Staff Report

Ted W. Connors

WARSAW – A Warsaw man was recently arrested on two cases after allegedly stealing money from individuals as part of a mail scam.

Ted W. Connors, 60, 109 N. Washington St. Apartment D., Warsaw, is charged with two counts of theft where the value of property is between $750 and $50,000, both level 6 felonies; possession of paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor.

On Oct. 14, a Warsaw detective was provided a report from a South Dakota police department about a theft.

According to court documents, on Sept. 16, a woman in South Dakota said she was told about a man on Facebook who gave $200,000 grants. The woman messaged the individual, who said he would send her a package through the mail containing $200,000. Through the course of these messages, the woman never received a package and was told the delivery truck was involved in an accident.

She was then told to send money orders to Connors in Warsaw for release of her package. The Warsaw detective was provided with pictures of two $1,000 receipts for postal money orders that were sent on Aug. 1 from the woman to Connors. An additional $19,000 was sent by the woman to an individual in North Carolina.

In an interview on Oct. 21, Connors told police he obtained the $2,000 but no longer had the money. Connors said he stopped and promised there wouldn’t be any other issues.

On Oct. 23, a Warsaw detective received information from a postal inspector in Fort Wayne regarding a package being overnighted from Iowa. The package was set to be delivered to Connors on that date.

A woman said she sent $1,500 in cash to Connors, believing she was receiving a $100,000 grant if she sent Connors money.

Detectives went to speak with Connors again on Oct. 24 regarding the package from Iowa. While at Connors’ residence, officers noticed a marijuana pipe in plain view and located marijuana upon searching his residence.

Connors told police he was notified about receiving $1,500 on Oct. 22. He alleged that “everything started quite a few years ago” when an individual contacted him needing money for a way home. Over the course of several years, Connors sent money to the individual, including money that belonged to other people.

When asked how often he sent money belonging to other people, Connors said he lost count but that each time was in the amount of about $1,000.

He also said he was given marijuana by “good friends” who traveled out-of-state to obtain it.

Connors has initial hearings for both of these cases at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in Kosciusko Superior Court Three.