Crimes Nearby: Bank Robberies And 'Gypsy Related' Scams

The following arrest information was supplied by several local police departments. A criminal charge is only an accusation and does not indicate convictions.

East Elmhurst

A man suspected of six bank robberies was arrested by Suffolk County police Friday.

Michael Walsh, 58, of East Elmhurst, Queens, was charged him with two counts of first degree robbery. He is suspected in these robberies:

• May 14: Marathon Bank, 1577 Northern Blvd., Manhasset.
• June 25: Marathon Bank, 1577 Northern Blvd., Manhasset.
• June 30: , 563 Larkfield Road, East Northport.
• July 6:   
• July 22: People’s United Bank, 401 Glen Cove Road, East Hills.
• July 26: Chase Bank, 721 Fort Salonga Road, Northport.

Garden City

A 25-year old Brooklyn woman was arrested on July 20 for four counts of criminal possession with the intent to sell 50 bags of alleged heroin.

A Garden City police officer stopped a Massapequa man who was driving a truck on Stewart Avenue and Lincoln Street with several equipment violations (defective/bald tires, fractured windshield, missing lights, no front plate). Upon an investigation, the operator was arrested for aggravated unlicensed operation for having nine open DMV license suspensions. In addition he was charged with the listed equipment violations, unregistered operation and uninsured operation.

 The Garden City police are warning against "gypsy-related crimes."

"Gypsies" are a particular group of organized criminals that have been known to perpetrate a series of burglaries and scams throughout Nassau County, according to police.

The group's “modus operandi” - travel in groups to a particular residential area in a car or van usually with out-of-state registration plates. One subject, portraying a surveyor or contractor, approaches a homeowner to solicit work. While speaking to the unsuspecting resident(s), the subject diverts the homeowners into their rear yard providing a means for an accomplice(s) to "surreptitiously enter the home and commit a burglary," police said.