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Brooklyn Grandfather Discovers Alleged Theft By Home Attendant

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- A Brooklyn grandfather transformed himself into a creative detective after thousands of dollars vanished from his room.

John McGinnis, 83, said small amounts of cash had been missing from his apartment – and then he lost thousands. After some amateur detective work, he accused a home attendant, reports CBS 2's John Slattery.

"I thought she was a beautiful girl, and she was so nice; I treated her good," he said. "The biggest crook I ever met."

McGinnis lives in senior citizen apartments run by the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens. He said after a new home attendant had been there for only two weeks, he started noticing that cash was missing – $40 once, then another $40.

McGinnis said that at one point he was in the kitchen, and he thought the attendant went to the bathroom, but he found out later she'd been in his bedroom.

What she didn't know was that he'd set a trap, placing a folded card in the side of the closed drawer with the money.

"When I came in, the card was down on the floor," McGinnis said, meaning the attendant had opened the drawer.

"I said to the girl, 'you've been stealing my money.' She said, 'no, I'm not a crook.' I said, 'yes you are,'" McGinnis said.

How much money did the attendant make off with?

"[She took] $13,000," McGinnis said. "The money I was going to use to get buried with."

The attendant, 21-year-old Nikou Santos, was arrested. Police said Santos lives in a shelter for women.

Santos is out on bail but could not be located, allegedly outsmarted by a man four times her age.

McGinnis said he's pleased that detectives thought he was pretty clever, but all he wants to know is whether he'll be able to get his money back.

Santos was charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

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