US officials shocked by benefits scam ring
Source: Agencies |
October 21, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A MENTALLY challenged man chained to a basement boiler. A disabled woman with her teeth knocked out. A malnourished niece with burn marks and pellet gun wounds. A two-year-old child the weight of an infant.
These are some of the victims emerging as US police investigate a ring that allegedly took in the downtrodden and disabled for their benefit checks, then held them captive in wretched conditions, without enough to eat or drink.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said: "The things I have heard, the things that have been described, I am not sure that horrific covers it."
The four adult victims found locked in a Philadelphia crawl space on Saturday have the mental capacity of 10-year-olds. One said he had met accused ringleader Linda Ann Weston, 51, through an online dating site.
Weston and three others, including her daughter, are charged with kidnapping, assault and other charges.
It is unclear how Weston met the other disabled adults found on Saturday. They were treated at a hospital and then moved to a social services agency.
Eight children and four young adults linked to the defendants have since been taken into protective custody after they were found at various locations around the city. They include the 19-year-old niece, Beatrice Weston, who had been left locked in a closet, according to police.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said: "I have never seen a victim whose injuries were any more severe than what I saw last night. This girl was beaten, tortured. It makes you want to cry when you see her."
She may be the same niece who, according to neighbors, lived with Weston, co-defendant Gregory Thomas and the couple's four children in northeast Philadelphia from about 2003 to 2005.
Neighbors called police and the child protection agency after hearing the adults scream and curse at the youngsters. They also thought they heard them being beaten. Nothing seemed to have been done, the neighbors said.
The defendants - Thomas, 47, Eddie Wright, 50, and Weston's daughter, Jean McIntosh, 32 - will appear in court on Monday.
Weston, along with a sister, were convicted of murder in the early 1980s after locking the sister's boyfriend in a closet until he died of starvation.
McIntosh has a prior arrest for deception. Her teenage son and daughter were taken into protective custody shortly after she was arrested.
These are some of the victims emerging as US police investigate a ring that allegedly took in the downtrodden and disabled for their benefit checks, then held them captive in wretched conditions, without enough to eat or drink.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said: "The things I have heard, the things that have been described, I am not sure that horrific covers it."
The four adult victims found locked in a Philadelphia crawl space on Saturday have the mental capacity of 10-year-olds. One said he had met accused ringleader Linda Ann Weston, 51, through an online dating site.
Weston and three others, including her daughter, are charged with kidnapping, assault and other charges.
It is unclear how Weston met the other disabled adults found on Saturday. They were treated at a hospital and then moved to a social services agency.
Eight children and four young adults linked to the defendants have since been taken into protective custody after they were found at various locations around the city. They include the 19-year-old niece, Beatrice Weston, who had been left locked in a closet, according to police.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said: "I have never seen a victim whose injuries were any more severe than what I saw last night. This girl was beaten, tortured. It makes you want to cry when you see her."
She may be the same niece who, according to neighbors, lived with Weston, co-defendant Gregory Thomas and the couple's four children in northeast Philadelphia from about 2003 to 2005.
Neighbors called police and the child protection agency after hearing the adults scream and curse at the youngsters. They also thought they heard them being beaten. Nothing seemed to have been done, the neighbors said.
The defendants - Thomas, 47, Eddie Wright, 50, and Weston's daughter, Jean McIntosh, 32 - will appear in court on Monday.
Weston, along with a sister, were convicted of murder in the early 1980s after locking the sister's boyfriend in a closet until he died of starvation.
McIntosh has a prior arrest for deception. Her teenage son and daughter were taken into protective custody shortly after she was arrested.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
