THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200395
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Investigators say they are now suspicious of a woman's claim that a thief stole her car filled with Christmas presents for her daughter - a claim that led to an outpouring of charity from the police and the public.
Police said Patti Mason's story of holiday hardship, which prompted hundreds of people to pledge or donate thousands of dollars, appears embellished.
``I don't think we will ever know the situation because I believe she is being less than truthful with us,'' Sgt. Pat Gough said.
Gough said calls to the detective bureau Monday and Tuesday cast doubts on Mason's story.
Mason, contacted at home on Tuesday, denied the allegations.
``I don't know why someone would be so vindictive or cruel to say those things about me,'' she said.
Mason's hard-luck account of her misfortunes - including bouts with cancer, crime and marital troubles - was told publicly in the newspaper Saturday and on all three local television stations Friday. Now, police said they don't know how much to believe.
She told police and reporters her car contained more than $400 of clothes and toys bought for her 5-year-old daughter, Danielle, and $500 cash for December's rent payment, when it was stolen outside her home Dec. 8.
Mason told police she left the car unlocked and left the keys in her townhome's front door. She said she was too weak from a chemotherapy session to remove the gifts or cash. Mason later found the car abandoned in a mall parking lot.
After checking some of the phone tips, police began to grow suspicious for several reasons:
Mason has told conflicting accounts of how her eye was blackened, police said. She told police and reporters she was fending off another car thief Friday when he hit her, but she told someone else she fell down stairs, according to authorities. Gough said detectives looking into the assault believe ``she isn't cooperating fully'' with that part of the investigation.
Mason, however, denied telling anyone she fell down stairs.
Mason's husband reported her car stolen last summer, but when police caught the person who took it, Patti Mason refused to press charges, police said. But Mason said it was the police who refused to press charges, against her wishes.
On Monday, she told police her husband returned and assaulted her, but when a detective went to investigate, Mason refused to press charges because she wants her husband to return to the family, she said.
The toys she said were stolen may have never left the store, police said. Instead, investigators were told she asked for a refund of the money she paid into a layaway account, and used that cash to settle other debts. But Mason said she asked the store to return some cash accrued for Danielle's birthday toys and used the money to buy Christmas toys instead.
She has a long history of writing bad checks and not paying bills, according to Norfolk General District Court records. Many of the judgments against her were for medical bills.
Mason said she was forced to declare bankruptcy several years ago.
John Macioce, the auto-squad detective who investigated the car theft, spearheaded the Christmas charity drive for Mason and her daughter. Most of the initial money and presents donated came from police officers and businesses they contacted. Macioce said he investigated Patti and David Mason's background before gathering the gifts, and found no criminal records. He said Tuesday he was surprised and hurt when the allegations surfaced about Patti Mason.
Police said they plan to investigate the case further.
Only a few hundred dollars in donations got to Patti Mason, and police are holding onto other donations that poured in after the extensive publicity.
Gough, the sergeant, said that money will be put into a trust fund for Danielle.
``Danielle is the reason we did all this in the first place,'' Gough said. ``We gave from our hearts. We hope something good can come out of this.''
KEYWORDS: CHARITY SCAM by CNB