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By BONNIE ADAMS bonniea@leader.net
Sunday, January 30, 2000 Page: 10A
TUNKHANNOCK TWP. – A Nanticoke man wanted by Montgomery County officials has
been charged in Wyoming County with forgery and theft after using his
girlfriend’s checks and credit cards for a Virginia Beach trip, said state
police.
The Tunkhannock-area woman thought there was a mistake when she tried to
withdraw cash from an automatic teller machine and was told her account
contained only $19.
State police said boyfriend Frederick S. Granoski Sr. of Apollo Circle
used $226.50 of her funds in October to stay at a Doubletree Hotel in
Virginia. His 13 credit card purchases totaled $531, including $75 at a Red
Lobster restaurant, police said.
Police said the woman’s blank checks cashed for $456 were made out to
Granoski and had been endorsed by him.
State police at Tunkhannock said they arrested Granoski, also known as
“Boomer” Stevens, on Thursday. He is charged with four felony counts of
forgery, 13 felony counts of access device fraud and nine misdemeanor counts
of theft by unlawful taking.
Granoski, 43, was arraigned before District Justice Patricia Robinson, who
set bail at $50,000 cash. He was unable to post bail and was transported to
the Montgomery County Jail because he is wanted there on similar charges,
state police said.
According to the affidavit in the Wyoming County charges:
Granoski initially blamed his son for the crime. The father told police his
son might have taken the key to Tricia Mikolon’s apartment, taken the father’s
driver’s license and cashed the checks.
But the elder Granoski admitted on Oct. 26 he took checks from Mikolon’s
apartment on Oct. 13 because he was going on a trip and didn’t have enough
money to pay for expenses.
After his admission to police, Mikolon discovered Granoski used her credit
cards. Granoski told state police he used the credit cards for meals, gas and
trip expenses.