New Hyde Park man duped out of $45G elevator, police say

It was a scheme with an elevator that didn’t go to the top floor — or, even the correct building and owner — and now an upstate man is under arrest, charged with grand larceny.

State Police said that in 2013, David Wagner, now 58, of New Paltz, agreed to sell a Cambridge Journey Lula elevator to a New Hyde Park businessman, Abdul Bhuiyan, now 56. But police said that ultimately Wagner took the cash, charged Bhuiyan storage fees after the two agreed to a delayed installation, and ultimately sold the same elevator to a third party.

The original deal saw Wagner finalize a contract of sale with Bhuiyan for a total of $45,000, police said.

But, police said, Bhuiyan asked to have the elevator installed in his building at a later date and agreed to pay Wagner storage fees — until he was ready for the installation to take place.

Instead of waiting, police said, Wagner sold the elevator to a third party, but still charged Bhuiyan $10,400 in storage fees.

A three-month investigation then resulted in the arrest of Wagner on Monday, police said.

Wagner was charged with two counts of third-degree grand larceny and police said he is scheduled for arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead on Tuesday.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”