2 phony repairmen charged in burglary of 92-year-old Bellport woman's home, police say

Police have charged two men with burglarizing a Bellport woman's home last week after they were let into her house while pretending to be chimney cleaners.

Suffolk police on Wednesday said Bruce Wimmer, 32, of Bohemia, and Michael Windland, 28, of Lake Ronkonkoma, entered a 92-year-old woman's home Aug. 16 after they told her they had come to perform a chimney inspection. The two men falsely identified themselves as employees from a company called N.Y. Finest Home Improvements, police said.

While one of the suspects distracted the woman, the other stole $130 in cash from church envelopes and $35 in cash from bank envelopes from the home, police said. The pair also is accused of stealing some of the woman's prescription drugs, police said.

The men also quoted the woman $3,000 for what police called unnecessary chimney work, and offered to drive her to her bank to withdraw the money, but the woman declined, police said. Wimmer and Windland then made arrangements with her to do the work at a later date, but after they left, she became suspicious and called police, authorities said.

Both men were charged with second-degree burglary, and Windland was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. In a news release, police noted that both men are convicted felons, though information about their prior convictions was not immediately available early Thursday morning.

Windland and Wimmer are being held overnight at the Fifth Precinct and are scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Thursday.

Police said they're hoping to identify other potential victims of this pair. Anyone who may have been a victim can call Fifth Squad detectives at 631-854-8552.