TX - Police arrested a self-proclaimed gypsy they say conned an elderly couple out of thousands of dollars.Police say Danny Groffo and his alleged accomplice, Kathleen Frank, convinced a west Houston couple to pay them $500 for some minor home repairs, but ended up bilking them out of $24,000. Frank, who also claims to be a gypsy, is still at large, investigators said.
District Attorney Valerie Turner: “They don’t steal with guns or with force; they steal with their brains and with their mouths. Their victims may be physically feeble, unable to take care of work around their house, and are more willing to trust folks. It’s sad.”
Turner said the original fee proposed by Groffo and Frank to fix cracks in the couple’s driveway and to power wash a fence was fair, but each day they kept jacking up the price. Plus, the work wasn’t getting done. “They raised the price by tens of thousands of dollars.”
The elderly couple said they were too afraid to get out of the deal because the suspects became aggressive and were scaring them.
One day, the suspects allegedly forced the woman of the house to withdraw $8,000 from her bank while they kept an eye on her from a Whataburger across the street.
“What is frustrating about this case is that the woman felt intimidated. She was shaking, she was nervous and she feared for her and her husband’s safety,” Turner said.
One of the last payments the couple made was with a $5,000 check, which ended up giving investigators a break in the case.
An investigator from HPD’s Major Offenders Division learned the $5,000 check was cashed inside a bar near the Hempstead Highway. That’s how police were able to identify the suspects.
Turner : “I am willing to bet there are other victims out there, and just like this couple, they are too embarrassed to report it to the police. Hopefully, by seeing this story, they’ll see that they weren’t the only ones that were taken advantage of.”
If you have information that can help police, call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
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Police arrest self-proclaimed gypsy accused of preying on the elderly
I am so sorry for what the victims went through and can imagine how afraid they were.
ReplyDeleteI hope they find Frank and lock him up forever.
Modern day Bonnie & Clyde?
ReplyDeleteYou betcha there are other vics out there, a trail of vics.
I hope their end comes to them the same way in a hail of bullets.
The same description the DA gave about gypsies can be given to guardians and lawyers1
ReplyDeleteAgain, these poor victims will likely end up in a guardianship -- where they'll feel the same intimidation and be shakey too.
ReplyDeleteIt's terrible what they went through --- and what they'll go through now.
Sorry end of life long independence for this sweet elderly couple. This could be anyone's parents or grandparents.
ReplyDeleteI hope they get the criminal Kathleen Frank locked up very soon because she is looking for another victim.
Something's got to be done, but what? There should be licensing for people claiming to be contractors.
ReplyDeleteThere are two types of people on this earth:
ReplyDeletePreadators and their Prey