By Frank Main, The Chicago Sun Times
Three days after she walked out of prison, Neila Adams was already fleecing victims in the most unlikely places, police say.
Adams walked into police stations and firehouses across the South Side, asking for donations to support a walk-a-thon for diabetes research.
She ripped off high-ranking police officials, patrol officers and firefighters -- as well as residents of the Beverly and Mt. Greenwood neighborhoods, said Calumet Area Police Lt. Dave O’Callaghan.
“People think cops and firemen are all cynical,” O’Callaghan said. “They were trying not to be cynical. They thought, ‘At least she’s trying to do something good.’ They would give her $5, and she wound up feeding her cocaine habit.”
Adams, 39, who was paroled Aug. 10 on a drug conviction, posed as a volunteer for the American Diabetes Association and obtained her first check Aug. 13, O’Callaghan said.
So far, 160 victims have been identified, he said.
Police are urging people who wrote checks to Adams to look at their bank accounts for any unusual financial activity.
Detectives suspect she collected at least $3,300 in cash that she used to buy crack cocaine. Officers also seized 35 checks for a total of $500.
She was nabbed Tuesday night when a Buick she was riding in was stopped in the 11000 block of South Racine for a minor traffic violation.
Morgan Park officers noticed Adams throw a pipe containing crack cocaine residue and a bundle of checks and log sheets from the window, police said.
She admitted collecting cash in the name of the American Diabetes Association to feed her cocaine habit, O’Callaghan said. But she denies any connection to the checks found outside the car, he said.
Adams was charged with possession of a controlled substance, as well as felony theft and felony deception. She had asked people to sign checks to the ADA, instead of the American Diabetes Association.
“She gave a very good story about her dad dying of diabetes and said she was glucose intolerant,” O’Callaghan said.
Police suspect that Adams intended to sign an “M” and an “S” to the end of the “ADA” on the checks so they would bear her last name.
Adams has been arrested 44 times in Chicago for theft, prostitution and drug possession, O’Callaghan said. She also has a criminal record in Colorado, Washington and California, he said.