"Lawyer taken in by client: 75-year-old woman accused of scamming car dealerships gave lawyer a bad check," is the headline of this AP story today. Some quotes:
The lawyer for a 75-year-old woman accused of writing bad checks for new cars across the Chicago area says she scammed him, too. * * * Gooch, of Algonquin, is accused of using her age and apparent frailty to take advantage of about a dozen car dealers in McHenry, Cook and Lake Counties in the past four years. Authorities said she wrote bad checks for several new vehicles, including a sport-utility vehicle and a motorcycle. * * * Gooch pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge in October 2003 for using a bad check to buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. She was sentenced to a year of court supervision and paid a $385 fine. Six months later, a McHenry County grand jury indicted Gooch on a charge of deceptive practice for allegedly writing a bad check for $22,000 for a sport-utility vehicle. Bail was set at $10,000 but reduced to personal recognizance after Gooch showed up in court with an oxygen tank and cane, her attorney said.This from the Chicago Sun-Times. Posted by Marcia Oddi at April 2, 2004 06:45 AM