Bandits make off with $96K from Van Cortlandt Motel

The New York Police Department is searching for five people they believe were involved in a heist that cost a man nearly $100,000 early Monday morning.

The 30-year-old invited three women into his room at the Van Cortlandt Motel, 6393 Broadway, on Sunday around 10 p.m. It's not clear if the women spent the night or when they left, but by early the next morning, the man got visitors of a different kind.

Just before 7 a.m., police say two men wearing dark-hooded sweatshirts and masks, burst into the room brandishing a firearm. They took the man's bag, which he said contained $96,000 in cash, but didn't injure him. The men then took off in a black minivan police said was parked nearby.

While information on the men and the weapon they used is sketchy, there are more details about the three women, which police described as Hispanic and in their 20s or 30s. One woman was last seen wearing a blue and white jacket witha pink mini-dress. A second had a black coat, brown hat and brown pants.

A third was last seen donning a black dress, black jacket and leg-high black boots.

To see video of the suspects in the robbery, visit The Riverdale Press Facebook page by clicking here.

Anyone with any information on this robbery is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-8477. Tips also can be submitted by logging onto NYPDCrimeStoppers.com, or by texting their tips to 274637, and then entering "TIP577."

All calls, police said, are strictly confidential.