"Chelmsford man admits to swindling" by Jaclyn Reiss | Globe Correspondent, January 21, 2013
A Chelmsford man who won $1 million from the Massachusetts State Lottery in 2009 will serve at least 18 months behind bars after he admitted to swindling more than $21,000 from his home oil company’s customers, according to Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone.
Michael Santaniello, 60, of Chelmsford, pleaded guilty in Lowell District Court last week to stealing money from more than a dozen of his clients, many of whom are elderly, by collecting deposits for service or repairs to home oil tanks and burners that he never completed, Leone said in a statement. Santaniello owns Mike’s Oil Heat Service in Chelmsford.
“This defendant targeted seniors, many of whom had been his customers for years, and took advantage of them by taking deposits for work he never intended to perform and materials he never provided,” Leone said in a statement.
The prosecutor said that a gambling addiction led Santaniello to cheat his customers. After Santaniello won $1 million in 2009, he won another $23,000 from the lottery over the next two years, Leone said.
“This case demonstrates how addiction, when left untreated, can lead a person to such despair and selfishness that they would manipulate and deceive vulnerable, trusting members of our community who deserve better,” Leone’s statement said....
Money. The worst addiction of all.
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Nope, don't need an oil fill-up today, Mike. Thanks.
