Doorman in New York is accused of stealing nearly $480,000 from an elderly tenant

An Upper West Side bouncer is accused of stealing nearly $480,000 from a retired teacher and her husband after the woman moved into a nursing home and later died – as part of the underhanded scheme he once had his say, according to Manhattan prosecutors disguised to sound like hers, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Alfredo Mateo, 38, allegedly began exploiting the woman while she was under court guardianship due to her incapacity while her spouse was still living in the apartment at 380 Riverside Drive before he died in September 2022.

The day after his death, Mateo, of Yonkers, began depositing the first of 26 checks he had taken from the teacher and wrote most of the checks out of the victim's bank account to himself, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office.

He also allegedly stole $3,000 from the man's account.

While emptying the couple's coffers, he allegedly planned to take money from the teacher's pension and pension, which she earned through her work as a city educator.

Mateo combed through a teacher pension form mailed to the home that contained her personal information to submit five false forms to the pension system between May 5, 2023 and Oct. 12, 2023, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, two of the forms were submitted even after the teacher's death in July 2023, which resulted in the payment of her pension and was intended to transfer her direct deposit to Mateo's bank account.

He is also accused of stealing several pension checks that were sent to the teacher after her death.

Mateo tried twice to call the Teachers' Retirement System to change her membership phone number, and after failing the first time, he tried to change his voice to sound like the woman, who was 91 at the time , said the public prosecutor.

In total, according to prosecutors, Mateo is said to have stolen a whopping $477,685.

“Those who exploit the access entrusted to them to target elderly community members and steal from hardworking New Yorkers will be held accountable,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

Mateo is charged with seven felonies, including second-degree grand larceny, second-degree possession of stolen property, first-degree identity theft, second-degree possession of a forged instrument and similar charges, prosecutors said.

Attempts to reach Mateo Wednesday evening were unsuccessful. His attorney, James Magee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.