Community Update

While at the St. Anselm's festival carnival Sunday, I had observed a 13 year-old, 7th grade student, nicknamed Bebe, at the carnival “Tubs” game where you have to throw two balls in a tub to win the big prize.

I watched as the game operator (from Maple Leaf Amusement), a W/M, 5’10” 140lbs, Age approx. 40, tattoos on both arms, faking like he was showing Bebe how to win.

The carny threw two balls in the tub one at a time pretending to show the girl how easy it was to win. He then took money from her and pulled THREE balls out of the same tub, trying to secretly hide the third ball (known as the deadening ball). It was obvious that the third ball was surreptitiously placed in the tub unseen to deaden the ball tossed by the carnie preventing it from bouncing out for the demonstration con job.

I then observed Bebe toss both balls one at a time and both went in and bounced out due to the lack of the presence of the deadening ball, gravity, and inertia.

Being familiar with the rigging/cheating of that particular game, I properly identified myself and spoke to Bebe to let her know she had been cheated. Bebe than stated she had been playing the game since the carnival opened, lost $16, and just couldn’t win.

I, along with Retired Detroit PD Sergeant David Malhalab, informed her that she was the victim of a crime and that we would assist in getting her $16 back in addition to seeking police action for larceny by trick.

When phoning the Dearborn Heights Police, the dispatcher stated that the Sergeant-in-Charge told her that he would not be sending an officer to make an incident report; which obviously meant I would have to go to the Dearborn Heights police station to report the details of the crime.

David Malhalab had also tried to reach someone in the Detective Bureau several times. No response.

While starting to write ID and details and explaining the situation to an adult friend of the family, a person saying she was the school principal arrived and obviously did not want to make any trouble for the festival/carnival. She proceeded to talk Bebe into forgetting about her loss; stating “Bebe’s loss is the schools gain.” She didn’t attempt to consult with Bebe’s parents to see how they would want the issued resolved for their daughter.

Instead of thanking me for trying (in vain) to get the police involved, she was only intent on spinning an insinuation of me being a possible child predator just because I had started jotting down Bebe’s information for a police report (in the presence of 5 witnesses). After catching a crook red-handed, I will admit that her twisted remarks and over-dramatizing made me angry.



After hearing such ignorance from a school principal, I said: “If you think the school would get even one cent of the $16 cash taken from Bebe, you would be dreaming.”

Pastor Father Maloney, an old hockey-playing friend of mine, was supposedly not available to take charge upon my request.

When it comes to a crime against her student, the principal’s eagerness to protect the carnival at Bebe’s expense is typical of ignorance about carnival game enforcement and poor judgment. In addition to stealing $16 from Bebe, the swindler also cheated Bebe’s 11-year old cousin out of about $15 (and countless others at that 3-day carnival.)

The children were expecting protection from adults/police and got none. The festival expected to get part of the loot from the game scammers and likely also got none.

The principal’s lesson of the day was: “Crime pays and conmen preying on children are okay if it is for a good cause.”

What sickens me and always has is the thought of an adult serial scam artist ripping off a child and getting away with it because of people like the St. Anselms principal with her expectations of more hassle-free dollars and worse, local police in some kind of denial or political bind; both protecting known itinerant criminals operating in plain view. I wasn’t about to let this slide.

Shame on the principal; and shame on the Dearborn Heights police for refusing to respond to a witnessed crime in progress and perhaps identify/stop/arrest a serial perpetrator for victimizing innocent children.

The dubious mission here appears to be to prevent any negative accounts of the festival/carnival at all costs: “If it not documented, it didn’t happen.”

I did not take any pictures during that visit and the perpetrator had yet to be identified.

Well, the incident needed to be documented. So, I responded back to get the principal’s name: Kate Bridges and a picture of the perpetrator.

Ms. Bridges continued to throw her weight around and ordered me to leave the property for absolutely no reason. It is not her property and I believe Maple Leaf Amusement rented the property anyway; and they didn’t know I was there.

I had decided to check out one of the 28 illegal “Clown Town” rigged gambling slot machines on the midway when three unidentified thugs ordered me to leave again or they would have me cuffed and arrested. Since they were unable to provide a legitimate reason to evict me, I insisted on waiting for police, even though I had already gotten what I came for and had no reason to stay.

After continued verbal abuse from the three large bouncers, a hostile Heights sergeant and an open minded corporal arrived as I was waiting for them in my car for 15 minutes. A third officer had also responded.

The sergeant stated he knew of me, then sided 100% with Ms. Bridges. He wanted to see the pictures I took. I showed him every one. After taking my ID, I asked him to secure the name of the carny in question for the bizarre belated investigation; as I showed him a picture of the perpetrator.

The sergeant didn’t care about anything I stated and it was unlikely he cared to identify the carny. Whatever Ms. Bridges trumped up about me was gospel to him.

I was wondering where all the Dearborn Heights police were when we called them for an in-progress crime a few hours before.

I can’t wait to see how the Dearborn Heights police are going to write this mess up.

If it weren’t for the Heights dispatcher’s and the Heights Desk Sergeant’s refusals to send a patrol car in the first place, this ugly emotional can of worms would never have happened and Bebe and her cousin would have gotten their money back. Additionally, if a neutral police officer would have responded, the scammer would have likely been cited for larceny by trick

If anyone is interested, this is my version of the two incidents.

To learn more about the common carnival games ripping kids off in Wayne County and the U.S. (with impunity) please Google: “Rossen Reports: Are Carnival Games Cheating You and your kids?” (NBC Today show), “Tricks of the Trade, Spencer Margittay,” and “U.S. Troops Cheated out of Money at Carnival Game” (CBS News). There are countless more exposures of the scams in the news. Unfortunately the media can't make arrests and the police wont because of money and politics. Also making news each year are the child sex predators working on carnival lots.

Richard Margittay, Ret. Dearborn police officer, trained in carnival game law enforcement and author of "Carnival Games: $10,000,000,000 Hoodwink Racket, Organized Crime on American Midways.”