WEST PALM BEACH, Fla –
Rebecca Pringle visits her mother almost every day at the Ocean Palms Retirement Community in Stuart.
She says she knows security guard Raymond Loprinzi and that he has always gone out of his way to make the residents feel safe.
"I liked him but those are the ones that are sneaky ones," Pringle said.
Police say Loprinzi used his master key to break into the rooms of sick senior citizens while they were away at the hospital. They say he stole wedding rings, heirlooms and other valuables.
Police believe Loprinzi's behavior would have continued had it not been for a pawn shop identification system that led them right to the nighttime security guard.
"Law enforcement has access to an intelligence data base where officers can go and describe items they are looking for," said Marty Jacobson with the Stuart Police Department.
Unfortunately by the time cops made their way to the pawn shops, almost all of the stolen jewelry had been sold off and the gold melted down.
We did some digging on Loprinzi and found out his criminal record is clean however did file for bankruptcy two years ago.
Aging advocate Mary Craig says the number of crimes against seniors has skyrocketed on the Treasure Coast during these economic times.
"Seniors are vulnerable," Craig said. "They trust the people that help them."
Cops agree and recommend seniors write down serial numbers and take pictures of all valuable items and to keep those valuables locked in a safe .Much of the jewelry stolen at Ocean Palms was simply laying in jewelry boxes.
"You go somewhere to live out golden years," Jacobson said. "Where there is gold, you will find swindlers and thieves."
Copyright (c) 2010 The E. W . Scripps Company and Angie's List
SOURCE: WPTV
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