Friday, April 27, 2001

I heard about the "CATE" guys while trying to help a senior citizen check out the legitimacy of a "Medicare representative" who announced he would be out -- uninvited, of course -- to see her the following day.

CATE stands for "Crimes Against the Elderly." It's also the name of a 90-minute program Pittsburgh burglary squad Detectives Dave Jellison and Mike Pilyih present to seniors at various locations throughout the city.

I caught up with Jellison on the phone yesterday at their office in East Liberty.

Jellison and Pilyih teach the elderly to always be alert to anyone who wants to enter their homes, share "found" money, bring a Social Security check to their door or ask their help to catch "a crooked bank employee."

What once was a seasonal influx of crooks posing as cable, electric, gas or phone company employees has become a year-round problem, Jellison said.

"These impostors are very good, right down to the type of clothing and shoes they wear, the kind of laminated ID badge they have and the cell phones and pagers they use," he said.

Someone, usually in their 80s, gets stung about once a week, he said. For every victim who calls police, five others tell no one for fear of being criticized or of being told they no longer can live alone.

"Some victims blame themselves for what happened," Jellison said. "It can change their outlook on life, cause them to withdraw or trigger an abrupt change in their personality. If that happens, family members should try to find out if the sudden change is due to someone who has cheated them in some fashion.

"These impostors are very hard to catch. We were talking about them one day in the squad room and got to thinking that maybe we could do more for the victims by telling them what to look out for."

Cmdr. Linda Barone, a former burglary detective familiar with crimes against the elderly, helped launch the program and is one of its strongest supporters.

Rather than stand at a podium and talk, Jellison and Pilyih, dressed in clothing worn by the crooks they seek, walk into the audience and ad lib their way in and out of a variety of cons, scams and schemes.

"We show them what it's like to be hustled," Jellison said. "We interact with them. We have various props and we exaggerate a little to make our points. They enjoy the role-playing and assure us it won't happen to them."

But it does -- all too often.

Jellison said the program, which they've been doing about once a month for the past year, has been well received and appears to be working.

"We keep hearing about seniors who have turned away people from their front door who may have been trying to con them," he said. And if they don't leave, seniors should call the police.

For information on the CATE program, call 412-665-3771.

Follow-up

In Wednesday's column about Dorothy Iannone's problems with a waterline in Hazelwood she once shared with Fred Shaw, her late uncle, Iannone said Shaw never showed her the water bills. The Shaw family denied that and faxed me a copy of a $605.66 judgment that District Justice James J. Hanley Jr. entered against Iannone on June 10, 1998, for failing to pay her share of water bills dating back several years.

Prothonotary Michael Lamb said the judgment remains unpaid.

My thanks to Shaw's daughter, Carole Provident, and her son, Chris, for helping to set the record straight.

My thanks also to a retired plumber who called and recommended that Iannone call a plumber, have him or her buy a "basic water meter" at a plumbing supply store and install it. "Then she'll know exactly how much water she's using," he said.

Lawrence Walsh can be reached at 412-263-1895. His e-mail address is lwalsh@post-gazette.com. He responds to all inquiries but, because of the volume of calls and e-mail, cannot respond immediately.

Lawrence Walsh can be reached at 412-263-1895. His e-mail address is lwalsh@post-gazette.com.