A 30-year-old Lancaster man laid out a story of love and betrayal to Falls police on Thursday.
The man said he joined the phone chat line “Quest” and began talking with a woman who said she was a 24-year-old Falls resident. On Oct. 15, the two met up at an apartment on Niagara Street where they had sex.
On Oct. 20, the man said he received a text from someone claiming to be the woman’s mother, who typed that the man had slept with her 17-year-old daughter and he needed to call her right away or she was going to the police. The man called and the mother told him she wanted to keep the incident between them and asked for “restitution” of $300. The man agreed to it and said he was instructed to wire the money to a person who was described to him as a police dispatcher with the Niagara Falls Police Department.
A day or so later, the man said he received another text from the mother. She told him he now needed to pay $1,500 in “court-ordered restitution.” The man sent $150 on Oct. 23 and 24, $100 on Oct. 26 and $475 on Oct. 27. Police said the money was always wired to a store on Niagara Street in the city.
The man said the caller told him they were from a family of police officers. The man said they had also called him at his job and threatened to have him arrested there.
A few days after his last payment, the man said he received a text from the girl’s father who said paperwork was being filed to have him arrested because he hadn’t paid the full amount. The father called the man on Saturday and told him he was going to court on Monday and needed to bring some money with him to prove to the judge that the man was paying his restitution. The man was instructed to drop off $1,200 in a mailbox on Niagara Street. The man did and picked up his “receipt” — a torn up piece of paper.
On Wednesday, the man said he received a voicemail from a woman who said she was a detective with the Niagara Falls Police Department and she wanted to talk about the case.
At this point the man became suspicious and talked over the situation with a friend who urged him to contact the real police.
While officers were interviewing the man, the mother called and was put on speaker. Police said she called the man rude and said she was only trying to help him so he wouldn’t go to jail.
When asked why he’d paid any money to these people in the first place the man responded that he didn’t know it wasn’t a crime to sleep with a 17-year-old. The matter is being investigated by detectives.
Crime
FALLS POLICE: “Quest” for love gets awfully expensive
- Crime
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BLOTTER: Police reports published Feb. 4, 2012
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‘Person of interest’ in recent spate of robberies strikes out Thursday
The man police are looking for in at least two other city robberies of Wilson Farms stores tried to strike again Thursday night.
This time it was the Wilson Farms location at Fourth and Niagara streets — but the result was different. -
BLOTTER: Police reports published Feb. 3
Police are investigating a burglary in the 2900 block of McKoon Avenue.
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BLOTTER: Police reports published Feb. 2
Cataract City cops say they are stilling looking for a suspect who attacked a man in a Unity Park apartment and then shot up the victim’s car.
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Falls police hunt for shooting suspect
Falls police are on the hunt for a gunman who shot up a car in a parking lot of Unity Park on Tuesday night.
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BLOTTER: Police reports published Feb. 1
A Falls man was arrested after police said he tried to run over some children with his car.
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Armed suspect sought in Dunkin’ Donuts robbery
Falls police are investigating a robbery at the Dunkin’ Donuts shop on Niagara Falls Boulevard just south of the entrance to the I-190.
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BLOTTER: Police reports published Jan. 31
New York State Police arrested a man and a woman Friday after they say the woman sold the man her state benefit card.
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BLOTTER: Police reports published Jan. 30
A 34-year-old Shenk Road man told Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies that he recently brought a clear plastic box containing several valuables, including a wedding/ engagement ring made of gold and diamond cluster, to his friend’s house due to a potential divorce.
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Sooty silver lining after Lockport tire fire
Firefighters were able to extinguish a large pile of burning rubber tires on Lockport’s west end after an all-night battle Saturday morning, but the cleanup has just begun at the site and at local homes sullied by soot.
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