Sunday, August 31, 2008

Sleazy "Help the vets?" scam in front of Walmart.

I had to drop into Walmart about 30 minutes ago for a few items. At both doors were two men, each about 50 - one white, one black - running a "Help the vets?" scam. How do I know? Walmart is constantly allowing scam artists - who travel around the country in crews in large vans - to beg at their front doors. NEVER does Walmart appear to check these people out. These two pieces of human garbage each had a little TV dinner type stand; a folding chair; a semi-lunate, cheap piece of red, white and blue dime store, paper bunting on the table, an old institutional pickle jar for donations; and a bogus placard taped to the jar claiming that they represent some noble cause for veterans. Pure, 100%, unadulterated fraud! The white guy looks like he just stepped off of a used car lot. Long, slicked back, greasy looking silver-gray hair. Appears perfectly healthy - or as healthy as old, dissolute, smoking, boozers his age usually look. Now get this: they are both playing dress-up GI. They are wearing some cheap, unauthentic, desert cammie knockoffs from either a catalogue or a very cheesy Army-Navy store. What is hysterical is that the cammie pants are not only brand new, but they've never been worn or washed before. You can still see all of the original folds where they just took them out of the plastic bags and donned them this weekend. On top of that, they are both wearing brand new, gingerbread brown tee-shirts that are clearly cheap, off-color imitations of the real thing. But the piece de resistance has to be the cammie hat that the black guy is wearing. It is made of the same bogus matrerial as the pants. But here's the funny part: it bears no resemblance to any soft cover ever worn by any U.S. armed forces. It's a damned children's beannie, a la "The Beaver." I know that many of our St. Marys cops are veterans. I wish one or two would swoop down on those varmits and charge 'em with bunko.

Oh, yeah. They've also bought some really cheap black work boots they're trying to pass off as combat boots. Desert combat boots are not black, dumbasses!

7 comments:

Pollyanna said...

A few years ago there were some guys dressed as fire fighters collecting donations. I wrote a check for $25.00 payable to the St. Marys Fire Department and dropped it in their container. After several months the check never cleared my bank. I called the St. Marys FD several times and no one could ever give me any information on the check or if they really were fire fighters taking up the donations. I finally figured out that it was a scam and they probably just trashed my check because they would not be able to cash it. I am very careful who I make donations to. Since that time, I have made it a rule to only donate to local charities that I am familar with.

Anonymous said...

I saw those two guys and they were a joke. The uniforms were exactly like you described. Someone should go kick their ass. I am going to ride up there in a minute and question them. I am bringing my video camera. I served and I guarantee you neither one of those pieces of shit did.

Jay Moreno said...

My thoughts exactly!

Why does Walmart tolerate that kind of crap?

Anonymous said...

Well I fell for it and gave some cash. there was only one black guy there when I came out of the store.

Anonymous said...

They are in front of K Mart, too.

Jay Moreno said...

Yeah, these are crews of homeless men that are picked up and carried from town to town in large passenger vans. I've seen the van pick them up during previous visits running different scams. Thye typically work them for 12 to 16 hours.

Anonymous said...

Jay, why don't you notify the local police dept next time if you feel that they are a scam. I am not sure what they can do, but they might be able to do something.
I am not in any way implying that I think they are real since I am not there and haven't seen them. Just that is it looks like a scam complain to the local PD and maybe something will be done.