Crime & Safety
'Sweetheart' May Have Scammed Dementia Victim
The victim's son says the woman befriended his father, who has dementia, and now owes him between $60,000 and $70,000. An arrest is merely an accusation and not evidence of a conviction.
A 58-year-old Vernon Hills man named Richard contacted Niles police March 6 saying his father Simon, who suffers from dementia, may have been victimized in a sweetheart theft scam by a Niles woman named Linda, who befriended the father in 2008.
Richard said he recently learned his father has been withdrawing money from the bank and giving it to Linda, and that Simon's 2010 Toyota Tundra is registered to Simon but lists Linda's address on North Terrace. Richard does not know if his father signed a loan agreement for the Toyota.
Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
On March 5, Simon's caretaker Jim received a phone call from a woman who identified herself as Linda's aunt, and said she wanted to remove Simon's name from the Toyota.
Richard spoke to the aunt and informed her Linda owed his father between $60,000 and $70,000. The aunt said repayment would be on the honor system, and that if he called the police, no money would be paid back.
Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Richard provided police with his Power of Attorney for medical and financial matters, which has been in effect since 2004, and a copy of the promissory note. Niles police detectives will investigate.
Man has no driver's license, gets charged with felony DUI
Billy Hazelwood, 52, of Des Plaines was charged with a Class 4 felony count of DUI/Drugs and two counts of DUI after a police officer observed him speeding at 3:20 a.m. March 8 in the 7600 block of Milwaukee Avenue, according to a report.
When police tried to stop Hazelwood, he went through the red light at Touhy, police said, then stopped about a block later. Police said the driver had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and showed impairment on field sobriety tests. A Cook County Assistant State's Attorney approved a felony DUI charge based on the fact he did not possess a valid driver's license. His court date is March 18 at the Skokie branch of the Cook County courts. He was also cited for disobeying a traffic signal and not having a valid driver's license.
Information is taken from Niles Police Department reports.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
