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Perhaps his yearly salary for teaching emotionally disturbed children just wasn’t enough? Maybe he simply grew tired of his 1991 Chevy Blazer? What if he just wanted to taste the forbidden fruits of insurance fraud? Whatever his motivation for the crime, Paterson, New Jersey, schoolteacher William McCallum got caught.
The saga began in April. McCallum reported to police that his Blazer was stolen from outside his Passaic home. He also report-ed the theft to Prudential Insurance Group and they, in turn, sent $8,500 to GMAC and $4,500 to McCallum. Months later a tipster led police to McCallum’s garage and to what remained of the allegedly stolen Blazer. It appeared that he’d been parting it out—the rear hatch and several interior parts were missing. McCallum attempted to explain it away by saying that he’d recent-ly recovered the car in Newark and brought it back to Passaic. Later he changed the city in which he’d found it to Paterson.
None of the explanations flew with authorities, especially since the car alarm was still hooked up and operational. McCallum is facing charges for third degree theft and filing a false police report.
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