FThursday, September 5, 1974

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

rage inree


Con artist bilks student

1-- :"."i Regents move to control
:.-: .:'I funds of student groups

with re
By GORDON ATCHESON
With a 10-cent telephone call
last March, a cunning young
woman began a con-game that
cost a University fraternity
president more than $3,000, as
she lured him across the coun-
try with tales of high-level gov-
ernment intrigue' and clandes-
tine meetings.
Mike Kubinski, a 21-year-old
senior, fell pray to the glib flim-
flammer on March 24 and nei-
ther friends nor family heard
from him again until 45 days
later when the FBI apprehended
the pair in Arlington, Virginia.
THE STING started when Ku-
binski received a call from con
'artist Barbara Merrella, 27,
who posing as Tasha Lodge--
niece of former U.S. Ambassa-

markable ruse

be able to erase the incident
from my mind . . . not ever,"
he said of the ruse which left
even the police baffled.
"There has been more than
enough attention over the in-
cident," Kubinski said in a slow
steady voice. "I just want to
become a normal person . '
normal in other people's eyes
again."
KUBINSKI IS now making up
the classwork he missed arnd
will officially graduate some-
time this summe.. But the
young man, who was active in
the Campus Crusade for Christ
before his disappearance, has
made no plans for the fall. '
After her Arlington arrest,
Merrella was taken back to the
Colorado penitentiary f r o m

'The lack of a clear-cut motive and the
sheer complexity of Merrella's plan left
the police powerless to crack the scheme.
"We have never seen a con quite like hers
before," said FBI agent James Riley. "She
constantly left us a few steps behind'."
' ""Pr'"r+ ."<:: }: i:S :iissit Efs& N## ;fC~i it {:$ ;:"i s . '

dor Henry Cabot Lodge-claim-
ed she had gotten obscene,
threating letters from another
member of the local Sigma Chi
fraternity chapter.
Merrella, an escaped convict,
then set up a meeting to dis-
cuss the "problem" which be-
cause it supposedly involved
members of the federal govern-
ment had to be kept secret.
Kubinski agreed. But before
the session could take place
Merrella rescheduled the meet-
ing for St. Louis. She and her
victim flew there at his ex-
pense.
IN THIS MANNER, the dumpy
conwoman led the unsuspecting
Kubinski from St. Louis to In-
dianapolis, Cincinnati, Colum-
bus, and finally the Washington
D.C. area. During this six-week
excursion Kubinski footed the
entire bill for food, travel, and
separate hotel accommodations
-a grand total topping $3,000.
Since returning to his Center
Line, Michigan home, Kubinski
has refused to discuss any spe-
cifics concerning the con-game
and has only said he wants the
entire matter forgotten as soon
as possible.
"I'm very happy it's all over
now, but I know that I'll never

which she escaped more than
a year ago. The woman carries
a record of 17 arrests and seven
convictions on various fraud
charges.
Moreover, in the past year,
she bilked a dozen other college
students in much the same way
she conned Kubinski. In each
case, Merrella received only
travel expenses but never any
pure monetary gain.
THE LACK OF a clear-cut
motive and the sheer complexity
of Merrella's plan left the police
virtually powerless to crack the
scheme. "We have never seen a
con quite like hers before," said
FBI agent James Riley. "She
constantly left us a few steps
behind."
Frustratingly, the authorities
were able to follow the route
traveled by Merrella and her
victim but could not catch up
with them or predict where they
might appear next.,
By checking the locations of
purchases put on Kubinski's
credit cards the police easily
traced the two as they moved
eastward to the environs of the
Capitol.
AT AN ARLINGTON hotel,

the manager finally decided to
run a standard check on Ku-
binski's credit card and found
the police had placed a "hold"
on it. He immediately contacted
the local authorities who, aided
by the FBI arrested Merrella
within minutes.
Until the federal agents ex-
nlained the ruse used by the
woman, Kubinski continued to
insist she was Tasha Lodge.
At the time of "his apprehen-
sion, Kubinski was reported in
"good physical condition but
emotionally upset," according to
the police who rescued him.
EVEN NOW, Kubinski has
aparently not cared to learn
many of the details surrounding
the caper..And he has equally
little interest in the woman who
worked that flim-flam almost
to perfection.
"Yo, know I don't know much
about the woman, I don't even
know her real name," Kubinski
said. "I never wanted to make
a big deal about this anyway."
Sneaking of the con artist he
commented, "She was very
brilliant . . . a very remark-
able woman" who could have
victimized "perhaps anyone."
After the student's safe re-'
turn home, the police remained
unable to explain how Merrella
was able to completely hood-,
wink Kubinski.
"IT'S ALMOST impossible to
understand how supposedly in-
telligent people - college stu-
dents-are fooled by as bizzare
a story as the one Merrella
tells," said a local detective
working on the case.
In Kubinski's instance, his
actions were "very much out:
of character" the detective add-
ed, pointing out the student
Iwas well liked and highly re-
spected by his friends.I
Kubinski apparently led a*
relatively calm existence. But
now that he has done something
quite out of the ordinary, he
has no intention of telling the
world about it.
GOING UP
HONG KONG UPI - Mt.
Shisha Pangma, whose 8,012
meters makes it one of the high-1
est peaks in the HimalayaI
Mountains, has risen by about1
3,000 meters since the late Plio-
cene period 65 million years
ago, according to a study by thet
Institute of Botany of the Chi-
nese Academy of Sciences.

By GORDON ATCHESON
Spurred by an on-campus
showing of the pornographic
movie Deep Throat, the Univer-
sity Board of Regents and the
administration began a move
this summer to bring student
film societies under more strict
controls.
The board adopted a proposal
recommended by President
Fleming which states that on-
campus film groups must "exer-
cise mature judgment in offer-
ing" motion pictures to the Uni-
versity community.
AS OF PRESS TIME, the Re-
gents are awaiting another set
of guidelines designed by the
administration to require much
tighter fiscal accounting by the
film organizations to the Uni-
versity.
The entire four-month flap be-j
gan in April when a student or-
ganization called the Bullard
Action Now Group (BANG)
scheduled six screenings of
Deep Throat in the Natural Sci-
ences Auditorium with the full
support of State Representative
Perry Bullard (D-Ann Arbor).
Because of Bullard's involve-
ment, the showings drew nation-
al attention. This angered Flem-
ing who told the Regents that
"the showing of films which
border on or overstep the
bounds of obscenity and por-
nography . . . severely dam-

ages the image of the Univer-
sity."
THE BOARD asked Fleming
to come up with a series of
guidelines which wouldprevent
such occurrences in the future'
and authorized a ban on the
use oftUniversity facilities by
any admission-charging film
group.
The ban .has subsequently
been lifted as it applies to the
five major film societies, but is
still in effect against organiza-
tions such as BANG that do not
regularly show motion pictures.
Earlier in the semester, how-
ever, several of the established
film groups showed pornogra-
phic movies including Behind
the Green Door and The Devil
in Miss Jones without much of
a stir.
FOLLOWING THE removal of
the ban on the use of Univer-
sity buildings, and because of1
the relatively mild nature of{
Fleming's guidelines, some of
the tension between the Univer-
ssbsyandthe film groups has
However, the issue of finan-
cial control looms as a point of
major confrontation.
Presently, the groups must
only present financial informa-
tion to a Student Government
Council committee, which does
not formally inspect the data.
THE STUDENT organizations

contend that going through the
administration will unduly bur-
den their operations in bureau-
cratic red tape and give the
administration too much direct
control over student functions.
Although both student and
faculty leaders have acknowl-
edged the need for greater fiscal
accountability and responsibili-
ty on the part of many student
groups, they generally oppose
the thrust of the Regents' ef-
forts.
They argue that the board is
entering the realm of censor-
ship and the limitation of aca-
demic freedom - which is far
more dangerous than whatever
abuses may result from the
showing of allegedly obscene
motion pictures on campus.
CURIOUS USED BOOK
SHOP, TOO
340 S. State/Upstairs
761-0112
COMICS (New-& Used),
SCIENCE FICTION, MAGA-
ZINES & POSTERS, & USED
BOOKS of all tvpes.
~eg
G e *
Chek

*a

6k

Dancing in the street
Two dancers kick out the jams during a dance marathon
held during the July art fair. The contest attracted over one
hundred high-stepping hoofers, but few of them lasted be-
yond a few hours.

-

COPY
w

01
01
"

DISSER
DOCUt
PROPC
ENVEL

COPY MILL.
SERVICE & OFFSET
HILE-U-WAIT LOW
PR ICES
~TATIONS * PAPERS RCE
MENTS s FLYERS FAST
)SALS 0 FORMS QUALITY
OPES SERVICE
662-3969 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
a. State-Ann Arbor Sun. 12 noon-10 p.m.

Ann Arbor in a Nutshell
Insider's Guide to College Life
and the U of M campus
M
MICHIGAN BOOKSTORE
Stop in as soon as you get back to Ann
Arbor in September and pick up your
FREE COPY
at
~OLLETT'S
MCHIGA N BOOK
STATE STREET end of the Dig

0

AUSTIN
DIAMOND
120O9 S. Univeruity. 663-7151

:1./

211 B S

I

'N.

I!!

U

F

50,000
Our Permanent Staff ..

ITLES

T

0*

,

* .oves some books

WHY 25% OFF? Because books should be available as cheaply
as possible. Books are a food. How much do you spend per week
on various types of food such as eatables, readables, hearables,
and so on?

f Will help you
" Are usually energetic
" And were offered their jobs because they are
good at them. Meet them yourself.
The owner of David's Books (David Kozubei)
was brought from England to manage Centi-
core Bookshop; and eventually became advisor
to the University Cellar Bookstore; did some
consultancy to Logos Bookshop; set up and man-
aged and bought the books for Borders Book-
shop; set up, Ned's Trade Books in Ypsilanti;
etc. He is bearded, balding, and bespectacled,
and still has an English accent.
Ann Arbor has the curiosity, intelligence, and
sealth to support a 100,000 title bookshop.
David's Books hopes to reach that eventually.
Anyway we're starting with about 50,000.

ALWAYS AT

A

7

D



ED


" Used Paperbacks at 12 List Price
& Used Hardcovers (Variously
Priced)
* Textbooks Only If They Coincide
With What We Stock (25% off)
or Are Given an Exclusive
Order (10-20%, off)
* Out-of-Print Books 50 Cents
Search Charge. About 1 in 2
Found
" Bargain Books 20-25%
Cheaper Than Elsewhere
" A Special Rare & Fine, limited,
Signed & Scarce Book Dept.
" Also Various Events Such as
Live Music, Readings,
Autographing Parties
" Art Exhibits at Chez Jacques,
Including Original Works
by Picasso & Matisse
" And We Buy Used Books Too

CEmEn'CfL
Eo~of'2sNoop

Bow


MAYNARD~


529 E. LIBERTY**

Li

5%9 D5

Where We Have Recently Moved from 209 S. State

(FROM 220 SQ. FT. TO 2,750 SQ. FT.)

4

. $0bk5 ,oR R
~OIS~P

z
a
1-

663-8441

S. STATE

9 a.m. to 12 midnight (7 days/week)

I



.._.- '"


F'tFP MO~T ~ TRfVICAT 1;:SS TH~ANI

I