LONG ISLAND - WABC -- A man was arrested Tuesday in a plot to scam people out of money they thought they were donating to the needy.
Police say he impersonated a church fundraiser to collect donations and pay for his drug habit.
Long Island reporter Emily Smith has more.
Police say John Corbett worked as a Catholic youth basketball coach and used his inside information on the church to target and take advantage of hard-working Long Island business owners.
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This crackhead came into my family's business and placed a $995 order for the coming weekend, which we were happy about because we could use the business. My mom wearily gave him $30 after he'd asked for a $50 donation. He said he'd return by 2 pm with a check cut from "the Father" and we never saw him again. Then we find out the pizza place near us got scammed by the same dude, but they offered him a check and he just left.
What's insane is how he sat down and placed an order with us for about 15-20 minutes. Then he spent about half an hour at the pizza place going through myriad catering options.