By Jeff Lipton
A Queens woman was charged Monday with playing a leading role in a team of con artists who used gimmicks such as squirting ketchup on bank customers as a distraction to steal thousands of dollars from their unsuspecting victims, officials said.
The suspect, Andrea Gomez, 19, of Corona, Queens, has been charged in three cases that occurred on July 10, 2000 at a Citibank in Hewlett, Aug. 21, 2000 at a Dime Savings Bank in Hewlett, and Jan. 3, 2001 at a Fleet Bank in Lawrence.
The suspect has been held in Riker's Island since mid-January on an unrelated robbery charge in New York City. Fourth Precinct detectives who were looking for her were notified about her detention. Victims were then shown photos of her and identified her as part of the scam-artist team, police said.
According to police, the victims all withdrew large sums of money from the bank, a transaction which was observed by the con team, officials said. As the victims left the bank, one of the con artists would squirt ketchup on the victim's shirt or jacket and they would offer to clean it off. As another con man distracted the victim, they removed cash from the victim's pocket, police said.
In other cases, the victims were followed and their tires slashed. The con artists then pretended to be good Samaritans and notified the car owners of the flat tire. While the victims were distracted, the con team grabbed the cash, police said.
"All these incidents started at banks," said Det. Lt. Gregory Detwiller of the Fourth Squad. "It is always the same scam, with the ketchup being used or the flat tires."
Although Gomez has been charged with three crimes, investigators said that at least nine similar incidents have taken place in the Five Towns since March 2000 and a total of about $40,000 was taken in those crimes. Police are investigating whether she could be linked to those as well.
The latest occurred on Jan. 3 when a man withdrew about $3,500 from the Fleet Bank on Central Avenue in Lawrence. The suspect, who was waiting in back of the victim on line, approached the man and told him he had ketchup on his shirt and tried to clean if off, Detwiller said. The man walked out of the bank and was jostled by two accomplices and when he told them to leave him alone, they backed off, police said.
The victim then drove to Rockaway Turnpike in North Lawrence to eat at a diner and made sure to take the money out of his jacket and put it in his pants pocket. When he returned to his car, he found his tire slashed, a window busted and his jacket gone.
"He was more street-wise and he took the money out of his jacket before he left the jacket in the car," Detwiller said.
In the August 21 incident, a customer withdrew $1,500 from Dime Savings Bank on Broadway in Hewlett. The suspect and her accomplices followed the victim from the bank to a nearby fish store, when the suspect allegedly distracted the victim by putting ketchup on her clothing, police said. While assisting the victim in cleaning her clothes, the suspect lifted the money, police said.
In the July 10 case, a woman withdrew $9,000 from the Citibank on Broadway in Hewlett, which was observed by Gomez and a male accomplice, officials said. They then slashed a tire on her car and followed her to her Bryant Street home, where they informed the victim of the flat. As the victim was distracted, Gomez allegedly grabbed her pocketbook after a brief struggle, officials said. It ended up as a robbery because force was used to take the bag, Detwiller said.
In many of the cases, Gomez was captured on videotape by the bank's cameras. Police are still searching for two or three male accomplices.
Gomez was charged by Fourth Squad police on Monday, Feb. 12, at 2:35 p.m., at the Riker's Island Detention Center, with robbery in the second degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree and attempted grand larceny in the third degree. She was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Feb. 13.
The investigation is continuing, police said.
