Police: Westbury woman stole from praying churchgoers

Nassau police say a Westbury woman stole cash from worshipers' purses while they were praying at a Carle Place church.

Patricia Adams, 46, took advantage of a woman on a kneeler praying at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Carle Place Sunday, Det. Sgt. Herbert Daub said. Adams, whom Daub said has three prior larceny convictions, reached over the pew and lifted $8 from the woman's purse, he said.

An usher saw the alleged transgression and alerted police, who arrested Adams as she left church. Police later linked Adams to a May 10 incident in which $400 was missing from a parishioner's purse on a pew as the victim took Communion.

Adams was charged with two counts of petty larceny and released on a signature bond. She is due in court July 9. A woman who answered the phone at Adams' Bert Avenue home Sunday said she was not available. Church officials could not be reached.

By REID EPSTEIN
Posted Monday, June 29, 2009

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