Man suspected of repair scam

Police suspect an 82-year-old woman was bilked for almost $25,000 in car repairs.

By LEANORA MINAI

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- The nightmare began with a patch of rust on her 1967 Mercury.

That repair cost the 82-year-old St. Petersburg woman $700. But then there were the supposed problems with the bumper, the engine, the trunk, the carburetor, the brakes.

Nearly $25,000 later, St. Petersburg detectives arrested 21-year-old Walter Mitchell, one person suspected of bilking the St. Petersburg woman out of nearly a third of her life savings for bogus car repairs.

"I'm not sure I can meet expenses from now on," she said. Her name is not being published because of the nature of the crime. "They cleaned me out of every cent I've had, and I've had to sell some stock."

Mitchell is charged with organized scheme to defraud. Police said the St. Petersburg man is believed to be a member of a Romanian Gypsy family with roots in St. Petersburg.

"My lawyer told me not to talk to no one yet," Mitchell said after his release from the Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday. "I'm going to go to court with this and try to fight it out."

Detectives say the alleged scheme began last September with a knock on the woman's door and an offer to repair rust on her 1967 Mercury Monterey, valued at $6,000.

She had been warned in the past about not trusting people who showed up out of the blue. A widow, she lives alone.

"I wish I told them to keep on going, but there's a weak moment that you have," she said.

Investigators say Mitchell solicited the woman several times for repairs and drove the classic car away for work. The rust was covered with paint, according to Officer Dan Bates, police spokesman.

"And then after that, my car needed this part and that part and another thing," the woman said.

She was billed and wrote checks for more unnecessary repairs -- $750 for bumper and engine work in October, according to police. A month later, another $3,500; the next month, $1,675.

"One time he showed me that my carburetor was leaking gasoline and said I would need a new carburetor," she said. "He showed me a bright shiny new carburetor. That was $1,800 or $2,000."

The carburetor was only cleaned and painted silver.

This month, the woman withdrew $4,200 in cash from her bank in Gulfport to pay for more repairs. The plot continued.

"After all of this, the suspect recontacted the victim and said she still owed them $4,700," said Bates, the police spokesman.

If she did not pay, the woman was told, a lien would be placed on her car.

But a savvy bank teller at the Gulfport bank had grown concerned about the woman's cash withdrawals and alerted Gulfport police, who contacted the woman. St. Petersburg police were notified and began investigating.

On Monday, Mitchell showed up at the woman's house expecting to collect $4,700. Instead, detectives introduced themselves. Mitchell was questioned at police headquarters, arrested and booked in jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Police said the investigation is continuing and warned residents not to accept unsolicited business.

"Word to the wise," said St. Petersburg economic crimes Sgt. Russ Stewart. "If you have a mother or father or grandmother or grandfather who lives alone, check in on them."

Devastated and embarrassed by her loss, the St. Petersburg woman said she has lost 10 pounds and is unable to focus on anything else.

She kept the 1967 Mercury for the drive to church and the supermarket.

"It seems to run well."

- Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report.

To call

Anyone with information is asked to call St. Petersburg Detective Vonda Wynn at (727) 893-7551.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.