Crime & Safety

Alleged Social Security Scammer: Weird Crime News

Also, an alleged burglar dons an elaborate disguise to fool police.

Each week, Patch combs through the more shocking, surprising and often absurd allegedly criminal acts and police-related incidents that unfold around the region. Here’s what went on last week for “OMG PD.”

When you gotta go, you gotta go: An Oaklyn man probably should’ve picked a better place, though, after getting popped for public urination behind the Aldi in Collingswood, police said. Raymond Van Sciver, 54, wasn’t just in hot water for peeing in public, police said—.

Low-rent ninja: An alleged burglar at Cropwell Pharmacy in Marlton got caught on surveillance video after smashing his way into the store with a hammer—but good luck ID'ing him. The unidentified man was one part Mark Mothersbaugh, one part Ryu Hayabusa, dressed in a white Tyvek suit, a dark face wrap and sporting a headlamp.

Find out what's happening in West Deptfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Know when to cut your losses: A man who burst out of a Maple Shade home with an armload of copper pipes—just in time to get caught by the homeowner’s son—still sold the pipes at a scrapyard anyway, police said. Joseph Bordo Jr., 46, was caught within a day, thanks to a description of both his truck and himself, which led to him being identified from information provided at the yard, police said.

A non-starter of an idea: We’re not sure how a Mount Ephraim man thought he might sneak a starter pistol into a courthouse, between x-ray machines and metal detectors, but sheriff’s officers on duty caught him before he got past a security check and charged John P. Flanagan, 53, with multiple weapons offenses. Even more troubling, authorities said Flanagan may have modified the gun to fire more than just blanks, and also had a dagger sitting in his car.

Find out what's happening in West Deptfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He’s just resting: Speaking of things that baffle us, a Pennsauken man admitted in federal court to running a Social Security scam for more than two decades, collecting his dead father’s $977 monthly retirement benefits from 1990 until 2012. Michael Shelton, 65, should’ve reported his father’s death, as required by law, but apparently no one in the Social Security Administration thought to page through the obits. You know, for 22 years.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.