Cops probe Bethpage deception burglary

Eighth Squad detectives are looking for a man who pulled off a deception burglary Wednesday in Bethpage, taking cash and jewelry from an 84-year-old homeowner, police said.

The homeowner answered a knock at his side door at about 2:15 p.m. and started talking to a man who told the victim he had just purchased a house directly behind the victim, Nassau County police said.

The homeowner invited the man inside, and they spoke for about five or 10 minutes, near a window at the back of the house, police said. The suspect then left.

Police believe that as the two men talked at the rear of the house, an accomplice entered the unlocked front door and stole an unspecified amount of cash and the jewelry.

The victim did receive a phone call from a neighbor, a woman, who told him a man fitting a description of the suspect had knocked on her door earlier in the day but she did not answer, police said.

She also said the suspect left in a vehicle with New Jersey license plates.

Anyone with information on the incident can call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.