Police: Be wary of man claiming wife is stranded

By DENISE DICK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

BOARDMAN — Elderly residents in two jurisdictions have reported being bilked out of cash by a man who claims his wife is stranded and he needs money to help her.

“In this day and age, if a person is doing something like this, they probably have a drug problem,” said Boardman Chief Patrick Berarducci.

In Poland village, an 86-year-old Massachusetts Avenue woman told police she was on her front porch about 6 p.m. Aug. 30 when a car pulled into her driveway.

A man got out of the car, walked onto her porch and began talking to her as if he knew her. The woman, who didn’t want her name used, said she didn’t recognize the man but thought maybe she just couldn’t place him.

He told her his wife’s car broke down on the highway and he needed $30 to fuel up his car and help her.

The woman said she asked him a lot of questions about where he lived and whether he worked. He said he worked in construction and that he lived up the street.

“He said that he had lived here, he went away for while and he was back now,” she said.

The woman went into her home, retrieved $25 and gave it to the man, who told her he’d return later to pay her back.

“I told him, ‘I’m giving you this money in good faith,’ — I said that a couple of times — ‘You better use it for the reason that you say you are,’” the woman said.

The man didn’t return with the money. The incident left the victim feeling unsettled.

“It just makes you feel nervous afterwards,” she said.

In Boardman, an 85-year-old Wendy Lane woman told police a man knocked on her door about 4:45 p.m. Aug. 22 and asked for $20. She didn’t report it to police until Aug. 29.

The man told her his wife was stranded in Toledo and he needed the money to help her. She gave him the money, but he never returned to pay her back.

In both incidents, victims said the man was driving a red car and wearing a baseball cap.

If a person needs help, Berarducci said, there are organizations and agencies that provide it. He mentioned the Boardman Ministerial Association as one.

“I would ask people to direct anyone who approaches asking for money to an organized charity rather than giving your money to a stranger,” he said.

Berarducci urges residents to exercise caution in opening their doors to strangers.

If something seems suspicious, call police, he said.

Similar incidents were reported in the township last year.

“I think people that do this are exploiting an opportunity,” Berarducci said.

They may just go door to door in a neighborhood, looking for someone they think will give them money.

“If it’s an elderly woman who answers the door, they may try to get money,” he said. “If it’s a male construction worker, they ask for directions.”