KEY POINTS:
While detectives home in on the identity of one of the men involved in a painting gang ripping thousands of dollars off elderly people, an Auckland woman says her complaint regarding the matter has been ignored by police.
She said she rang police on behalf of her 80-year-old mother, who was approached by three men wanting to work on her relatively new roof. "They even got up on to her roof. They said more work needed to be done."
The men were left at the house when the elderly woman left to pick up her grandchildren.
"Mum thought it was a follow-up procedure on the roof she had installed a year ago. The neighbour kept an eye on the men and their three vans."
On her return, the men had gone and checks with the roof's installer found the men did not represent that company.
The men returned the next day to park across the road for some time.
The daughter, who did not want to be named, said a complaint was laid with police a week ago but was ignored. "I feared for Mum because a couple of years ago someone raped her neighbour. The police should have been on to this earlier."
However, yesterday the police visited the elderly woman to gather information on the conmen in the wake of several such complaints.
They also believe they have identified one of the men in the group of usually three who have been conning elderly people throughout the North island.
The man is thought to be in Auckland but has yet to be located by detectives.
Detective Scott McDougall, of Cambridge police, said publicity about the group had generated a good response from around the country.
The plight of Cambridge couple Joan and Kenneth Allan was at the heart of the publicity as they were ripped off to the tune of $5000.
They were conned out of some of their retirement savings just hours before Mrs Allan was hospitalised with septicaemia.
The next day, after visiting his wife in hospital, Mr Allan was on his way home when he lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree.
The World War II veteran later died in Waikato Hospital, with his ill wife by his side. In some of his final words to his daughter, he said: "Sorry for the trouble."
Since then, a complaint from an elderly man in Onehunga, Auckland, has also been received. The man had paid $3000 in advance for his roof to be painted but the work was never done.
It is believed the man has passed information on to detectives.
Two other elderly people in Cambridge, aged 73 and 70, have told police that they too were approached last week by men, with an offer to paint their roofs.
The offers were declined.
Mr McDougall said police were also looking into another complaint from Rotorua, where an elderly man had paid $4000 for a one-hour job.
Police are still keen to hear from anyone who has had dealings with the roof painters. They are described as European, aged between 35 and 50 and of solid build.
