Bogus priest held in bathtub scam

A bogus priest and his girlfriend tricked an Austrian pensioner out of $200 after promising him a naked bathtub session with the woman.

"The bogus priest and his girlfriend ran a bath for the pensioner, who undressed and got in straight away," a police spokeswoman in the northern Austrian town of Linz said on Wednesday.

The pensioner waited in the tub for about 10 minutes, but when he heard cupboards being opened and closed in the living room, he emerged from the bathroom and chased the pair out of his flat, she said.

"The credulous 65-year-old pensioner was waiting in vain in the bathtub ... while the suspect stole about 150 euros ($200) in cash from his living room," a police statement said.

The smooth-talking priest, who is in custody, and his 42-year-old girlfriend cheated four other Linz residents out of various sums.

The 40-year-old priest, who claimed to have left holy orders for the sake of his girlfriend, also stole 140 euros ($210) from a flower donations collecting box in a church, police said. His total haul was 720 euros ($1,080).

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Striptease Kit: A Guide to the Art of Striptease

The Gulf Bio War: How a New AIDS-like Plague Threatens Our Armed Forces