Police: Elderly woman tricked car dealers

ELGIN, Ill., March 24 (UPI) -- Police in Elgin, Ill., say a 75-year-old woman conned a car dealer out of a new luxury vehicle, the Courier News reported Wednesday.

Ketty A. Gooch apparently disarmed otherwise alert merchants with her white hair and slow hobble.

"We were completely hoodwinked by that," said Kathryn Lafferty, a business manager at an Elgin car dealership where Gooch allegedly bought a $33,000 Chrysler Town and Country with a check that bounced.

Gooch, 75, was arrested last month at another Elgin dealership where police said she passed a bad check for $36,000.

In that case, the Cook County state's attorney's office charged her with felony theft, and she was released on a personal recognizance bond.

An Elgin police investigation revealed 14 possible victims throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, Elgin police Lt. Mike Turner said. However, Gooch has been charged in only two cases.

Gooch, who has not been convicted of any offense, is to appear in a McHenry County Court April 19 on a charge of felony deceptive practice.