Quincy woman, 97, is robbed by group

QUINCY -- A team of female robbers preyed on a 97-year-old woman in her home yesterday afternoon, with one engaging her in conversation while accomplices stole money and jewelry, police and family members said.

While one suspect talked with the victim at her kitchen table, two other women ransacked the house for valuables, Police Chief Robert F. Crowley said. A man is also thought to have assisted them.

The suspects left the woman's home just as her grandson, a Quincy police officer who was not on duty, pulled up. Once he realized what they had done, he ran outside to stop them and was struck in the arm by their vehicle, Crowley said.

"We believe that the suspects probably knew that the woman was elderly and that she was alone," he said.

The victim's grandson declined to comment, and police would not release further details pending an investigation.

The robbery victim, Norma Paccioretti, has lived in the same duplex for about 70 years, she said. Her sister-in-law, Josephine Paccioretti, 95, occupies the attached unit.

"They gave me the impression they knew my sister-in-law," Norma Paccioretti said while waiting for officers to finish collecting evidence. "But there was something in me that I was afraid of them."

The robbers entered the home unannounced, and Paccioretti said she gave them cold beverages while speaking with them.

She said the conversation was pleasant at first, but something did not add up. She started feeling nervous and told them her grandson was on his way. By the time they left, however, the valuables were already in their possession.