Police say a person of interest is in custody in connection with a robbery of an elderly woman that was caught on surveillance video in East Harlem.
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Police said a man is seen on surveillance video reaching into 93-year-old Maria Vasquez’s bra as she sits in her wheelchair and helping himself to an envelope filled with $600 cash. “He hurt me, he hurt me right there and in the arm right there”, victim Maria Vasquez told Eyewitness News reporter A.J. Ross Thursday night.
But the alleged thief had already run off. Vasquez said she initially saw him watching her and her health aide while she cashed the check at a bank on East 116th Street.
“We heard this is her rent money, so at her age she doesn’t need any more stress”, he said. She told the newspaper she had put hundreds of dollars in an envelope and concealed it inside her blouse. “What am I going to do now?”.
Authorities now believe the thug made his brazen move after observing Vasquez withdrawing her cash and stacking it in a white envelope before making her way to the clothing store. “I said, run, run, run there taking my money”.
Vasquez said she was shocked when she felt the man paw at her chest.
“I’m anxious about how I’m going to pay my bills now”, Vasquez said. “I pray God will bring him to justice”.
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A report Friday mid morning has revealed Regines store owner, Josh Cohen, 49, who has owned the East 116th st outlet for 30 years forwarding Vasquez her stolen money.
