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Driver Cons Rich UWS Lady Out Of $6K In Elaborate Ruse
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 11, 2011
Modified Jun 11, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 11, 2011
Modified Jun 11, 2011
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It's so hard to find good help these days. A well-to-do Central Park West woman was allegedly conned out of $6,000 by her driver and his friend. Sources tell the Post that 67-year-old Jane Rosen wanted a taste of some Super Bowl action, betting a gentlewoman's $100 with what she believed was a bookie for her driver, Williams Mendoza. Thus the famed "bookie/bettor" airtight pact of Trust was forged, we guess.
But of course, there was no bookie! There was only Mendoza's friend Angel Figueroa. Rosen was apparently trusting enough to not bat an eye when Figueroa asked her to hold onto a bag he said contained $200K while he was away in Florida, presumably meeting a Nigerian prince for the other $200K. After she locked the bag in a closet, Mendoza allegedly staged a break-in, so when Figueroa came for his "money" Rosen would be forced to pay what was stolen. Rosen gave him $6,000 before finally calling the police. The lesson here is obvious: never use your driver to bet on the Super Bowl, unless he's totally got a man on the inside that says Rothlisberger's pinkie toe is infected.
Tagged
bait-and-switch
betting
bookies
crime
Upper West Side
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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