CA- Police: Accused Extortionist, Molester Used MySpace In Crimes

8-23-2008 California:

Man Demanded Money, Nude Pictures Via Alias, Officials Say

MURRIETA, Calif. -- A 21-year-old San Diego man who allegedly pretended to be a girl on the Internet to coerce a girl into sending him nude photos of herself pleaded not guilty Friday to extortion and other felonies.

Anthony Cardinale is also charged with making criminal threats, bringing into the state matter depicting child sex, and annoying or molesting a child under 18.

He allegedly threatened the girl and her family while pretending to be a girl named Debbie Larson on the Internet.

Sheriff's detectives from the Lake Elsinore substation began investigating Cardinale in early July, said Sgt. Michael Yates.

On Aug. 7, investigators served a search warrant at his San Diego home and arrested him, Yates said.

Friday, Riverside Superior Court Judge Duane Lloyd raised his bail from $25,000 to $50,000 and ordered him back to court Aug. 28 for a felony settlement conference. A preliminary hearing was tentatively set for Sept. 4.

According to the Valley News in Temecula, there are two alleged victims from Lake Elsinore, one 18 and the other 17, who were both minors at the time of the alleged crimes, and the younger one was Cardinale's sometime girlfriend.

According to an affidavit cited by the newspaper, the investigation began July 10 when the girls went to the Riverside County sheriffs station in Lake Elsinore and said a girl named Debbie Larson, with whom they had communicated only over the Internet, had been threatening them for two years.

Cardinale allegedly introduced the older girl to "Larson" via the social networking site MySpace.com, and after a few months, "she" asked the girl for nude photos. When the girl refused, "Larson" allegedly threatened to kill her.

At that point, "Larson" began sending e-mails to the younger girl with similar demands.

When she also refused, "Larson" threatened to "get people to hurt" the two victims and their families.

"Larson" also allegedly demanded $3,000 in addition to the nude photos, according to the affidavit cited by the newspaper.

The girls talked to Cardinale, thinking he was a friend of "Larson," and Cardinale allegedly told them "Larson" was the head of an "underground cult," the head of an organized crime group and the daughter of a "crooked cop."

He allegedly told the girls to do what "Larson" asked and not call authorities. He also allegedly offered to help pay the $3,000 by selling his van.

At that point, the younger girl sent "Larson" nude photos of herself and the threats stopped.

When the younger girl broke up with Cardinale last November, still unaware that "Larson" was an alias, he threatened to kill himself and she agreed to continue the relationship.

When she again broke up with him last April, she allegedly began getting more e-mails from "Larson," who said their deal was off and "she" wanted more money and more nude photos, according to the affidavit cited by the newspaper.

The girl borrowed $1,500 from friends to pay off "Larson" and sent "her" more photos.

Cardinale allegedly collected the money to give to Larson. The girls then alerted authorities.

After finding no evidence of a Debbie Larson, investigators determined that Cardinale had been accessing "her" e-mail account on his computer.

They were able to find out his address in San Diego, where they executed a search warrant and seized his computer gear, along with a photo of the younger girl.

In another case involving using fake identities to contact a young girl on the Internet, Lori Drew, a St. Louis-area woman accused of using a fictitious MySpace profile of a boy to drive her daughter's 13-year-old former friend to suicide is on trial in federal court in Los Angeles.

Drew, 49, of O'Fallon, Mo., was indicted in Los Angeles on one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to further a tortious act.

Drew allegedly helped create the MySpace account of "Josh Evans," a fictitious teenage boy. Using MySpace, "Evans" struck up an online romance with Megan Meier, a former friend of Drew's daughter.

The teen, who had been treated for depression, hanged herself in October 2006 after the "romance" soured and "Evans" sent her cruel messages, including one that said the world would be better off without her, according to court papers. ..News Source.. by 4KNBC.com