A prince among men

I have been told it takes all kinds to make the world go around, but try not to laugh or cry too hard when reading about this jerk, this guy takes the cake!

This story is from the Salem News.

SALEM — They say there's no such thing as a free lunch or a free ride, but a Salem man managed to find both — at least for a while — police say.

Louis Siriani III, 39, of 201 Lafayette St. was arraigned yesterday on larceny charges stemming from an incident that started late Monday night, when he called to order a pizza from Mandee's on Essex Street.

The shop was about to close when Siriani told the delivery driver that he had forgotten his cash and needed a ride to get some, prosecutor Caleb Weiner said.

The driver agreed to give Siriani a ride to his "grandmother's" house. When they pulled up, Siriani suddenly asked if he happened to have change for the $100 bill his grandmother would be giving him. The driver pulled out a total of $90 and Siriani grabbed it and the pizza, telling the driver he'd be right back.

When Siriani didn't come back, the driver and his manager called police.

Turns out, the police were familiar with Siriani, Salem Detective William Jennings said yesterday.

He'd been pulling a similar scam on cab drivers for months and was also a suspect in a similar theft from a Chinese restaurant, Jennings said.

In May 2007, police got a call from a Boston cabbie who had been stiffed out of a $50 fare. Siriani was not charged after he agreed to make restitution.

A few months later, he did the same thing to a Salem cab driver who said Siriani asked to be driven to his "grandmother's house" on Highland Avenue to get cash for the fare, then disappeared inside. A charge of evading a fare was dismissed after he agreed to pay $50 restitution.

In December 2008, another Boston cab driver was stiffed twice by Siriani, who first couldn't pay his fare and exchanged cell phone numbers with the driver, then called him back and said he could get the money if the cabbie would take him to his grandmother's on Highland Avenue. Once there, he disappeared inside.

And in January, a Salem cab driver learned a hard lesson when he picked up Siriani for a ride to Revere and was asked to stop on the way at his grandmother's to get money. This time, he asked if the cabbie could break a $100 bill he was going to get.

Jennings said he's concerned that there may be other victims out there who are too embarrassed to come forward.

When police went to his apartment yesterday morning to arrest him, Siriani called 911, wanting to make sure the men pounding on the door were really police officers.

As for his grandma? Well, police spoke to the current resident of the Highland Avenue apartment, and there's no generous elderly woman doling out $100 bills there — just a new tenant who thinks Siriani must still have a key to the building.

Siriani's lawyer, Heidi Shore, called it a case of mistaken identity.

Salem District Court Judge Richard Mori set Siriani's bail at $1,000 cash but also revoked his bail in the January case — meaning Siriani will be getting a few more free meals and free rides courtesy of the Sheriff's Department.

He's due back in court on April 23.