Man Pretending To Be From Water Dept: Newton Police Issue Warning

NEWTON, MA — Newton police are warning residents about a man who pretended to be a water department worker to get into a home in the Lower Falls area Wednesday.

A Newton resident told police that around 6 p.m. that a man wearing a yellow reflective vest and a name badge around his neck had just shown up at her Pierrepoint Road home and told her he was from the water department and needed to check her pipes because water in the area was contaminated, according to a post on the Newton Police Department’s Facebook page.

She said the man then went into the basement and started banging on the pipes, she told police. When he told her he needed to change out one of her pipes to fix the contaminated water issue, the woman asked to see his badge and realized it was handwritten. The woman said she declined his services. He then told her he’d be back in 10 minutes but never returned.

The woman said the man left the area in a white ice-cream-truck-like vehicle with no markings.

The Newton Water Department later told police they were not aware of a contamination, and they hadn’t sent a worker to the woman’s house.

The woman described the man as a heavy-set, light-brown-skinned man about 5' 5 tall with a mole next to his right eye and was wearing a baseball hat.

Police are asking residents to be on the look out for the man and anyone with any information on him, are urged to contact them at 617 796-2100 or use our Tips-Line at 617 796-2121

Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff