, a bullet-proof vest and gloves. New Rochelle asked Scarsdale Police for assistance in locating the man, and when they were unable to find him, they made a precautionary call to the Scarsdale School district to let them know that the man had been sited. The school district decided to lock down the three elementary schools due to the location where the man was spotted.

The man was never found. However, the New Rochelle police later learned that a jogger, fitting the man’s description had been seen in the area for the past week. The “bullet-proof vest” was actually an exercise vest with weights.

In other news, paint contractors working at the Scarsdale Pool on Monday 4/19 splattered paint on 22 cars that belong to employees of Kids Base. Deborah Fine, Kids Base Director spoke with Nick Palmieri of All State Painting who agreed to compensate the employees for the damage to their cars.

Black spray paint was used to paint the words “NURSE 23” in the grass next to the baseball field at SHS. The graffiti was discovered on the morning of April 24th.

A dispute broke out between the manager and an angry patron at the Metro Diner on Scarsdale Avenue on the afternoon of 4/23. The man came to the diner to pick up his wife and asked the manager to refrain from serving his wife liquor. When the manager did not agree, the man raised his voice and began to upset the other patrons of the diner. The Manager then asked the man to leave at once and asked police to go to the man’s home and tell him that he would no longer be permitted to come to the diner.

Minutes later, police were called to remove an unruly Garth Road man from DeCicco’s Market on Spencer Place.

An unknown male described as “a black man with no teeth” attempted to get inside a Saxon Woods Road home twice on the night of 4/23. A healthcare attendant at the house said that the man rang the front doorbell and refused to leave the premises. He then went to the back of the house and tried to get in again. Later that night the attendant reported that the man had climbed onto a porch awning and peered into a second floor bedroom window.

Salvatore Carpanzano of Christie Place was stopped for a traffic violation on April 21 on East Parkway. He was found to have a suspended driver’s license and outstanding summons from Scarsdale and Yonkers. The car registration was suspended as well. Carpanzano was arrested and taken to Police headquarters and his car was impounded and towed. He was processed and released on $250 bail.

Car Break-ins:

A 2007 BMW was vandalized when the owner parked it in the pool parking lot on Saturday afternoon. The owner was watching her daughter’s soccer game on Boulder Brook Field and when she returned to the car she found that the passenger side front window was broken and her handbag, containing $100 cash and credit cards had been stolen.

A Spruce Lane resident reported that her Tom Tom navigation unit had been taken from the glove compartment of her 2004 Toyota Sienna during the night of 4/22. There were no signs of forced entry and the owner reports that she may have left the car door unlocked.

In a similar incident, the passenger-side front window of a Jeep Grand Cherokee was broken sometime between 4/17 and 4/20 when the car was parked at a Birchall Road home. A Garmin Nuvi GPS unit valued at $349 was taken from the center console.

The passenger side window of a car parked in the IHM parking lot was shattered on the afternoon of 4/20. The car belongs to a woman who teaches at the church. Nothing was taken from the car and the woman suspects that the window was broken accidentally by children who were playing in the lot.

A Fox Meadow Road woman asked police to check the area around her home for animals on 4/19. She said that an unknown animal bit her daughter and wanted police to take a look around. Police were only able to find two squirrels.

A truck took down a large wire at the intersection of Heathcote and Palmer Roads on the afternoon of 4/20. A car driven by a Mt. Vernon woman was hit by the wire and it damaged the rear bumper.

A feuding Heathcote Road couple summoned police when the ex-wife turned up at her former residence to collect some items. The woman was granted a little extra time to remove her things and place them outside for pick-up. She asserted that her ex-husband had taken some things without her permission and agreed to put together a list of missing items to give to the police.

A dispute broke out between two drivers on Griffen Avenue on Thursday morning 4/22. During the argument a removable window on the drivers side was dislodged and minor damage occurred. The two agreed to settle the fight.

The Fire Department had to break into a side door of a Sprague Road home on the afternoon of 4/23 when alarms went off. The resident had left ribs cooking in the oven.

A 17 year-old boy had his skateboard confiscated by the police when he was riding on the sidewalk of Spencer Place on Saturday afternoon. He had been told before that he was not permitted to ride his skateboard on the sidewalk. His father later came to the police station to retrieve the skateboard.

On Saturday night at 10 pm a resident of the Chateaux Apartments called police to report loud noise coming from Chat American Grill on Christie Place. The noise appeared to be coming from people dining outside on the restaurant terrace. According to the resident, the developers of Christie Place had agreed to plant trees along the property line to diffuse noise, but they have not done so, and some residents of the Chateaux are annoyed.

Hartsdale and Greenburgh Police Reports:

Someone shot a BB gun at a Cotswold Way home and shattered a window between 4/17 and 4/20.

Frieda Friedman, age 91 f East Hartsdale Avenue was pronounced dead on Wednesday April 21. Her body was found on the kitchen floor of her apartment by her brother and nephew. The funeral was to be held in Hackensack, New Jersey.

A Bronx man contends that his Handicapped Parking tag was stolen from his car when he had it serviced at Curry Acura on 4/22. Employees at Curry were unable to locate it.

On Friday afternoon, a Doris Drive woman had her handbag stolen out of her car when she left it unlocked on Seely Place. Credit cards and cash were taken, as well as her bag.

Also on Friday afternoon, Portchester resident Jacob Jennifer had her handbag stolen out of a shopping cart at Marshalls.

A Nyack man left his cell phone on the table at Red Lobster at 11:45 on Sunday night 4/25. He returned minutes later to retrieve and it was already gone.

Details: Published: 28 April 2010; Created: 28 April 2010; Last Updated: 28 April 2010; Hits: 4310

County Executive Rob Astorino will address the Edgemont Community Council tonight, Wednesday, April 28 at their annual meeting. His topic will be cutting government spending in a time of fiscal austerity. All area residents, including residents of Scarsdale, are invited to hear him speak. The meeting begins at 8 p.m. and will be held in the cafeteria of the Greenville Elementary School in Edgemont.

The ECC will also be giving its annual Silver Bowl award for distinguished community service to long time Edgemont resident John Gerspach. Gerspach, a resident of Old Edgemont, is Chief Financial Officer of Citigroup. He is being honored for having served as an ECC director, Chairman of the School Board Nominating Committee, President of the E Club, an announcer at Edgemont High School football games, an organizer of the annual Christmas festivities at Crane Pond, and host of the annual Edgemont Halloween Parade. In addition, he has coached more than twenty teams.

Everyone is invited to the meeting at the Greenville School at 8 PM tonight to hear Rob Astorino and honor John Gerspach.

Details: Published: 19 April 2010; Created: 19 April 2010; Last Updated: 19 April 2010; Hits: 3740

Bronx resident Timothy Brown was arrested for attempting to deposit a fraudulent check into a Chase Bank account that was being monitored for active fraud. Brown went to the Chase at 353 North Central Avenue on the afternoon of Tuesday April 13th and presented a check for $4,429.71 to the teller for deposit. When he swiped his ATM card, the teller found that the account had an active fraud monitor warning on it. She also found that the check was fake. She called the police but the man had already left the branch. She provided a description of a black male with corn rows, 5’11” in height wearing a gray sweatshirt. Police patrolled the area and found a man matching the description at the T-Mobile store. The Chase employee positively identified the suspect and he was taken to Police Headquarters for booking.

A bag of marijuana was found in the parking lot of 35 East Hartsdale Avenue on April 12th. The caller said that he had called the police the previous night to report that people were loitering in the parking lot.

A White Plains resident left her wallet on top of an automatic shipping machine at the Scarsdale Post Office on Central Avenue on the afternoon of April 12th. She left the post office, but shortly thereafter realized what she had done. When she returned to the Post Office, the wallet was gone.

Just after midnight on 4/12, a resident at 300 South Central Avenue called police to report that two men were removing tires from a black Honda that was parked in the lot. She had heard a loud crash, looked out her window and saw the men attempting to take the tires off the car. She banged on her window and they left,; however, they took one of the tires with them. They also damaged the fender of the car when their car jack collapsed. Police were unable to find the culprits.

On April 15, a 9/11 memorial at Webb Field in Hartsdale was spray-painted in yellow with the words, "How did Ethiopia get to be so poor? Costly foreign wars.” The Hartsdale Fire Department responded and was able to wash off the two-foot yellow lettering.

Police were called early Sunday morning, when the resident of 125 Delhi Road Scarsdale hit a water main while attempting to do a home repair. He excavated the area near a damaged foundation wall, broke the water main and water was seeping into the basement.

A Schwinn tricycle was stolen from the corner of Edgemont and Glenwood Road just after noon on Sunday 4/18. The owner had left it there briefly and was surprised to find it gone.

Details: Published: 21 April 2010; Created: 21 April 2010; Last Updated: 22 April 2010; Hits: 6067

Today, Scarsdale Police Lieutenant Bryant Clark announced the arrest of one of the perpetrators in the April 12th mugging on Walworth Avenue. Krystal Walters, age 21 of Dobbs Ferry Road, Greenburgh was charged with robbery, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in connection with the incident, where the suspect, along with two others, threw a coat over a woman’s head, stole her purse and sped off in a waiting car.

Ms. Walters was already in the custody of White Plains police on an unrelated robbery and there is an outstanding warrant for her arrest from Riverside, California for yet another robbery.

The three vandals used the credit cards from the stolen purse to make purchases in Westchester and the Bronx. There is an ongoing police investigation to identify the other two accomplices in the Walworth incident.

The owner of La Dentelliere on East Parkway in Scarsdale was caught off guard by some suspicious customers on Monday afternoon 4-19. Three shoppers entered the store and one distracted her by asking questions. While speaking to the man, she noticed that the two others had left the store. The first customer stayed a few more minutes and then left as well, and that is when the proprietor noticed that a money box, containing $200, was missing. Police and Scarsdale Taxi patrolled the area in search of the culprits but were unable to find them.

Post Road residents were the victim of a burglary attempt on Saturday nigh 4/17. The homeowner went out around 5 pm and when she returned at 11 pm she found that a rock had been thrown through a rear window of the house and the window screen had been removed. Fortunately, no one had entered the house and other than the damage to the window, nothing was disturbed.

Several handbags were stolen from a van parked outside a Cambridge Road home sometime on Sunday night 4-18. A side window of the minivan was broken and the bags were taken.

Theft: A Scarsdale High School student’s wallet was taken from a gym locker when the boy went to a track meet on April 16. He had left the locker unlocked and when he returned he found that his wallet, containing a debit car, $20, his driver’s license and high school i.d. were gone.

Missing Toaster: A Black and Decker Toaster Over, delivered to Brite Avenue residents by Fedex on Monday April 12^th was never received by the owners. There were workers present in the area so perhaps one of them is enjoying some toast.

Unwanted Advances: On Monday 4-12 a woman in the St. Pius Church parking lot was approached by a man in a van who said, “you’re very attractive.” When she returned to her car later that day she found a handwritten note on the windshield that said, “Hello I’m Kenny. Stopped you this morning. Please give me a call at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Concerned, she went to the police who identified the man by his phone number. He acknowledged leaving the note on the woman’s car and apologized. Police warned him to refrain from contacting the woman again.

Kids: A woman locked her 4-week old baby in the car on April 15 when the car automatically locked when she got out to tend to the crying baby. The Heathcote Gulf station was called and they were able to unlock the car. The baby was fine.

A 23-month old child wandered out of her Garden Road backyard at 6:30 on April 18^th and her mother called the police to say that her daughter was missing. When police arrived the parents had found the toddler, unharmed, in their neighbor’s yard.

Animals: Burgess Road residents called police at 4 am on April 16^th when they heard noises in their garage. Police arrived, opened the garage door, turned on the lights and found two large raccoons who had been eating a bag of birdseed.

An Edgewood resident complained on 4-18 that her neighbor’s three cats have been killing birds and leaving the remains on her property. The neighbor said that two of his cats do live outside and agreed to monitor their activity. Later that same day, the cat owners reported that they were receiving unsettling phone calls from their neighbor.

Fraud: A Woods Lane man told police that he received a call on April 1 to say that he won $1,500,000 and he needed to wire $500 to cover the taxes. He did not wire the funds. On April 9 he received another call from David Bonds of the Winner’s Circle and on April 12 he got a letter in the mail to inform him that he was the winner of $129,000. A check in the amount of $3,859.42 was enclosed. He went to his bank to deposit the check and told it was counterfeit.

Greenacres residents were advised by Chase Bank that a fraudulent check in the amount of $4050, made out to Garry Joseph Jr. was cashed from their account on April 9th. The fraudulent check had their account number, name and address printed on it. Chase cancelled the checking account and they are investigating.

Two Edgewood women reported that wire transfers, in the amount of $19,816 had been made from their Charles Schwab account on January 27. They notified Charles Schwab identity theft and filed a complaint. Schwab is investigating.

Details: Published: 13 April 2010; Created: 13 April 2010; Last Updated: 16 April 2010; Hits: 6672

Scarsdale Police Report: A 49 year-old woman, walking from the train on Monday night at 7:16 pm was approached from behind in front of 110 Walworth. Two women pulled her coat over her head and snatched her purse. Once they had her bag they fled into a waiting car and sped away on Walworth towards White Plains. The victim described the car as an old light blue car with a rusted hood.

Fortunately the woman was not injured, but she is now without her bag, wallet, $60 in cash, license, credit cards and identification. The robbery is under investigation by the Scarsdale police, who asks anyone with information about the incident to get in touch with them.

Accidents: Samara Solan-Weinberg of Briarcliff Manor caused big damage on Monday 4-5 when her 2009 Mazda hit a curb in front of 199 Heathcote Road. The car hit the curb, drove up onto the sidewalk, struck a tree and then simultaneously hit a utility pole and a fire hydrant. The utility pole split in two and the top half fell on the car. The fire hydrant was also dislodged and water poured out around the car. Con Edison was called to remove the pole and disable the lines and the Water Department turned off the valve to the hydrant. An ambulance arrived but the driver refused medical attention. The cause of the accident? The driver thinks she may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

An 89 year-old driver ran a red light and hit another car at the intersection of Morris Lane and Heathcote Road on 3:50 pm on 4-08. Bernice Clyman, the elderly man’s wife, was injured and taken to White Plains Hospital emergency room. Following the accident, both cars were towed.

Robert Ficchi, age 55 of Yonkers was hit by a car at the intersection of Chase and Popham Roads on Monday 4-5 around 2 pm. He was crossing Popham Road when a car turning left from Chase Road struck the man, who was not in the cross walk.

Mischief: Youths climbed on the roof of the Scarsdale Post Office on Chase Road at 8 m on 4-10. Police got a call, came to investigate and ordered the kids off the roof. They were brought to police headquarters where their parents were called to retrieve them.

A party was broken up on Kent Road at 9 pm on Saturday night 4/10. Police found a large group of kids running from the yard, dropping beer cans in the road. Police spoke to the homeowner who said that his daughter had invited several friends for a barbeque but that many uninvited guests had shown up as well. The father asked the unwanted guests to leave and they complied.

A 21 year-old Scarsdale girl came to headquarters on 4-9 to report online harassment by a former schoolmate from Mamaroneck. The Mamaroneck girl has posted messages on the Scarsdale girl’s Facebook page threatening to kill her. The girl does not know why her classmate is doing this. Police will follow-up and intervene.

A Morris Lane man reported that his home had been egged on Friday night 4-9 at 10:30 pm

A woman was found asleep on a bench at a Kelwynne Road home on the morning of April 8. The homeowner called the police but in the interim the sleeping woman was awakened by the opening of the garage door and left the premises.

A 21 year-old Scarsdale girl unwittingly provided personal information including her social security number and ATM pin number in response to an email phishing scam. Though there did not appear to be fraud on the accounts, the girl’s bank account was frozen and she cancelled her credit cards.

Angry: Village Assistant Court Clerk called police to document an incident with an irate resident who appeared at Village Hall to pay a fine. The man sent in a check to pay the fine, but since it was a personal check it was not accepted. In the interim the fine amount went up. He told the clerk, “I’m gonna get you.” Police contacted the man and he apologized for becoming angry and denied making the threat.

An angry Mount Vernon woman was unable to withdraw funds from her account at the Bank of America on Christie Place due to a block on her ATM card on 4-10. Though the bank manager was trying to help her, she became agitated as she thought it was taking too long. Police managed to calm her down until the problem could be resolved.

A Scarsdale man refused to get off a bus that was not in service around 5 pm on 4-10. Paratransit called police to coax the man off, and they were successful.

Locked Out: A Saxon Woods Road babysitter called police on 4-7 after she took the children outside to play and was inadvertently locked out of the house. Police were able to get in through a window without damaging the frame to let them back in.

Police were called by an Edgewood woman on April 6th to report that her ex-husband had entered her home without her permission and taken some family pictures.

Graffiti was found spray painted on a traffic signal box on Weaver Street on April 10th. The Department of Transportation in Hawthorne was notified.

Greenburgh Police Report:

Westchester Greenhouse Robbed: On the morning of April 9th, the owner of Westchester Greenhouse on Secor Road found that an intruder had broken into the greenhouse office. The lock on the door had been cut, a locked cabinet was open, and keys to the trucks were missing. Equipment valued at $6,900 had been taken from the truck trailer. The owner reported that a former employee who had been fired for stealing may have been involved.

Egged: Dorothy Sargeant of White Plains came outside her Broadview Avenue home on 4/10 to find that eggs had been thrown at her BMW and someone had left a can of beans in her driveway.

Caught: Glendaliz Santiago, the security officer at T.J. Maxx in Hartsdale, caught Mary Santiago, age 52 of Yonkers concealing merchandise in her handbag. Santiago paid for the items in her shopping cart and then left the store with stolen merchandise totalling $128 in her purse. The security officer stopped her, recovered the merchandise and called police who took Santiago to headquarters for booking on 4/10.