3 arrested in driveway-repair scam

Three men scammed a 79-year-old Amityville woman out of $1,200, saying she needed her blacktop driveway resealed then took off with her payment without doing any work, police said Tuesday.

John Mitchell, 26, and Nicholas Mitchell, 19, of West Babylon, and Allen Mitchell, 17, of Bay Shore, were charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, Suffolk police said. John and Nicholas Mitchell are brothers and Allen Mitchell is a cousin, police said.

The trio approached the woman as she was returning home Monday and offered to seal her driveway, police said. One began clearing the driveway with a leaf blower, while another "convinced her to have her driveway sealed with two coats of sealer," police said. The men told the woman she would get "a substantial discount" if she paid cash -- and followed her to a Roslyn Savings Bank, where police said she withdrew $1,200. Police said the men then took the money -- and fled.

The woman called Amityville police. Officer Brian Smith located the trio near the intersection of Greene Avenue and John Street, police said.