“A dirty con man with an appetite for fraud,” reports the New York Post, “is cleaning up at the expense of Manhattan restaurant owners -- and federal agents want to serve him his just deserts.”
Admittedly, it’s a pretty clever scam. The bunko artist, who operates under the assumed name of James Maffia, sent a letter to the Upper East Side restaurant Sistina claiming that a waiter had spilled coffee on him during a meal there and that he was now asking the restaurant to cover his cleaning bill of $38.50. On its face the demand seems reasonable, since “Maffia” was not seeking damages related to medical costs.
Or so is the case until you learn that the same letter was sent to several dozen restaurants along with a copy of the same itemized bill for dry-cleaning costs for a suit, silk shirt, and silk tie.
Authorities looking into the scam discovered that the mailing address is for a rented post office box at a UPS store. Postal inspectors are now investigating.
In the meantime, it is unclear how much money the scam generated.
The Post notes that so far the New York State Restaurant Association has not been contacted by restaurants claiming they were scammed, though that situation is subject to change.
Giuseppe Bruno, who owns Sistina, insists he found out about the scam after mailing out a check to Maffia only to learn later that his brother, who runs the restaurant Carvaggio nearby, had received the same letter.
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