Emmanuel Bazil wide mug shot

Police: Man Arrested After Convincing Old Woman to Send $10,000 to a Vacant Darien Address

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A 27-year-old man has been charged with attempted larceny after a 2019 incident in which an elderly woman was convinced to send $10,000 in cash to a vacant Darien house for sale, and a man showed up to demand the package. Back in 2019, Darien police described the incident one way in a regular news release, then an officer involved in the case gave Darienite.com a different description, which then Police Chief Raymond Osborne, largely confirmed, and Darienite.com’s article was updated. Here’s the description given in that article after it was updated, with additional information released today, Tuesday, by police — all accounts include accusations not proven in court:

Sometime on the morning of March 19, 2019, a package arrived on a doorstep of a vacant house for sale on Middlesex Road. The homeowner’s real estate agent had arrived at the house and found the package, addressed to a “Thomas McKnight.” The homeowner was contacted but didn’t know anyone by that name, although the package was correctly delivered to the address on the label.

Darien Police Headquarters and Sign

Police: Man Poses as Visiting Water Co. Employee, as Accomplice Steals

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As a man posing as a water company employee went through her Ledge Road home with an elderly Ledge Road woman, his accomplice entered the house and stole cash and valuables from an upstairs bedroom, police said. The incident occurred at about 3 p.m. on Thursday, according to Darien police, who gave these further details:

The phony water company employee said a leak had been detected coming from the woman’s home, and she let him in to check out various parts of the house. For much of his visit, the man was on his cell phone — police suspect he was signaling his accomplice. Darien police say this kind of crime is a “distraction burglary” in which one perpetrator keeps the attention of a householder (often an elderly person) as one or more thieves enter a home to steal from it. Aquarion Water Co., which serves Darien customers, recommends, “especially if no appointment has been scheduled,” that residents “refuse entrance into their home without first seeing photo identification.”