Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

MAN BUSTED IN LITTLE SILVER I.D. SCAM

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI just_in1

An Asbury Park man was arrested in Little Silver Tuesday for allegedly bilking strangers over the course of a year by impersonating a local pizza owner.

James Harrington, 45, was caught near the Little Silver Post Office shortly after scamming a woman, Sgt. Daniel Shaffery said.

The scheme Harrington is accused of was simple: he would approach a person and say he was the owner of Luigi’s Pizza in Little Silver, had locked himself out of his car and needed money for a cab or locksmith. Harrington is alleged to have pulled the scam in towns other than Little Silver, Shaffery said.

As part of the scam, Harrington would tell people his name was Jim Russo, Schaffery said. Luigi’s is owned by Al Patel, who has not been a happy man the last year.

“This has been going on for 11 months, 12 months. It’s just crazy,” Patel told redbankgreen. “It’s too bad that they couldn’t catch him earlier.”

Patel said at least once a week for the last year he would have people come into his restaurant asking for repayment of the money they loaned, and Patel would quickly have to tell them they’ve been deceived and should file a police report.

Shaffery said the department has received a large number of complaints from victims, but because an investigation into other crimes Harrington’s suspected of committing is ongoing, could not give a specific number.

Patel, who has operated Luigi’s for 10 years, said his reputation has fortunately remained intact as the scheme has been played out through the year.

“Most people that gave him money, they felt sorry for this guy, and they know it was not the owner of Luigi’s, because the owner of Luigi’s is not going to go around asking for money,” Patel said. “For him, it’s not right to use somebody else’s name. He took advantage of good-hearted people.”

Shaffery said Harrington would conduct the scheme in towns throughout the region, but not Little Silver. On Sunday, Harrington was arrested in Allenhurst for the same crime, Shaffery said.

Since the crimes were not committed in Little Silver, Shaffery said there was not much the department could do to try and catch Harrington. That was until today, Shaffery said, when Harrington is alleged to have approached a woman outside the Sovereign Bank to ask for cab money. Realizing she may have been fleeced, the woman called the police, who spotted Harrington near the post office and arrested him for theft by deception.

Harrington was then transferred to Ocean Township, where a warrant for his arrest was outstanding. He was not able to post bail, and is currently at the Monmouth County jail in Freehold, Shaffery said.

Now that Harrington has been arrested, Patel is feeling relief that the people walking into his restaurant will be handing money over the counter for pizza, not asking for money.

“I’m happy he got caught,” Patel said. “I hope he goes behind bars for this, to teach him a lesson.”

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...
WHAT? NO redbankgreen NEWSLETTER?
Apologies to redbankgreen newsletter subscribers: the daily email hasn’t gone out for two days because of technical issues.
RED BANK: TIRED OF SKEETERS?
RED BANK: Tired of mosquito bites every summer? Monmouth County has a free program to help eliminate skeeter breeding grounds.