The meet up to sell his Rolex watch seemed to go like all of Steve Mauro's other sales arranged through Facebook Marketplace, until suddenly things took a turn.
The Massapequa man had arranged to meet a buyer on Friday morning near his home to sell the watch for $8,000. Mauro told News 4 he's used the social media platform many times to sell less expensive items.
"I listed the thing, I got an immediate response and the guy negotiated, which they never do if they're scammers. He negotiated, I thought I had a real deal here," Mauro said.
He said the man, whose name was listed as "Jhon," asked a lot of questions and planned to meet Mauro at his home around 11 a.m. The in-person interaction raised no red flags, that is until the man was ready to pay and invited Mauro into his car.
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"He's like, 'go hop in the passenger [seat].' He said it so nonchalant," Mauro said.
The Massapequa man had tried the door and found it locked, so he immediately rushed around to the driver's side.
"I opened [the door], he then tried to close it and then while he put the car in reverse, so that's what threw me to the ground," he explained.
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As this is happening, a Nassau County police officer on patrol drives down Jerusalem Avenue and sees the gray Honda driving in reverse, knocking Mauro down to the ground.
"I picked myself up, jumped on the hood and then he took me for a ride. I was tossed on my front lawn, launched off of the hood. I told the cop, 'go get the guy,'" Mauro said.
Police are now looking for the Honda, which possibly had Connecticut license plates.
Mauro's message to others selling items online: don't be afraid to ask for the money up front and always have your guard up.
"Large items like this, I probably wouldn't do it out of my house. That was probably my mistake," he said.
