A real-life 'catch me if you can'
Ever the gumshoe, Boston police Detective Steven Blair responded to a friend's cry for help: someone had stolen Paul Casey's identity and was running his credit ragged.
According to a police report filed in Quincy District Court yesterday, Blair started investigating and eventually found himself at Blade Barber Shop on Tremont Street.
There, he recognized the face of a man from a Lowe's surveillance tape in Weymouth, the person who had allegedly used Casey's identity to get a replacement credit card from the home repair store and charge $327 in goods.
Yesterday, as his anguished parents looked on, David Faulcon, a 39-year-old barber shop receptionist from the Back Bay, pleaded not guilty to identity theft and larceny over $250. Authorities are investigating his alleged theft of the identities of 12 men, all named Paul Casey.
The case thrust more light on the growing problem of identity theft. In September, a Federal Trade Commission survey found that 27.3 million Americans had experienced identity theft in the past five years, including 9.9 million last year.
Paul Casey of Duxbury, an accountant, said in a telephone interview yesterday that he turned to Blair and instigated the probe into Faulcon's alleged crimes. Casey said he had discovered that someone had used his personal data to get a Wal-Mart credit card in New Hampshire and a replacement card that was used at Lowe's in Weymouth.
"I mentioned it to him, and he did some footwork," Casey said yesterday. "I'm just glad he was able to do the job."
According to a police report, Blair began his investigation on Oct. 18. In addition to recognizing Faulcon from the Lowe's tape, Blair also found an image of Faulcon in the Boston police mug shot data base, the report said.
At Faulcon's arraignment before Judge Mark Coven, the suspect's court-appointed attorney, Francis D. Doucette, said Faulcon has been receiving monthly Social Security disability payments. He did not specify the disability, but said Faulcon has a history of substance and alcohol abuse.
Doucette also said that Faulcon was a volunteer speaker for the American Red Cross and other social service agencies on the subject of AIDS and that he tackled the topic last week during an appearance at Brookline High School.
School officials could not confirm Faulcon's appearance there, and a Red Cross spokesman said that agency disbanded its outreach program on AIDS in 2000.
Police had suggested after Faulcon's was arrested Friday that he may have had inside help from the Registry of Motor Vehicles to secure the Paul Caseys' personal data. But Aime O'Hearn, a registry spokeswoman, said there is no indication that any registry employee was providing Faulcon with identifying information from the state agency's records.
Faulcon also allegedly ran up $18,000 in credit card debt in the name of Paul C. Casey, a state representative from Winchester.
Faulcon's family was expected to post the $3,000 bail ordered by Coven. Faulcon is due back in Quincy District Court on Dec. 23.
