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'Bill Collector' Wasn't So, Report Says

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By LISA A. DAVIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

PORT RICHEY - Still weeks away from Halloween, some residents of Regency Palms apartments had a man in a costume knocking on doors Sunday with his hand out, only it wasn't candy he was craving.

Clad in a red Bright House Networks polo shirt with a 7-year-old boy in tow, a man went from apartment to apartment at the complex, set between San Miguel Drive and Embassy Boulevard, trying to collect on past-due bills.

If they didn't pay up in cash, he told residents, their cable television service would be shut off immediately.

Some paid; some didn't. And one who didn't called Pasco County sheriff's deputies.

On Wednesday, Edward Contino III of 9310 Valleyview Lane turned himself in at Land O' Lakes Jail to face a felony charge of scheming to defraud. He was released Thursday morning after posting $5,000 bail.

He couldn't be reached for comment later Thursday.

He told a deputy he did it because he needed money to feed his children, sheriff's office reports state.

When Contino arrived at Regency Palms to visit a friend Sunday about 10 a.m., a report states, a stranger approached him, asking whether he wanted to make some money. The stranger then told Contino who in the complex had Bright House and gave him the company shirt, the report states. After he collected the money, he was to give the stranger $20, he told the deputy. Contino, however, couldn't provide authorities with a name or description of this man.
Contino collected $105 from cable customers, reports state.

One of the victims was a single mother who has multiple sclerosis and cried, saying she couldn't afford to pay the $40 to avoid shut-off. She later told a deputy the cable-man impersonator was so insistent that she pay, she called her daughter and borrowed the money.

When another customer said he only had $25, Contino, according to the report, made a phone call and said that amount would be acceptable to avoid service interruption.

But when he knocked on a third customer's door, a $50 credit she had became his downfall. Contino made a phone call from there, too, and then apologized to the customer, telling her he had the wrong apartment, a report states. She didn't buy his excuse and called authorities.

When the deputy arrived, saw Contino and tried to confirm that he was an employee of Bright House, Contino pointed to a nearby Bright House van and said his partner was on the other side of the complex, and he would get him, the report states. Instead, Contino drove away in his girlfriend's white Hummer, according to the report. The deputy was left holding Contino's driver's license.

Shortly after, the deputy learned Contino didn't live at the address listed on his license but lived at Park Place Apartments, about two miles west of Regency Palms, off of Embassy Boulevard near U.S. 19. The deputy eventually talked to Contino by cell phone and arranged for him to turn himself in to face charges.

It's not known who owns the Bright House shirt.

Joe Durkin, spokesman for Bright House Networks in St. Petersburg, said Thursday that customers should be cautious any time someone they don't know shows up at their home. 'Bright House would not come to your house and demand payments in cash,' he said. 'The customer who called police did the right thing.'

Durkin offers this advice: 'We would encourage people, if you don't recognize someone at the door, or are not expecting anyone, then don't open the door.'

Even if the caller is wearing a uniform, he added.

Amber Dyer, assistant manager of Regency Palms, said its residents have been alerted about the situation. She pointed out that two Pasco County deputies live on the property and do routine community patrols.

'We try to keep our residents safe,' she said.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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