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June 18, 2008

Con man Kluth to be sentenced today for lobster scam

A convicted con man who wrangled money from his victims with tales of woe and bad luck is scheduled to be sentenced today, two days after a judge declared him a “habitual criminal.”

John P. Kluth Jr., a former Newport lobsterman, was convicted on March 28 of robbing 30 people of cash in amounts ranging from $25 to $5,200.

In a hearing Monday, a Superior Court judge declared Kluth to be a habitual criminal, a designation that requires the sentencing judge to add jail time to his sentence for the crimes. The statute also requires her to impose a minimum number of years Kluth must serve before he is eligible for parole.

Victims who testified at Kluth’s trial said he approached them with a hard-luck story. His lobster truck had broken down, they were told, and Kluth needed a quick loan to fix it before his lobsters spoiled.

Kluth has also been convicted of more than 50 crimes in three other states and served prison time in Massachusetts. He still faces charges in two additional Rhode Island cases as well as “lobster scam” cases in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

He'll be sentenced today in Superior Court, Providence.

Multimedia: Hear what John Kluth says he did with the money

Posted by Brandie Jefferson  at 7:35 AM | Permalink

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