Category: Bridgeport

Woman Charged With Stealing Electricity

#Bridgeport, CT – April 1, 2014 – A city woman faces a larceny charge in connection with the theft of electricity from United Illuminating Co.

Police arrested Tomeka Hudson, 37, of 480 Connecticut Ave. on a charge of third-degree larceny.

Detective Robert Martin was contacted last month by UI investigators on a report of utility theft.

He learned that Hudson had an outstanding balance of $3,091 with UI dating back to 2008 at a different location. He also learned that UI disconnected service to Hudson’s subsequent apartment in June 2011 for lack of payment. The service was under the name of Hudson’s boyfriend.

The theft was discovered in November 2013, when a UI meter technician inspected the meter and observed that it had been pried open and bypassed using jumper wires that connected to the electrical line and to load connectors behind the meter. That provided electricity to the unit that was unrecorded by the meter.

The technician disconnected the jumper wires and reported the situation to UI investigators. This month, a UI investigator contacted Martin about a possible additional theft. The investigator stated that she was informed that after UI disconnected the illegal connection in November, power was restored to Hudson’s apartment by tampering with the electrical equipment of another apartment.

Based on past usage, UI estimated Hudson received, without paying, $2,974 in electricity between June 2011 and November 2013. Hudson was arrested today.

Bridgeport News: Power Washer Indoors Causes High Levels of CO

3:32pm–#Bridgeport CT–Firefighter responded to an activated fire alarm at 380 Mountain Grove Street.  What they found was a power washer was being used indoors causing a high level of carbon monoxide readings in the building.  EMS was called to the scene to check out the workers, fortunately none  of them had any symptoms.  The building was ventilated by firefighters and the business was told to cease the use of the gas powered power washer indoors.

Police Warn the Public About Common Scams

Don’t Get Fooled

 

(Bridgeport, CT – April 1, 2014) – Don’t get fooled.

A variety of telephone scams involving people looking to separate you from your hard earned  money continue around the country.

Of late, the Bridgeport Police Department has often been receiving several complaints each day, and wants to again ask the public to exercise caution and good judgment.

 

“People work hard for their money and there are people who work equally hard to take it away from them,”  said Detective Frank Podpolucha, of the financial crimes unit. “But instead of snatching a purse, these people spend all day on the phone trying to dupe people out of thousands of dollars.”

The scams come in a variety of forms:

 

  • Scammers call and tell the intended victim that a relative was involved in a motor vehicle accident and was being held “hostage” until the victim sends money to cover the repairs. This has been a popular scam of late in Bridgeport.
  •  Scammers call and tell the intended victims that they won a lottery or sweepstakes but before they can collect their winnings, they need to make a payment associated with taxes or other fees.
  • Scammers have been calling businesses claiming to be from the utility company. The caller claims the owner has a balance of thousands of dollars and states that the power company will turn off electricity if payment isn’t immediately made.

In the power company scam, the calls often are made to restaurants right before the lunch rush, creating a false sense of urgency to avoid a loss of electricity.

An emerging theme is the scammers demanding any payments be made through the purchase of a Green Dot prepaid debit card. Victims are then given instructions to provide the card’s 14-digit security code to the caller over the phone. With the code the scammer can easily withdraw money from the card. The cards can be found at local convenience stores, pharmacies and major retailers.

 

“The reality is that people do fall for these scams,” said Police Chief Joseph L. Gaudett Jr. “Each of these scammers probably make hundreds of  these phone calls every single day hoping to find that one person who will believe them. This is their full-time job and they can be convincing.”

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