THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 16, 1995 TAG: 9512160258
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
Three thieves have stolen from Patti Mason this Christmas.
One stole her car, stuffed with $450 of presents for her 5-year-old adopted daughter. And with that, he stole their Christmas.
The other thief, a resurgence of cancer, is stealing her life.
Her car was returned to her, abandoned and empty. And on Friday, Mason said, she confronted still another car thief outside her home. He punched her in the face and her eye swelled shut. He took her final threads of dignity.
For two weeks, mounting misfortunes have doggedlypursued Mason, who moved here from California 13 years ago.
But Friday, just an hour after a stranger hit her in the face, her troubles were briefly abated by the police detective assigned to case.
Like many veteran detectives, John Macioce has confronted his share of criminal callousness. But when he spoke with Mason, 37, he learned about her life of selfless charity.
It was entirely unfitting, he believed, for these merciless circumstances to be her reward.
He and Detective Sam Thomson vowed to rebuild her Christmas.
Mason doesn't know how many more holidays she'll share with Danielle, who was a crack-addicted baby when Mason took her in. This year, especially, Mason wanted to give her bright-eyed daughter a wonderful Christmas.
But a grueling chemotherapy session Dec. 8 left Mason too sick and too weak to unload the presents from her Dodge Daytona, which was parked outside her townhouse on Green Cedar Lane.
She lurched through her front door, vomiting and exhausted from the treatment, and fell asleep.
When she woke from the nap, her car was gone. So were the gifts and the $500 she put aside to pay December's rent.
The woman who had spent much of her life helping the less fortunate - she once ran a homeless shelter in Norfolk and even postponed her wedding seven years ago to cook Thanksgiving turkeys for 300 people - was herself suddenly facing eviction.
Two weeks ago, she and her husband broke up. She says her failing health was to blame, and she hasn't seen him since.
Mason has no family, other than Danielle.
No money. No presents. No Christmas tree. No hope for Christmas. And no heart to tell Danielle.
But Christmas was about to come unexpectedly.
Detectives Macioce and Thomson gathered donations of toys, clothes, food, money and a Christmas tree. Secretaries wrapped the presents, and another detective dressed as Santa.
Friday morning, an entourage of about eight officers drove to Mason's townhome to surprise her and Danielle.
``Hi, Santa!'' Danielle squealed as a rotund man in a red suit climbed from a police car's passenger seat. ``Would you like to come inside?''
Danielle led Santa by the hand into her home while police officers followed with armfuls of wrapped packages. The owner of Tim's Christmas Tree Farm in Pungo erected a stately spruce in a living room adorned with gold-framed pictures of Danielle and Jesus.
Danielle greeted Santa Claus like an expected guest.
But Santa's visit wasn't received as calmly by Danielle's mother, who was stunned at the unexpected outpouring of charity. Mason clutched her chest and sobbed. She is far more used to giving than receiving, she said.
``I have never been so grateful in all of my life,'' she said, hugging Santa and each police officer. ``I don't know how I am ever going to thank you.''
Although Macioce found the stolen car two days later in a mall parking lot and returned it to her, it was empty. The thief hasn't been caught.
``It was the time of year and the circumstances'' that touched the detectives, Macioce said. ``All the presents were taken, and she has no family to replace them. For so long, she has helped those less fortunate, and now the shoe is on the other foot. She needs help, too.''
Mason and her husband raised Danielle in a household where charity was practiced regularly.
``I've taught her to love and care for people that seem unlovable,'' Mason said.
She led by example.
Mason, an Army veteran, moved to Virginia Beach to pursue charity work. She worked for CBN, and once owned an antique-refinishing business. She ran a homeless shelter and threw parties for children in Norfolk's Park Place section.
She spent most of her free time helping the homeless and poor through charities like Operation Blessing until cancer slowed her efforts.
This is her third battle with the disease. She's endured more than 20 surgeries and is now undergoing chemotherapy.
She said tearfully that this could be her last Christmas. And, after losing everything, it would have been a miserable one, she said.
Macioce and Thomson gathered donated toys from catalog company Lillian Vernon, and other detectives bought more. As word spread through the department, police officers and secretaries donated food, clothes and money, and they gathered more donations from businesses.
The Fraternal Order of Police gave $200, and Business Communications Systems of Tidewater gave $250. Fire Department spokesman Mike Wade installed two new smoke detectors in the home to keep the mother and daughter safe.
``I can't imagine being more blessed, that would be impossible,'' Mason said. ``And Monday is my birthday. I couldn't wish for a better present than gifts for my daughter.''
Police still want to catch the person who stole Mason's car and gifts. If anyone has information, please call 427-0000. Callers don't have to give their names, and could receive a reward. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
STEVE EARLEY
The Virginian-Pilot photos
Danielle Mason, 5, welcomes Santa. He arrived with presents to
replace ones that had been stolen from her mother's car.
Patti Mason mugs Virginia Beach detective John Macioce, who arranged
for the donations of gifts. Mason had been resting after a
chemotherapy treatment, when her car, filled with gifts for
Danielle, was stolen.
[For a copy of the INFOLINE box, see microfilm.]
by CNB