Serial Meal Thief Seeks to Make Amends
July 21, 2005 9:38 PM EDT
MACHIAS, Maine - A California man who spent 90 days in jail after habitually complaining of fake chest pains to duck the tab for restaurant meals is back in Maine, expressing remorse and seeking to make amends.
Elias I. Elias, 54, dead broke and looking to make a new start, said he wants to pay restitution for the dinner he ate at the Townhouse Restaurant in Calais last August that led to his last arrest.
"This is all I have," he told the Bangor Daily News, motioning to himself. "My clothes. I had a career in California, I had a house. I had my wife. Now I just want a job in Bangor, so I can pay the last $39."
By the time Elias came to court in February, the prosecution had determined that the Calais incident was the 18th time since 2003 that he had avoided paying for meals by faking heart attacks or other medical emergencies.
He was sentenced in Machias to 90 days, or time served. Within a week of his release in February, he took a Greyhound bus back to California.
Elias said pangs of guilt led him to return to Bangor two weeks ago. He said his life has not been the same since his wife died of cancer two years ago and he vowed never to repeat the restaurant scam.
"It is not worth the humiliation," he said Wednesday after appearing in District Court to express his apologies to a judge. "I promise the Lord I will not take from a restaurant owner again.
"You have to understand the grief I have gone through. I am starting new again."
Elias' court-appointed attorney, Jeffrey Davidson, had argued in February that his client was only seeking a bit of dignity, the chance to eat at a restaurant and feel like everyone else despite having lost everything.
On Wednesday, Davidson and Elias crossed paths in the courtroom again, to Davidson's surprise. They shook hands. Davidson's advice: "Just pay the $39."
Elias fully intends to this time, the minute he has the money.
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Information from: Bangor Daily News, bangornews.com |
