Cedar Grove Police Department Arrest Two in
Connection with Thefts from Elderly Residents
On Friday, February 10th., police arrested two Newark women in connection with the theft of money from two elderly residents, for whom one of the defendants had been working as a home health aide. The arrest of 31 year-old Theresa M. Castillo, the home health aide, and her co-defendant, 40 year-old Martha B. Vazquez, followed a detective bureau investigation into reports that the initial victim, an 86 year-old resident, had $1,235.00 in cash stolen from her home over a two month period, reportedly during hours when Castillo and her associate, Vazquez, were in the home. On the date of the arrests, detectives were able to locate Castillo at another residence in the Township where she was also working as a home health aide. Detectives subsequently developed information that implicated Castillo and Vazquez in the initial theft, along with information that also implicated Castillo in the theft of $1,000.00 from the home where she was currently working for the second victim, also an 86 year-old resident. Both Castillo and Vazquez were arrested at police headquarters, where they were processed on their respective charges and released pending a Superior Court Arraignment on February 16, 2012. D/Sgt. John Kennedy, Det. Michael Tower and Det. Scott Scherer were the investigating officers.