Who needs THIS!?

[littlebillie]

Parents Charged With Dressing Son As Cub Scout to Get Donations

 

The Associated Press

 

 

 

BETHLEHEM, Pa. Jan. 23

 

Parents of a 7-year-old boy pleaded guilty to scamming neighbors of nearly $700 by dressing their son in a Cub Scouts uniform and going door-to-door seeking donations for a nonexistent troop.

 

Anthony M. Herman, 46, and Sally Ann Gombocz, 45, of Bethlehem knocked on more than 150 doors between Jan. 7 and Jan. 18, collecting $667 as their son silently smiled, police said.

 

Herman said they perpetrated the scam because the family landscaping business was failing.

 

"What we've done here was a desperation act," Herman told a judge at the couple's arraignment Wednesday. "I'm not trying to minimize what I did. It was stupid, very stupid."

 

Bethlehem police arrested the couple after receiving tips from neighbors. Both were charged with theft by deception, corruption of minors, criminal conspiracy and related offenses.

 

Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Their preliminary hearings were set for Jan. 31.

 

The boy is not a Scout, though his parents convinced him he was when he put on the uniform,police said. He remains in the custody of his parents, who were released on $5,000 bail each, authorities said.

 

"That's awful ... using the child like that," said Sharon DeAngelis, who donated $5 Friday. "The

little boy had a smile on his face. He didn't talk, though."

 

The couple told donors they were raising money for a camping trip for Cub Scout Pack 351, which does not exist, police said. Herman and Gombocz acknowledged spending the money, authorities said.

 

Michael Stempo, who has two sons who are Eagle Scouts, became suspicious when his wife said the boy's neckerchief was knotted not held together with a Scout slide. Stempo also said Boy Scouts do not solicit for money door-to-door, though they sometimes sell popcorn or other items.

 

[SR540Beaver]

"Michael Stempo, who has two sons who are Eagle Scouts, became suspicious when his wife said the boy's neckerchief was knotted not held together with a Scout slide. Stempo also said Boy Scouts do not solicit for money door-to-door, though they sometimes sell popcorn or other items."

 

I hope he doesn't come around our den!!! We had a boy lose his slide on a campout in October and he still knots his neckerchief. At least he wears it, unlike some of our other boys. It unnerves me everytime I go to den and pack meetings to see how the boys "wear" the uniform.

 

I hope these people get the book thrown at them and I feel sorry for this poor innocent kid. It amazes me that some people are too proud to ask for help from organizations that exist for just that purpose and instead will stoop to stealing.

[scoutldr]

Haven't heard from OGE in a while...

[OldGreyEagle]

You Rang???

 

Anyway, see anything can happen anywhere. I am on a business trip and am writing this from Lancaster PA.

 

Actually i was more concerned about the NFC championship game where a group of people in Philadelphia Eagle uniforms were pretending to be football players.

 

This is not meant to be an excuse but the father said they were driven to desparate measures, and in those desparate times they thought up of a scam to make money, and what did they pick? A house to house solicitation scheme, and just who did they pick to fraudulently represent? A group which is known to be bigoted and prejudiced? A group that is out of step with the current way of thinking? A group responsible for the humiliation of others and all the BSA has been accused of?

 

I take comfort, that when these people wanted to get as much money as they could, they went with scouting, not little league, not band, not school, but Boy Scouts, (ok Cubs).

 

In a way, I see this as proof that despite all the bickering we do here, the program is in great shape and is the model of a youth program. As my mother used to say, "Imatation is the most sinecere form of flattery" and this is the best back-handed example of it(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

[NJCubScouter]

Kwc, I agree on the neckerchiefs. If a Cub Scout with a knotted neckerchief is the mark of a fraud, I've been seeing several imposters at every pack meeting.

 

Seriously, I agree with the title of the thread: Who needs this? Who can even explain this? Theft is one thing, but to use your own son as a tool to commit a crime... it's just creepy.

 

I wonder if these people should have their child taken away and placed elsewhere. I don't say that lightly; I believe that these days, child protection agencies sometimes (often?) intervene when they should not. But this is one of those very rare situations where it might be justified.

[packsaddle]

OGE, I liked that...that Philadelphia Eagle thing. Nice. I am thinking New Orleans Saints.

The parents exploited a child during the commission of a crime. I hope a decent relative is able to take over childrearing.

[sctmom]

Recently read about a woman near Chicago (I think) that had people believing her daughter had cancer. Had the daughter wearing a hat to make people think she had lost her hair to chemo. Even had the girl convinced she had cancer. Talk about sick!

 

[packsaddle]

sctmom, I saw that too and I agree. I used to think that the 'Perry Mason' model was correct; where men murdered for money and women for love. But now money just seems to be all there is for some people. I see a child's face and I simply can't understand how anyone, especially a parent, could not see the same open, vulnerable, loving face that I see.

[NJCubScouter]

I have to tell you, I am not prone to cry, but I felt at least a small twinge when I got to their part where the boy thought he was a Scout. He apparently is of the right age to be a Tiger (or maybe in a Wolf den), and I think he should be. I'd like him to be placed in the custody of some uncle or grandparent who isn't a thief, and preferably one who lives in my town, so he can join my pack and really be a Scout. He obviously needs some adult examples who are not his biological parents, and he probably needs some friends as well.