Several Sabres' fans fell victim to a Craigslist scam involving nonexistent tickets to the recent Sabres-Bruins match-up. The scam was so believable, it's hard to believe more people didn't fall victim to it.. When the two met, the victim handed over the cash and was told to pick up the tickets at the will call window at First Niagara Center under the name "Presley Elvis."
When the victim showed up at the will call window hours before the game, he was told there are no tickets on hold under that code name, and the person at the counter says he wasn't the only one who fell for it.
Boulevard Mall surveillance cameras have captured this picture of the suspect. If you recognize him, please call the Amherst Police at 867-5309...
Prosecutors say that once the scam artist is caught, he will be brought to justice. And much like the Sabres themselves, he will have no defense...
I guess in some cases, you can judge people by the friends they keep. A source tells me that New York State Assemblyman Mickey Kearns is involved in a boxing promotion with former boxer James Ralston. Ralston is the Buffalo man with 21 prior felony convictions. He was convicted of scamming hundreds of thousands of dollars out of elderly victims through unneeded home improvement repair scams. His son, Les Ralston, was recently arrested, accused of stealing $18,000 from an 85 year old Amherst resident by charging her money for repairs she did not need. I guess the leaf does not fall far from the tree. I'm not sure if any state money is involved in Kearns' latest venture and I don't want to jump to any conclusions. However, if so, this needs to be investigated and scrutinized very closely. I don't run any youth groups anymore. However, I wonder how the people at Cazenovia Hockey or South Buffalo Football would feel, if they knew a 21 time convicted felon were receiving public help from Kearns? These are law abiding parents, lucky enough to get a return phone call from a politician like Kearns. If any New York state funds are involved, I'd publicly have to question Kearns' motives. I don't usually encourage people to watch news clips. However, I do encourage you to look at this channel 2 clip and ask yourself, Is this the type of person we want our elected officials doing business with?
*Update: I spoke to Assemblyman Kearns by phone. He assured me that no public money was given to Ralston. He said he was unaware of the extent of Ralston's past scams targeting the elderly, despite the fact they've been well documented on every news station in WNY over the last 20 years. (???)
What is the lowest thing a human being can do? Attempting to play them-self off as one of the relatives of the Newton, Connecticut school shooting victims has to be up there. Setting up a Pay Pal account and claiming to be the aunt of one of the deceased children will get you public scorn, but more importantly, will earn you a spot on the Blogger's Hall of Shame. Quite possibly a new low for humanity... But the criminal complaint filed against Alba on Thursday alleges that Alba not only used her Facebook account, but telephone calls and text messages to falsely claim to be a relative of a shooting victim and solicit money she claimed was for the child’s “funeral fund.”
http://todaynews.today.com/_news/2012/12/27/16193118-woman-arrested-for-lying-about-newtown-shooting-scam?lite
Since Mickey Kearns was just joking when he said he would fight corruption in Albany, I guess it will be up to me... The NY Post did an article on the Per Diems that the New York State lawmakers give themselves. It was a real eye opener to me. They essentially get taxpayer funds to sleep in second homes (or claim to sleep in second homes) while in Albany. Many of them use our money to support their investments... New York lawmakers who sleep over in their own Albany-area second homes rake in $165 a night if they claim they must stay over for official business.
Under the Legislature’s loose “per diem” reimbursement system — for which no receipts or other proof are required — Assembly members and state senators who own houses or condos near the Capitol collect the same payments as those who stay in hotels.
Governor Cuomo wants to end the per diem scam by getting rid of it in exchange for pay raises for the Albany criminals. He clearly is out of touch with the average citizen who is against both per diems AND pay raises (which they clearly don't deserve). Do these scum work for us or do we work for them? With all we already know about these parasites, I find it funny that they are essentially on the honor system to request these per diems. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? Just a few examples... -In one week alone, The Post found, Assemblywoman Vivian Cook (D-Queens) pocketed $2,197 for claiming she spent 12 consecutive nights on “legislative business.” The Assembly was in session three of those days and Cook was absent for all three.
-Brooklyn Assemblyman William Boyland Jr., who is under indictment, claimed multiple per diems on days he met with undercover FBI agents in Brooklyn and Manhattan to discuss bribes, records show.
I'm excited, since I know Mickey Kearns and Little Timmy Kennedy are going to stand up for us and demand that the per diems be eliminated. Yeah, that's going to happen. In the meantime, we will be doing some research and finding out how much Mickey and Timmy are claiming for themselves. What a scam!
I could have told you Robert Quintana was little more than a fink in the early 90's. He made a couple of speeches for the United Way about how hard his life was and the liberals over at the News ate it up. I believe they gave him one of their Citizenship Awards (perhaps Donny Esmonde had one of his patented mancrushes on Roberto.)
Then, Quintana took the ultimate do-nothing job: he became a D.A.R.E. officer. People that knew him at the time told me they couldn't believe he was giving kids speeches on doing the right thing. I didn't know Quintana, but I trusted these people. He's always been a taker and a guy willing to cheat to get ahead...
Quintana's case illustrates how the cost of injured police and
firefighters can dent any municipal budget. Over the years, Quintana
collected $561,000 in salary and fringe benefits while he tried to
recover from back and neck injuries he said were job-related. Meanwhile,
his absence from the active-duty roster meant that other officers,
sometimes earning overtime, had to cover his post in the South District.
Quintana in 2005 reported that he fell down a flight of stairs, 15
steps in all, when the layout of the building indicated just six stairs
at the front of the house, Hochul said. X-rays and an MRI found no
noticeable injuries, Hochul continued.
Wait a minute. Are they saying there are snow plow contractors we can't trust? And how can they say she didn't plow the snow, when there was no snow to plow?
The "black money scam" came to Buffalo last week from West Africa. If you're not familiar with it, it's something of a 2012 version of the Emperor's New Clothes. Famous victims of the Nigerian scam include Chelsea Clinton's father-in-law. The scam finds dumb people with excess money and uses their own greed to separate them from it. The one in a Cheektowaga motel last week involved three Liberians and $21,000. This one was rather bizarre as one of the alleged scammers ended up notifying police to save his own life...
The scam is a fraud popularized in the West African nation in which the victim — in this case Omar Clark, 35 — is presented with black construction paper reported to be real U. S. currency that had been dyed black through a chemical process.
The con men —Kromah,; Mohammed Kaba, 42, of Philadelphia; and Yayah Swaray, 32, of Sharon Hill, Pa. — told Clark they needed money to buy another chemical to wash away the black dye and make the currency usable again.
Clark was asked for money to buy the chemical in exchange for half of the black paper. Clark apparently turned over $21,000 to the three scammers in exchange for the black paper, which was really just construction paper with no value, police said.
Then things got interesting. Realizing he had been scammed out of $21,000, Clark told the three scammers he had some friends interested in getting in on the investment. That's when the crooks should have just gotten in their rental car and checked out of the motel.
It was in Buffalo, where Clark and at least three other men confronted the Liberians at gunpoint and demanded his money back. They then beat the hell out of the scammers, tied them up, and threw two of them out of a car on Godfrey Street in Buffalo. They brought the third scammer back to the Motel room where he broke free and called police...
The Black Money Scam, although apparently new in Western New York, has been widely reported in national media after netting several prominent victims, including former Rep. Ed Mezvinsky — the father-in-law of Chelsea Clinton —and a relative of New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma.
In Mezvinsky’s case, ABC reported the former Iowa congressman lost millions due to African money scams — including the Black Money Scam. Mezvinsky eventually served a seven-year prison sentence for fraud.
The only question I have is what did they do with all the black colored money?
One of the best African soccer players of the 90's was Liberian George Weah. He was so popular after his retirement from the game that he ran for President of Liberia, and lost in a very close contest. In his playing days, he often looked like a man competing against boys. The Liberian scammers are probably looking at this post right now, wondering how someone from Buffalo remembers George Weah...
Town of Evans police and the New York State police uncovered a Craigslist scam involving a fake Country music concert at Evangola State Park. The scammers used the internet site to advertise for vendors for the fictitious concert. Vendors would pay a $1,000 "deposit" for the right to never have their calls returned.
This was a great scam I saw on Unsolved Mysteries. A woman showed up one day in Cleveland, Ohio claiming to be a wealthy German Countess who had inherited $45 million from her parents. She wore fancy designer clothes, drove an expensive car, and spoke with a thick German accent. When she expressed an interest in purchasing a fancy restaurant on Lake Erie, the movers and shakers of Cleveland all stood in line to invest in it. The alleged Countess collected over a million dollars from people eager to ingratiate themselves with royalty.
She played the part real well and seemed to take a genuine interest in the new restaurant. But, one month later,when it came time to pay the previous owners, she told them the money hadn't arrived yet. Finally, they told her the deal was off. She then skipped town with over $1 million dollars of the investors' money. The best part of this Unsolved Mysteries episode is at 3:45 when they talk about her use of a cellular phone. This was the 1980's and people didn't have them yet. The phone looks like it's about a foot long and her friends were mesmerized that she had one. Fast forward to today where everyone over age 12 has a cell phone, which can fit into their pockets.
People with a little money love to get close to people with a lot of money. Further investigation revealed she wasn't a Countess at all. It's easy to see why the power brokers of Cleveland were fooled, though. Aristocratic nobleman are known to frequent rust belt cities like Cleveland, Detroit, and Buffalo when they could be jet-setting in Paris or Berlin.
The "Countess" was in fact German, though. German officials told Cleveland officials she had been purporting various scams in Germany since 1966 and was a well known con artist with at least 18 different aliases. Barbara Helda King was apprehended in California a few years later...
In his latest attempt to fleece more money out of Buffalo's already overburdened homeowners, mayor Steve Casey and his team of thoughtless goons have taken full advantage of our unseasonably wet spring. Despite the fact most city owned property remains uncut, mayor Casey is combing the area for high lawns to fleece more tax revenue. Don't worry. I'm sure the Comerfords and Keanes are exempt...
City enforcers have been slapping some property owners with tickets for having high grass.
Five of Buffalo’s nine lawmakers are calling on Mayor Byron W. Brown to void all summonses issued for grass that was at least 10 inches high, noting that the waterlogged region weathered its rainiest May in history.
“It’s hypocritical to give out tickets if your own lots are not maintained,” Delaware Council Member Michael J. LoCurto told The Buffalo News.
“Cut some people a little slack,” said Council President David A. Franczyk of Fillmore. “We had record rainfall. Don’t pounce on people.”
This would seem to follow the city's m.o. Instead of creating jobs or enticing people to move into the city, the mayor seems heart sent on making Buffalo a difficult place to live in. Red light cameras, alternate parking, high grass, etc. I cut my grass about a week ago. Because of the rain, it already needs to be cut again. Other residents don't have time to cut the grass every week. They are busy working two jobs, so they can avoid having to send their kids to Buffalo's troubled schools. No wonder those who can afford to, move out...
What would happen at a normal workplace if employees were caught leaving work four hours early? If it was at my last job, they would have been immediately terminated. Acting on a tip, A Buffalo police detective showed up at 10:30PM to check on six police officers, whose shift was supposed to end at 2AM. None were there. And then you hear some talking about a shortage of manpower??? It will be interesting to see how this one plays out. Mike BoyGeorge is working on it as we speak...
Four Central District police officers and two lieutenants were suspended Thursday pending formal internal disciplinary charges after they allegedly skipped out of work early Wednesday night, law enforcement sources revealed to The Buffalo News.
Authorities from the Buffalo Police Internal Affairs Unit led by Deputy Police Commissioner Byron C. Lockwood, acting on a tip, arrived at the Central District station in the Theater District at about 10:30 p. m. and found the six were not at work, the source said. Their shifts ended at 2 a. m.
It was determined they had left early in what is colloquially known in the department as a “slide” — when a supervising officer releases subordinates prior to the end of their shifts.
Someone tried to convince me once that this lady was a fraud. I hope they're never despondent and need her services. She obviously was given a great gift. So what if she was born in Los Angeles to American parents. "That's what me thought"...
What the hell! I just sent $200 so my friend could get back from his vacation in Egypt and now your telling me I've been had? I suppose the chain letter email I got was fake,too? You're telling me I won't have 13 years of bad luck if I don't forward it? And what about the kind Nigerian Prince who emails me once a month, asking me to make an investment in his country?...
If you're an avid reader of this site, you know I love talking about scams. The next time your kids want to play the games at your local carnival, show them this clip. It's just one of the games but it shows you the mindset of the house. It's the game you see at Darien Lake or your neighborhood carnival, where you have to pop two out of the three balloons with your darts. There are two problems. First,the darts they give you are blunt and second, the balloons are only half filled. So, save your money and buy the overpriced cotton candy, instead. Why the hell am I showing you this clip anyway? It's 17 degrees and snowing out.
I'm not sure if this scam is still popular in California today. I can't believe they can find people willing to do it. A car full of people get right in front of a truck on the highway. A second car boxes the truck in so it can't switch lanes. The first car goes slow so the truck tailgates it. Finally, a third car comes along and swerves dangerously in front of the first car, forcing it to slam on it's brakes. The truck then slams into it. The drivers of the car claim fake injuries.
The scammers target trucks because they know they have large amounts of insurance money. The drivers of the cars (usually recent immigrants) get a few hundred dollars for risking their lives. The insurance lawyers who orchestrate the scam make off with tens of thousands of dollars and never even put their own lives at risk. Nice people. When looking for drivers, the insurance people hire a middle man. He targets people down on their luck who will do anything for money. If they were pulling the scam around here, they would probably seek out South Buffalo Committeemen...
In a new low for local scam artists, some lowlifes went on the New York state Thruway and tried to charge stranded motorists $75 for three gallons of gas. They even went so far as to wear "official" NY State Thruway Authority jackets. Motorists were tipped off when they realized at $25 per gallon, the scammers' price was much cheaper than the real New York State officials would have charged...
Con Artists try $75 gas scam
Some people apparently tried to gouge gas-needy motorists who were stranded on the Thruway by the lake-effect storm. Men in official jackets, perhaps posing as Thruway Authority workers, tried to sell gas to stranded motorists Thursday morning for $25 a gallon.
"They were offering gas for $75 for three gallons," said Marc Gonzalez, a property manager from Buffalo, who was stranded overnight near Exit 54 in West Seneca. "They came through and said they were from the Thruway Authority. The same story was told by Mike Gayle, a truck driver from Toronto who also was stranded near Exit 54.
"They said this was the price if you needed fuel on the Thruway, $75 for three gallons," Gayle said, who was headed to Toronto from Ohio when he hit gridlock late Wednesday night. "People were wondering how they were going to get fuel [if they were stuck] up there. These guys said this was the official price."
Here is an old episode from Unsolved Mysteries I came across about a Georgia scam artist. She has stolen nearly $1 million dollars from her employers. She is a model worker for several months and then suddenly disappears after emptying out the companies' safe. When they go looking for her, they find out she was working the whole time using someone else's identity. Sounds to me like she could be a gypsy. They're famous for scams like this. If you have ten minutes, this one is funny to watch.
This was a great scam taking place in New York City during the 1980s documented on the show Unsolved Mysteries. A drunk accomplice (played horribly by the actor in this clip) tells someone on a pay phone that he found these rare coins in a bank envelope with a doctor's name and phone number on it. The victim calls the "doctor". He tells him to give the drunk $100. He explains that there is a $1,000 reward for the coins and gives him his address. When the victim shows up at the doctor's address, the doorman explains to him that there is no doctor and 2,000 other fools have fallen victim to the same scam. The key is the victim's greed and the man on the other end of the phone sounding like a convincing doctor. There are several variations of this scam which is known as "the pigeon drop."
You mean, if someone knocks on my door and tells me I have bedbugs and asks for $50 cash up front, I should be weary of them? Damn! I could have used that money for gas...
You know it's bad when your financial planner starts asking you to write the checks out in his name. Unfortunately, these two ladies are out $120,000 and probably a dozen others in Hamburg and Evans are going to be out some serious moolah, too. Makes me happy I don't have any money to invest. Now, we'll hear the victims describe what a nice family man he was. Of course he was a nice family man. He was spending all of your money on his family...
