Update: Police Make Arrest in Deerfield Scams
22-year-old charged with criminal damage to property.
Deerfield Police arrested Tom Miller, 22, of Mount Prospect May 13 in connection to a scam committed last week.
According to authorities, a 90-year-old Deerfield resident was conned out of $2,200 back on May 10. That’s when the victim told officers he had been approached by a group of people who offered to clean the marks on his garage floor for $22. However, when the work was finished, the elderly man said the men charged $2,200 instead. The victim told police, one of the suspects identified himself as Tom Miller.
When officers visited the home on Hermitage Road they say “there were many cracks on the floor which appeared to have been speckled [with cement] but definitely not repaired.”
Miller was arrested and charged with criminal damage to property.
Last week authorities warned local residents of scam artists possibly targeting the Deerfield area. Officers say this is the second incident they’ve had to deal with in the past twelve months.
-Previous article on May 13-
Police are warning local residents to watch out for scam artists possibly targeting the Deerfield community.
According to Commander of Investigations Walter Trillhaase an elderly Deerfield man was conned out of thousands of dollars earlier this week.
“They’re bad people picking on the older folks,” Trillhaase explained.
A local victim told authorities he was approached in front of his home by a group of individuals who offered to clean the markings off his garage floor for $22. However, when the work was completed the suspects demanded $2,200. Authorities say the resident felt pressured into writing the check, which was quickly cashed by the thieves.
Officials tell Patch this is the second incident they’ve dealt with in the past 12 months and that some of the scam artists cruise communities like Deerfield searching for elderly people outside their homes.
Police say spring and summer are active times for scams that commonly include home repair fraud and ruse entry burglary.
“It’s not something we can sit and wait for,” Trillhaase said which is why Deerfield Police have been handing out flyers to alert residents about the situation.
The flyer describes the scammers as "individuals of Gypsy culture who have elected to live a criminal lifestyle" and explains that "the appearance of a Gypsy can be generally described as medium to dark complexioned Caucasian, who are often mistaken as Hispanic."
Patrols are also being increased in residential neighborhoods.
Police are encouraging residents not to allow unknown individuals perform work on their residences before checking that person’s reputation. Authorities also warn residents not to allow anyone into their homes or let them roam their property.
Heather Ureche
11:24 am on Saturday, May 14, 2011
I assume that the Police or someone in some authority has established that these people are in fact what you have decribed as Gypsies? I wonder if it was really vital to the report to sugsest the ethnicity of the person concered? Also had they been from let us say the Jewish communitty would the headline then have read "Jewish" Scams Hit Deerfield ? or "Asian" Scams Hit Deerfield ? or "Mexican" Scams Hit Deerfield? No I thought not; why then Gypsy? They may or may not have be Gypsies. Whoever they are what they are doing is not right or acceptable however by using the word Gypsy in this way is both racist and provocative it is alsp un fair on the many thousands of good hardworking and law abiding Romani people in the USA who already face daily prejudice and stigmatisation simply on the basis of their racial origin, reports such as this one just compounds the problem by reinforcing stereotypes.
Heather Ureche. UK.
Jimmy Jones
4:54 pm on Saturday, May 14, 2011
Heather, please stay in the UK with your pikers,pakis,chavs and yobs. In order to placate politically correct liberals like yourself all criminals will henceforth be described as humans. We wouldn't want to offend anyone would we. Please be on the lookout for humans who are scamming the elderly. Thank you.
Roxy Freeman
4:32 am on Sunday, May 15, 2011
What an atrocious piece of lazy journalism Ms Kaplan. Riddled with racism, inaccuracies and ignorance from start to finish. We wander why the world is full of hate and violence, with articles like this it's no wonder! Shame on you.
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Bob
9:03 am on Sunday, May 15, 2011
Natalie, thanks for the article. If it keeps additional people from getting scammed, it did it's purpose. The negative comments seem to originate from pro-Gypsy Europeans, not from your target audience, so please don't curb your reporting to appease them. I highly doubt Roxy knows the facts of this case better than the Deerfield police.
Leslie Fuller Knox
3:13 pm on Sunday, May 15, 2011
Natalie, should members of the Irish Travelers come to Deerfield to prey upon the vulnerable elderly, and the police give you information to thwart their criminal activities, I think ethically you must report this, and explain how they might be identified. And my Irish granny & other relatives would back you all the way.
pascal
6:31 pm on Sunday, May 15, 2011
Stop with all the politically correct nonsense babbling.
I commend the author for being factual and truthful. If its a white guy, a black female, a gypsy, etc.. SAY who / what / when /where / how and dont apologize or censor the facts-
THAT is reporting. Witholding facts about a criminal group, gypsy or otherwise, is a abdication of duty and deserves removal of the author from the journalism profession for violating the public trust and not doing their job to the fullest.
Gyspy populations are almost entirely troublesome to a degree that is truly massive - ask anyone from romania or bulgaria.
The fact these populations are being brought into the USA given their behaviour in their lands of origin is actually the newsworthy story.
With current +20% real unemployment amongst US citizens - We need no economic, let alone criminal immigrants, anymore than any of the other nations on planet earth- NONE of whom take/ permits ANY economic migrants.
Bob
10:51 am on Friday, May 20, 2011
Congrats and thank you to the Deerfield police for catching this guy! Great job!
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