Cops: Aide stole ID of mentally disabled patient

A home health aide from Bay Shore was arrested Thursday and charged with stealing the identity of a mentally disabled patient in her care in order to obtain cash, book an airline trip and make car payments, police said.

Noreen Hanney, a house manager at Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities (ACLD) in Oakdale for more than 20 years, was charged with first-degree identity theft, police said.

Hanney, 38, of 1653 N. Thompson Dr., is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at First District Court in Central Islip, police said.

She "used her job as house manager" when she worked at ACLD to steal the victim's identity, Suffolk County police said in a news release.

Between June and September 2012, Hanney used debit card numbers belonging to an ACLD resident to make payments on a 2008 Toyota Highlander, withdraw cash from ATMs, and purchase airline tickets to Florida, Suffolk police said.

Since October, Hanney has been employed by the Association for Children with Down Syndrome (ACDS) in Plainview, police said.

Officers from the Identity Theft Unit are continuing to investigate to determine if there are other victims, police said.