Queens Tribune

An Ozone Park man, who targeted elderly homeowners and maneuvered his way into their homes by posing as a City employee, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty, Queens DA Richard Brown said Monday.

"As part of his ruse, he told his elderly victims that he needed to check their water pipes and plumbing," Brown said of the man, who knocked on the doors of his victims pretending to be an employee from the City's Water Department. "Upon gaining entry, he would direct the elderly homeowners to the basement, kitchen, or bathroom to check the water while he quickly removed money or property from other areas of the house and demanded money for supposed repairs before leaving."

In pleading guilty to second-degree burglary as a hate crime Aug. 2, Wando Delmaro, 47, of 117-18 123rd St., admitted that he preyed upon the elderly because their age made them vulnerable, easy target for theft.

The thief was arrested Jan.19 at his home after an investigation following complaints from several elderly homeowners whose homes had been burglarized by Delmaro. Brown noted that a latent fingerprint removed from one of the victims' homes matched Delmaro's, fueling the arrest.

Delmaro's disrespectful burglary spree began on the afternoon of Oct. 21, 2005, when he approached an 85-year-old man outside his Howard Beach residence. Delmaro clearly stated that he was from "the Water Department" and would be doing work beneath his sidewalk and needed to enter his home to check the boiler. Once inside, the scheming thief examined the boiler and requested $8,000 in cash from the homeowner to fix the boiler, then requesting $800 in cash as a down payment Brown said.

Believing that Delmaro was actually from the Water Department, the elderly man handed the so-called Water Department worker his Citibank debit card and PIN number. Delmaro assured the man that he would make a withdrawal to pay for the boiler and sidewalk repair and then return with the bankcard. Delmaro was caught on a Citibank surveillance video shortly thereafter removing $2,000 from the Howard Beach man's bank account and never returned to the residence, Brown said.

In the burglary, Delmaro, wearing a hardhat and orange reflective vest, knocked on the door of an 82-year-old female in South Ozone Park Dec. 21, 2005. Once again, he stated that he was from the Water Department and needed to check the home's water pipes for rusty water. As in the previous case, Delmaro requested money, $250, from the homeowner to make the supposedly necessary repairs to the pipes, Brown said. The elderly woman paid Delmaro and was given a receipt. After he left her residence, she discovered that additional cash along with jewelry was missing from her home.