UPPER WEST SIDE — Older residents at a local nursing home and rehabilitation center had close to $1,000 stolen from them last month, police said.
Between Oct. 3 and Nov. 6, six residents at The Riverside at 150 Riverside Dr. had cash or property stolen from their rooms, police said. The residents are between 59 and 82 years old, police said.
The thief or thieves stole $15 in cash twice from two separate people; $265 in cash from another person; $100 in cash from another; $509 from another; and a key ring with keys from the sixth person, police said.
Capt. Marlon Larin, the commanding officer of the 24th Precinct, called the thefts "shameful" and "reprehensible."
"These are elderly folks who don’t have much family and are really depending on the care," he said.
Detectives believe that the thefts are the work of one person who works at the nursing home and has access to residents' rooms and knows where to look. They don't believe an outsider or a visitor is their suspect, Larin explained.
"You’re dealing with people who see the opportunity and they take it," he said.
The Riverside Center did not immediately respond to request for comment.
