Business-Suited Thief On The Loose

A nattily-attired thief stole $50,000 in jewelry from a University Place apartment on Monday afternoon. According to the NY Post, Linda Kaplan, 76, entered her apartment and found a "thief — decked out in a black suit and tie... She demanded to know what he was doing, and he responded, 'I'm with the Fire Department,' according to cops. When Kaplan demanded to see ID, the 6-foot-2 bandit threw her down." Kaplan had left her apartment unlocked when she was "check[ing] in on a 102-year-old neighbor" and apparently the thief seized the opportunity. She screamed for help and one of the people who ran to her apartment was a painter who also saw the thief in another apartment: "Minutes earlier, the thief had poked his head in that unit but fled when he saw the worker." Police told the Post that the thief was like an "office creeper," dressed to fit in with surroundings while stealing objects.