During their efforts to identify a con artist, the man Largo police dubbed "Plasma Pat" called detectives to say he's scammed thousands of people.
But now police say they know Pat's real name: Joseph Wesley Torma.
Largo detectives believe 60-year-old "Plasma Pat" victimized about a dozen people in the Tampa Bay area by offering to buy TVs and other major purchases by using a Wal-Mart employee discount he claimed to have.
The victim would give Torma cash and wait while he went into the store to make the purchase, but Torma would instead leave the store from a different exit and disappear with the money, police say.
Detective Brendan Arlington said Torma actually called department and spoke to him several times. He identified himself as "Plasma Pat" and estimated he scammed 30,000 people the same way. Police said Torma bragged that most of his victims will never report the crime because they're embarrassed that they were conned.
While detectives say they have no way of knowing for sure, they think he's used the same scam at least a dozen times in Florida, and at least three time in Pinellas County. A Largo victim lost $300 in February when he succumbed to the scam.
Authorities think Torma has left Florida, but hope he will soon be caught now that they have identified him.
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