Plea from Stamford car repair scammer - The Advocate
STAMFORD -- A New Haven man police described as a "gypsy" pleaded guilty Friday to scamming the life savings from an 88-year-old Stamford man who has dementia while pretending to repair the victim's old station wagon. Jimmy Megel , 43, of Foxon Road, pleaded guilty to single counts of first-, second- and sixth-degree larceny, as well as 10 counts of failure to appear in court and driving while under suspension. In return for the pleas, Megel will be sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by eight years special parole when he returns to state Superior Court in Stamford July 24. According to Senior Assistant State's Attorney Paul Ferencek , Megel first... That first repair cost $300, and over the next several months, the repair bills went from $700 to $1,000 to $1,800 before they rose to between $6,000 and $8,000. Over the intervening eight months, the victim emptied out his savings, paying Megel... The manager became concerned because he knew his customer drove the worn-out station wagon, and because the customer had also made other recent withdrawals that seemed out of character. Investigator Paul DeRiu became aware that Megel's mother had died and her funeral was last July at a funeral home in New Haven. Source: www.stamfordadvocate.com
