IT’S A DIRTY JOB: Barnstable officer digs deep to solve caper and recover wallet for older gentleman…
PHOTO: Patrolman Campbell digs through filth to recover elderly man’s wallet…
BARNSTABLE – Would you dig through nasty food waste and rubbish to help recover a stolen wallet? That’s what Barnstable Police Patrolman John Campbell did for an older gentleman last evening…
Last evening, a 73-year-old East Providence man called Barnstable Police to report his wallet missing.
The elderly man had just received a telephone call from his credit card company alerting him of possible fraudulent activity.
The credit card company informed him about several recent transactions in Hyannis. The call came at about the same time he noticed his wallet missing. He told the credit card people he had not made any credit card purchases in Hyannis…
… and so began an investigation which would lead a local police officer into a place he’d rather soon forget.
The victim remembered he last accessed his wallet at the Dunkin Donuts inside the Rte 132/Rte 6 Service Center in Barnstable…
According to a Barnstable Police press statement: “A follow up investigation was conducted by Barnstable Patrolman John Campbell. The credit card fraud victim met with CAMPBELL on 01/05/2017. Besides the victim’s credit cards, the wallet also contained in excess of $250.00 cash and gift cards. The stolen credit cards were used at a convenience store also located in the Rte 132/Rte 6 Service Center. A review of their video system revealed the person presenting the victim’s credit card was in fact an employee of the same coffee shop visited by the victim.
The coffee shop management cooperated with the investigation. CAMPBELL located the credit card fraud suspect at her residence in West Barnstable. She was identified as Meaghan D Muldoon, age 38. MULDOON gave a statement to CAMPBELL telling him the victim left his wallet on the counter. She acknowledged using it at several area stores and made purchases in excess of $250.00 with his credit cards. CAMPBELL was able to locate the victim’s wallet inside a trash dumpster at the Service Center.
MULDOON was arrested and charged with larceny over $250 and three (3) counts of unlawful use of a credit card under $250. She was transported to the Barnstable Police Department, booked, and will be arraigned in Barnstable District Court on Friday 01/06/2017.”
[Press statement and booking photo provided by Lt. John Murphy of the Barnstable Police Department]
