(09/21/06) FRANKLIN SQUARE - Wendy?s fast food restaurant in Franklin Square was the latest victim Thursday in a rash of robberies in Nassau and Queens.

Police believe the robberies are the work of professionals. Two men with bandanas covering their faces entered the back of the Hempstead Turnpike restaurant after pulling up in a silver Jeep, according to witnesses. Police say the men grabbed an employee and held up the Wendy?s with what appeared to be automatic weapons. No one was harmed and police are still figuring out how much money was stolen. Authorities found the Jeep abandoned just four blocks away.

On Wednesday, police say two men with masks robbed an Exxon station in Valley Stream. The attendant, Anthony Hoeffner, said the armed men pulled up in an Audi before holding him up.

Nassau and Queens police say the robbers may have struck as many as 28 times since March. They believe as many as six men work together on the heists, stealing a getaway car the day before. Audis made from 2000 to 2002, as well as Jeeps, seem to be the targeted makes, as they are very fast and among the easiest to hotwire, police say.

Police ask if you have any information on the robberies, please call the Nassau Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.