By Julie Manganis
SALEM — A man who spent 28 days in jail earlier this year after scamming cabbies and a pizza delivery driver is back behind bars, this time after conning an elderly man into giving him his debit card number, police say.
Louis Siriani III, 40, had already earned the nickname "The Benji Bandit" from area cabbies, after a scheme in which he'd claim to need change for a $100 bill his grandmother was going to give him to pay for his ride or pizza, then disappear with that change. "Benji" is street slang for a $100 bill.
Now he's facing identity fraud, credit card fraud and larceny charges, including a count of larceny from a person over 65.
It was one of those irate cabbies who helped lead police to Siriani's latest victim, a 71-year-old Highland Avenue man who is Siriani's former neighbor, according to Salem police Lt. Conrad Prosniewski.
The owner of Salem Taxi, Jason Bottari, showed up at the police station Sunday morning to report that Siriani had tried to pull a credit card scam on one of his drivers. Bottari told police that someone called the cab company Friday night claiming to be the father of a man stranded at a gas station who needed a ride to East Boston.
The "father" — police believe it was Siriani — told a dispatcher that he would pay the man's $35 fare and a $20 tip with a credit card. When the driver showed up, Siriani allegedly said he no longer needed a ride and asked the driver to give him cash from the credit card transaction.
The suspicious driver called his dispatcher, who suspected it was Siriani.
Then police learned of a similar scheme the following night, involving Tri-City Taxi.
Police tracked down Siriani, who claimed he'd been given permission to use the debit card by its owner.
But when police spoke with that man, they learned that Siriani owed the older man money. When the man asked Siriani to repay him, Sirani asked for his debit card number so he could deposit it directly into the man's bank account.
Instead, Siriani allegedly began using the card number — not only to try to squeeze money from the cab companies, but to make two Western Union wire transfers totaling more than $600. In total, he'd taken $713, police say.
Defense lawyer John Morris questioned the allegations, pointing to alternating references in the police report to a credit card and a debit card. (The card, issued by TD Banknorth, is both, Prosniewski said.)
Morris also noted that Siriani hadn't yet picked up the wire transfer funds before his arrest.
Prosniewski asked Salem District Court Judge Richard Mori to hold Siriani on $1,000 bail on the new charges, while a probation officer recommended that Siriani be held without bail at Middleton Jail until a hearing to determine whether he violated his probation by committing the new crimes. If so, he could be put in jail for up to a year.
Mori granted both requests, noting the probation officer's report that Siriani had not been a model probationer since being released from jail last spring. He'd recently missed four appointments with his probation officer and had only started reporting again last week.
Prosniewski said police now want to know if there are other victims of Siriani.
Siriani will be back in court on Oct. 19.
