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Irish Travelers' Scams
For about a century Bunco and Fraud Detectives have tried to keep up with traveling con
artists they called the "Irish Travelers." Some time in the early 1980's it became
politically incorrect for law enforcement to use the term "Irish Travelers" or
"Irish Gypsies" for the home repair scammers.
Jesus: "you can steal"
The home improvement scammers and crooks who have been called "The
Irish Travelers" for more than 100 years in the U.S. say they have a
mandate from God and Jesus that lets them scam and rip-off people and
it is not a sin.
Here is how the story goes as explained to me by the King of the
Gypsies who are called the Irish Travelers.
The Irish Travelers say their ancestors were Gypsies at the time Jesus
was in the Middle East. When Jesus was crucified by the Roman Soldiers
on the cross, the Gypsies say their ancestors were there and they stole
one of the spikes from the soldiers and that is why the soldiers could
not nail-in the last spike in Jesus' neck. This way he could still
talk to his followers from the cross. The Gypsies say it is a story in
the Bible that one Gypsy grabbed the spike and ran off. They say
because of this act God and Jesus gave the Gypsies the right to steal
from then on and it would not be a sin. Bible Scholars tell me they
have never found this story in the Bible.
So when the Irish Travelers rip you off on a home repair they say they are doing it with the
permission of God and Jesus.
The Irish Travelers lived in clans
and traveled the South, Midwest and West parts of the USA. Many detectives still
use the terms but not officially, and certainly not in reports to the news media.
Who are the Irish Travelers?
There are several clans of the so-called Irish Travelers in the U.S. Experts estimate
there are 12,000 to 20,000 Irish Travelers here in the U.S. Home base for these nomadic
con artists clans is in Texas and South Carolina. The Irish Travelers first came to this
country from England and Ireland about 100 years ago. They lived in immigrant clans and
traveled across the country doing seasonal work. Quickly the clans, that kept to
themselves, became known for their scams and rip offs.
They make a good living moving around the country ripping off residents on home
repairs and retail crimes. If there is a home repair scam they know it or they
invented it. The women are known for the skills of shoplifting and scamming
merchants out of cash and merchandise. The women take their children with them
to use as decoys and teach them scams and cons. (See Fixer-up Scammers Sweep into
Town, and Kids Deposit Scam, both stories are on my Scam Alert Page.)
CBS's 60 Minutes and CBS News Magazine 48-Hours both have done investigative TV reports on
the Irish Travelers. 60 Minutes showed a major complex of large homes where a couple of dozen
families lived in South Carolina. The Irish Travelers' society is completely closed to the
outside world. NBC News reported that in some clans marriages were arraigned for girls as young
as 11-years of age to men in their 40's. Young teenage boys work with their fathers and uncles
on home repair scams across the country. There con artist's abilities are handed down from
generation to generation. Some clans have extremely modern homes while others live in new
trailer homes. In South Carolina clans live in a gated type community. When they hit the
road each Spring to conduct their scam business they drive new expensive crew-cab trucks, and
SUV's and most all are white. Many times they pull expensive mobile homes behind the trucks.
They normally will work a residential area and then leave within a few weeks so that they do not
come in contact with law enforcement. Many of the men and women of the Irish Travelers have
criminal records, but mostly for misdemeanors.
The 25-year-old woman who was videoed taped in an Indiana parking lot beating her
daughter in a "white" SUV is Madelyn Gorman Toogood, who says she is a member of the
Irish Travelers and was born into the clan. She was arraigned September 23, 2002 on
felony battery to a child, her 4-year-old daughter Martha. The videotape of the beating
has been shown on all the TV network newscasts. Radio talk shows are filled with people
who express shock at the force used in the beating and the alleged punching the little girl
in the head.
Ms. Toogood, who is wanted out of Texas and has a criminal record let the judge enter a
"not guilty" plea for her, however she told the news reporters that she did do it out of
anger because the store would not give her a cash refund. She said that she is a good mother.
Ms Toogood has two other sons. Her sister-in-law has also been charged with child abuse since
she was there and did not try to stop the beating or call police.
Police say Ms. Toogood has a record for minor theft and she had five different state
identification cards from five different states. Police say that after she found out
that she was wanted by police, she fled to two other states and dyed her hair another color.
For several days she refused to tell police where she was hiding little Martha.
There was a countrywide search for the woman and little girl, who authorities feared
needed medical treatment. After her attorney made arrangements with police Ms. Toogood
turned herself and her daughter Martha into police. Medical officials have reported little
Martha did not suffer any major injuries.
The reason the security camera at the Indiana department store was watching Ms. Toogood as she
shopped was because security officers suspected her and her sister-in-law were involved in
some time of scam or crime when they came into the store to return two pair of jeans for cash.
Ms. Toogood had been charged with theft in that same store several months earlier. Ms. Toogood
reportedly told police that the store was treating them unfairly because they were members of the
Irish Travelers. Ms. Toogood who was released on $5,000 bond said she and her husband lived
in Indiana, but her SUV has Texas plates.
Ms. Toogood's attorney is reported to be trying to work out a deal where she can get her
daughter back and serve community service. Little Martha is now with a foster family until
the Family Court Judge makes a ruling.
Indiana Child Welfare and the Juvenile Court will now get an unusual look into the life of the
children of the Irish Travelers' Clan and how they learn a con artists' trade. It is reported
that most of the children do not continue in school past the eighth or ninth grades.
Filed September 23, 2002
Note: Judd McIlvain has investigated and reported on TV about many home repair scams
allegedly committed by the Irish Travelers the past 30 years.
Related stories: The Fixer-Up Scammers Sweep into Town, and Kids Deposit Scam, both
on the Scam Alert Page. |
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