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<span class="vitstoryheadline">Parents plead guilty to Cub Scout scam</span>
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<span class="vitstorydate">01/23/2003</span>
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<span class="vitstorybyline">Associated Press</span>
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      BETHLEHEM, Penn. - Parents of a 7-year-old boy pleaded guilty to 
      scamming neighbors of nearly $700 by dressing their son in a Cub Scout's 
      uniform and going door-to-door seeking donations for a nonexistent 
      troop. 
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      Anthony M. Herman, 46, and Sally Ann Gombocz, 45, of Bethlehem knocked 
      on more than 150 doors between January 7 and January 18, collecting $667 
      as their son silently smiled, police said. 
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    <p>
      Herman said they perpetrated the scam because the family landscaping 
      business was failing. 
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      &quot;What we've done here was a desperation act,&quot; Herman told a judge at the 
      couple's arraignment Wednesday. &quot;I'm not trying to minimize what I did. 
      It was stupid, very stupid.&quot; 
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      Bethlehem police arrested the couple after receiving tips from 
      neighbors. Both were charged with theft by deception, corruption of 
      minors, criminal conspiracy and related offenses. 
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      Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 
      Their preliminary hearings were set for January 31. 
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      The boy is not a Scout, though his parents convinced him he was when he 
      put on the uniform, police said. He remains in the custody of his 
      parents, who were released on $5,000 bail each, authorities said. 
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      &quot;That's awful ... using the child like that,&quot; said Sharon DeAngelis, who 
      donated $5 Friday. &quot;The little boy had a smile on his face. He didn't 
      talk, though.&quot; 
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      The couple told donors they were raising money for a camping trip for 
      Cub Scout Pack 351, which does not exist, police said. Herman and 
      Gombocz acknowledged spending the money, authorities said. 
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      Michael Stempo, who has two sons who are Eagle Scouts, became suspicious 
      when his wife said the boy's neckerchief was knotted -- not held 
      together with a Scout slide. 
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      Stempo also said Boy Scouts do not solicit for money door-to-door, 
      though they sometimes sell popcorn or other items. 
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