Pair Allegedly Grifted $230K From Elderly Man
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Police say a couple of alleged con artists bilked an elderly man out of nearly a quarter million dollars over the last two years. The two are now under arrest in North Jersey and facing extradition back to the city.
It was the sweetest of requests -- "Where is there a good Catholic church around here?"
But police say the young woman who asked had anything but virtue on her mind. Lieutenant Ray Evers says 23-year-old Crystal "Pinky" Johns approached an 86-year-old man with the question, one Sunday, almost two years ago but it was a set-up for a con.
"She explained to the victim that she has a heart condition and needs to get surgery and over the course of a year and two months basically bilked him out of $230,000," said Lt. Evers.
Evers says police issued an arrest warrant for theft by deception, but he says Johns and her husband, an alleged accomplice, had fled.
U.S. Marshalls found them Friday in Bergen County where they remain in custody awaiting extradition.
Reported by Pat Loeb, KYW Newsradio
