August 24, 2004

•  

  
  

  

  
  

  Oh, the sentence he will serve

  
  

  Thursday, August 19, 2004

  
  

  
  

  JOSEPH ROSE

  
  

  Somewhere in Con-ville, Charles Steen hatched his plot. He wanted money, and he wanted a lot.

  
  

  To the widow of Dr. Seuss, the Portland man e-mailed a threat. “Give me 2.5 million, or I’ll do something you’ll regret.”

  
  

  He painted a picture, unseemly and lewd, of famous characters in poses no child should view. Horton, Sam, and the Cat in the Hat. And, yes, even little Cindy-Lou Who.

  
  

  It was extortion! A Grinch-like pinch, you know. This Steen man, this mean man, threatened to put on a show.

  
  

  But the widow did not bite. She turned the con man in to police, who grimaced at the painting and said, “This just ain’t right.”

  
  

  In fact, Portland fraud detectives say, Steen’s attempts to squeeze money out of Dr. Seuss’ 82-year-old widow, Audrey Geisel, is among the most bizarre cases they have investigated.

  
  

  Working with a San Diego high-tech crimes unit, Portland police arrested Steen, 33, last fall at his Northwest Portland apartment.

  
  

  Steen recently pleaded guilty in a San Diego County courtroom to sending written threats of extortion to Geisel over the Internet. A judge sentenced him to three years’ probation and anger-management counseling.

  
  

  In a barrage of e-mails late last year, Steen demanded “$2.5 million after taxes” from Geisel, said San Diego police Detective Skip Stephenson.

  
  

  If she refused, according to police records, Steen said he would “go public” with a painting depicting Dr. Seuss characters engaged in sexual acts.

  
  

  Police said he sent a digital copy to Geisel’s attorneys to prove the painting existed. He said he had friends who ran art galleries.

  
  

  “He promised that it would be hung in galleries all over the world.”

  
  

   From QuidProQuo

  
  

   

  • 8:52 pm
  • 3 Comments