Bunco Artists Scam Elderly Fords Couple Out of Thousands

An elderly couple was happy that finally, the cemetery management was going to fix the dividing fence on which their property borders with it.

Instead, they were scammed out of over $12,500 in jewelry when the thieves kept them busy in the backyard and their associates were robbing the couple's home Tuesday.

said that the Fords couple, both in their 80s, live on Corey Street in the Fords section of Woodbridge. Their home's property abuts and Hebrew Fraternal cemeteries in the rear, and over the years, the fence separating their backyard from the cemeteries had fallen into disrepair.

Late in the afternoon on May 29, the doorbell rang, and a man at their door said he was there to replace the fence in their backyard. The couple assumed the man worked for the cemetery, police said.

He insisted that they accompany him on an inspection of the fence. All the time, the couple said, the man was on a cell phone.

Meanwhile, while the elderly couple was out in the backyard with the fence repairman, someone was burglarizing their home. Police said that the thief had carefully opened and closed drawers in the bedroom, and gone through the homeowner's jewelry box. It was only when the elderly woman returned and noticed an out-of-place red pouch on the dresser that she got suspicious.

A quick inspection revealed that the thieves had made off with wedding and engagement rings worth $12,500. They also stole other costume jewelry, police said.

A neighbor in the area noticed the thieves' vehicle, a black 1999 Dodge Dakota, and he got the vehicles' plate number. The crooks were described as a white male and female, both in their mid 20s to mid 30s. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Woodbridge Police Department at 732-634-4500.