COURT Grand jury to get case of man accused of scam

The victim said two people contended she needed electrical work done to her home.
AUSTINTOWN -- A Mahoning County grand jury will hear the case of a man accused in an Aug. 11 scam that bilked a 90-year-old woman out of almost $2,000.
Natale Rucci of Girard is accused in the fraud along with Michele Sabella, also of Girard. Rucci's case was bound over to the grand jury at a pretrial hearing Monday in Mahoning County Court here.
Police have accused Rucci and Sabella of posing as Ohio Edison workers and telling the theft victim, who lives on Frederick Street, that she needed electrical work done at her house.
The power had gone out at the victim's residence shortly before a woman and a man showed up and told her she would need the work.
Detective Frank Tomasino said the electric meter on the outside of the house was yanked away from the wall, disabling it.
Victim's account
The victim reported to police that the woman was the first to show up at her house. The woman told the victim she would need a new electric meter before her power could be restored. A short time later, a man arrived and told the victim he needed to check her breaker box in the basement.
The victim said the pair told her they installed a new meter, a new breaker box and outlets at a cost of $1,840. The woman wrote the pair a check. She called police when she found the meter had not been replaced.
Tomasino said the woman's check was cashed at First Place Bank at Raccoon Road and Mahoning Avenue, and she can't get the money back.
Rucci, charged with complicity to theft, is free on $4,000 bond. Sabella is also free on $8,000 bond.
Sabella was arrested in Girard on a warrant from Austintown on Aug. 31. Girard police report that at the time of the arrest, she had what they believe to be suspected cocaine in her possession. She faces a drug charge in their jurisdiction.
She is charged with grand theft in the Aug. 11 scheme and is scheduled to appear in county court here Oct. 3 for a pretrial.