That scam pulled off against the Mineola couple in Rome was more sophisticated than we first reported. It works like this: A man posing as a tourist asks the couple for directions. He then offers to exchange money for them. Money changing on the street is illegal. At this point two men posing as detectives flash badges and arrest the "tourists." They slam him against a wall and frisk him for drugs. They then warn the Americans to be on the lookout for sharps who offer to exchange money and to be careful of pickpockets. As an after-thought they asked to check the Americans' passports and to examine their wallets to be sure they are not carrying more than the allowable amount of lire. The wide-eyed Americans quickly comply. When they return to their hotel they find that the "detectives" have palmed $750 from their wallets. This same scam is being reported in Prague and Paris.

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Good news, our good friend Joe Mannix has returned home from the rehabilitation center and is back with Catherine on Royal Avenue. Joe hopes to be able to attend the Corpus Christi Usher's Society Christmas Dinner.

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Armand Regateiro, a mason contractor, moved from Garfield Avenue 20 years ago. Today, he is doing well in Cape Coral, FL with his wife Tessie. Armand is now 87 years old and Tessie is 78.

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Dan and Marilyn Donnellan of White Road enjoyed lunch at the Seacrest Diner.

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Max Martin, who is 6 months old, also enjoyed being at the Seacrest. Max also brought along his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Elliot Martin.

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Gerard Schmidt, who is such a good locksmith (Install a Lock) lives in town on Holly Avenue.

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No one worked harder on Carolyn McCarthy's campaign for the House than Peggy May of Linden Road.

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Ran into Sal Cataldo of Jerome Avenue the other day. Anyone who had ever attended a village board meeting years ago cannot forget his fiery speeches. People used to come just to hear him.

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The village is doing some job on the Little League fields on Willis Avenue. All new fields, new bathroom and a new field house are included in this program.

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Ed and Mary Krzeminski, who do more traveling than Madeline Albright, are back from a trip to Freeport and Jamaica.

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The Moscow Church of "Christ the Redeemer" will soon be reopened. In 1931, Stalin ordered this beautiful edifice to be torn down to make way for a public swimming pool. Even some of the Communists objected to destroying such an impressive looking church. But, of course, Stalin's will prevailed and the building was demolished. The swimming pool, by the way, was never built.

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A man we know recently celebrated his 75th birthday, which means he was born in 1923. Our friend Richard Marks supplied us with some material showing some of the events which took place in 1923, such as: New York Yankee Stadium officially opened, the NY Yankees won their first World Series defeating the NY Giants 4-2; in the Dempsey-Firpo fight Lius Angel Firpo knocked Jack Dempsey into ringside laps. Pushed back up into the ring, Dempsey went on to win two rounds, keeping his title. Also making headlines a way back then: The US withdrew the last troops from Germany; President Warren Harding died of a stroke and VP Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the next president by his father, a Justice of the Peace and, finally, Adolph Hitler attempted to overthrow the German government from a Munich beer garden.