Sebec forgery, theft suspects appear in court
2/23/09 | 16 comments

Sebec forgery, theft suspects appear in court


Pair accused of taking $20,000 from summer visitor’s accounts
By Diana Bowley
BDN Staff

DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — A Sebec couple charged with forgery and theft for allegedly bilking an 82-year-old blind man out of nearly $20,000 made their initial court appearance Monday in 13th District Court.

Elizabeth “Bess” Cutler, 59, and her husband, Herbert Swartz, 76, both said they now were living on Swartz’s monthly Social Security check. Since he considered them indigent, Judge Kevin Stitham granted them court-appointed attorneys. Attorney Randy Day of Garland will represent Cutler. Attorney Chris Smith of Dover-Foxcroft was appointed to represent Swartz.

Another blind man accompanied the pair to court Monday. Cutler and Swartz were joined by their friend Bill Irwin of Sebec, who is known for trekking the entire 2,175-mile length of the Appalachian Trail (mileage according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy). Irwin was joined by his guide dog and an acquaintance.

Police said that Swartz and Cutler allegedly befriended the 82-year-old blind man, who summers in Sebec and winters in Stony Point, N.Y., and took him on errands to the bank and grocery store over the summer. In the fall, the man’s son noticed that his father was spending a lot of money from his bank accounts, some of which had been overdrawn. The theft then was discovered, according to Investigator Guy Dow of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department. Swartz and Cutler allegedly had been spending money from the man’s bank and credit card accounts from July 3 through early December.

Swartz and Cutler allegedly used the stolen money to pay their mortgage, purchase oil and to buy items on eBay, Dow said.

Both have maintained that the blind man had allowed them the use of his accounts.

If convicted, Swartz and Cutler could be sentenced to prison for up to 10 years and fined $10,000 on each of the Class B charges. Since the couple allegedly purchased items from the man’s account over the Internet, federal charges may be pending, Dow said.

dianabdn@myfairpoint.net

876-4579

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Comments
16 comments on this item
On 2/24/09 at 12:32 AM, caeser_of_penobscot wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Ah the criminal case of the people who's mugshots look like autopsy photos hahahaha

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On 2/24/09 at 1:58 AM, Richard28 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

LOL,,,seriously.....are they even alive??

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On 2/24/09 at 4:59 AM, bumpinroad wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I've seen happier faces on iodine bottles....

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On 2/24/09 at 5:56 AM, leroyfwebber wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Do any of you think you would be happy after stealing money from a blind person? Come on now. They don't want the public to see them. That is why their eyes are closed....LOL

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On 2/24/09 at 6:50 AM, OutsideObserver wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The two idiots are trying to get sympathy, trying to look like they're blind themselves.

What does the fact that "another blind man" accompanied the pair to court have to do with anything? :/

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On 2/24/09 at 7:42 AM, caeser_of_penobscot wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I met that blind guy who walked the A-T. I'd hate to see the dead people's case affect him negatively

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On 2/24/09 at 8:44 AM, Hurricanium wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You know what we need to do with these scum bags? We need to stop filling our prisons and start disposing losers like this. We should dump them in Taliban controled villages in northern Pakistan and Afganistan. I think that will take care of these two!

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On 2/24/09 at 8:50 AM, IshouldhavehadaV8 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Can't you "see" their perfectly innocent!!!

Makes you feel as thou you can not trust anyone these days huh?

I think he would have been better off with a seeing eye dog to help him!

Makes the term "A dog is mans best friend" mean alot more!!

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On 2/24/09 at 9:38 AM, AKAlala wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

How did they both end up with mugshots with their eyes closed??? They do look dead!! Kinda creaps me out!!

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On 2/24/09 at 10:08 AM, RevGerald wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Taliban controled villages in northern Pakistan and Afganistan. (Interesting logic there as the Taliban was created by the US CIA....)

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On 2/24/09 at 12:42 PM, Maine62 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

59 andv76 sounds lie a gold digger....only thing she forgot to check is if he had money.

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On 2/24/09 at 4:44 PM, pcme2000 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If these two are found guilty the should spend atleast 10 years in prison for this kind of crime.

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On 2/24/09 at 8:34 PM, USMC1971 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

V8 hits the best points - these days only Dogs can really trusted. Seeing stories like this, makes it difficult to trust anyone you haven't known for many years, even then you have to wonder sometimes.

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On 2/25/09 at 9:51 AM, matt29 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Those mugshots reminded me of the song 'we close our eyes' by Go West

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On 2/25/09 at 9:55 AM, matt29 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

New promotion at Starbucks- they will take a mugshot of you for free- drinking coffee from one of their giant ceramic coffee mugs.

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On 2/25/09 at 10:01 AM, matt29 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This news tidbit just proves that it is possible to rob a blind man blind. If it weren't for the ever vigilant son, they probably would have gotten away with it, because banks don't send out bank statements in braille (or do they?).

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