Hospital Scam Leads Police to Pair

MISSION VIEJO —  Suspected of fraud, Michael Mark Salerno and Connie Ann Harbeger had been watched by local authorities since February.

Sometimes posing as representatives of Avis Rent A Car or Motorola Corp., they allegedly helped themselves to thousands of dollars in fraudulent credit card transactions, police said.

The married couple’s trail apparently stretches all the way to the East Coast; Salerno is wanted in New Hampshire and Massachusetts on grand larceny charges and a probation violation.

When the 45-year-old Salerno--a.k.a. Michael Saunders, Paul Sylas and Paul Sinders--needed heart bypass surgery, authorities contend that he brought his skills as an imposter here, to the Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center.

He allegedly hired a New Hampshire telephone answering service to pose as “Boston Mutual Health Insurance Co.” and instructed the service to answer inquiries about his insurance coverage and to authorize $50,000 to $60,000 for the surgery, authorities said.

Recovering from the surgery, Salerno and his hospital scheme were uncovered when the bill for his New Hampshire answering service went unpaid, said Orange County sheriff’s investigators who arrested him Thursday in his hospital room.

“Salerno had gone to great lengths in concealing his true identity and location of residence in perpetrating his alleged scheme and while attempting to evade law enforcement and prevent his arrest,” sheriff’s investigators said in a written statement following his arrest.

Now held in lieu of a $100,000 bond, Salerno has been transferred to Western Medical Center-Anaheim. Sheriff’s officials said Salerno’s wife intends to surrender to authorities.