Unsolved Mysteries Sparks Nationwide Response

Telephones at the Norwood Police Department rang off the hook as viewers from across the country phoned in investigative leads regarding a notorious con artist who robbed two senior citizens of their life savings. The influx of information arrived mere minutes after the popular NBC network television program, “Unsolved Mysteries“—hosted by actor Robert Stack—aired a heavily dramatized segment featuring the local crimes.

This broadcast marked the second time Norwood police turned to the prime-time show for national exposure. In May 1990, investigators similarly appealed to viewers in a desperate search for a serial rapist, generating hundreds of tips though the suspect remained at large. However, police expressed much higher optimism this time around.

“We have a good shot at catching her,” stated Sgt. William Brooks. He noted that unlike the earlier rape investigation—which relied strictly on composite sketches—the broadcast featured actual photographs of the suspect, vastly improving identification odds.

The Target: Josephine White, Master of Disguise

Investigators were hunting for 45-year-old Josephine White, described by Norwood Police Detective Peter Curran as a “master of disguises.” White was wanted for a sophisticated “pigeon drop” scam perpetrated in Norwood across 1989 and 1990, alongside a string of identical offenses spanning the entire East Coast.

Previously arrested in November in Connecticut for stealing $5,000 from a 76-year-old woman and $10,000 from a 71-year-old woman, White had jumped bail ahead of her February trial date and remained a fugitive evading law enforcement across multiple states.

Police estimate that White preyed on nearly 100 elderly victims dating back to 1963. “These people come along, they talk so quickly, they offer money, pretty soon it snowballs and the victim is caught in a vice,” Detective Curran explained.

Anatomy of a Pigeon Drop Scam

In both documented Norwood incidents, White executed a classic, lightning-fast confidence game. In April 1989, she approached a 76-year-old woman walking along Washington Street, claiming she had just discovered a discarded bag containing $80,000 in cash.

As they conversed, a male accomplice posing as an unrelated bystander approached. White brought him into the discovery, and the pair proposed splitting the newfound wealth three ways—convinced the local woman that they all needed to pay a $5,000 tax fee upfront.

The victim accompanied the suspects to a local bank, withdrew nearly her entire life savings of $5,000, and handed it over. The suspects then drove her to an office building under the guise of meeting White’s boss, a purported tax specialist. White went inside, returned moments later, and instructed the victim to enter the building to collect her share. The victim found an empty room and no money; by the time she returned outside, the suspects and her life savings had vanished. The entire calculated deception took less than two hours.

White returned to Norwood in July 1990, partnering with a female accomplice to execute a nearly identical scheme against a 71-year-old woman. Curran suspected additional local victims suffered in silence. “The victims in this are devastated,” he noted. “They are afraid if their friends and family are going to think they are absentminded, or will put them in a nursing home.”

A Torrent of Leads from Coast to Coast

The national broadcast unleashed an immediate tidal wave of communication. While hundreds of viewers jammed a toll-free hotline at the show’s headquarters in California, individuals as far away as Alabama and Tennessee called the Norwood station directly. One caller offered to send personal funds to replace the stolen savings of one devastated local victim, while another caller identified White as a former roommate. Dozens more phoned in reported sightings from local stores and apartment buildings, including a mistaken sighting reported by a Canton caller.

Production staff forwarded the massive volume of tips to Norwood police via Federal Express, with Sgt. Brooks estimating it would take weeks to thoroughly vet every lead in the pursuit of the elusive fugitive.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger