Dividends: Ya Gotta Have a Gimmick

Connecticut Salesman A. Donald Fass, 50, was not just an ordinary door-to-door peddler. He was named Salesman of the Year in 1979 by the Atlanta-based Rollins Protective Services. As it turned out, Fass had a special gimmick to make a sale. Like many other businessmen, he would first show off his wares during a home visit while chatting with prospects about such sensitive information as their vacation schedules and the location of their valuables. Then, when the occupants were away, Fass would return and make off with the family jewels, the silver and anything else of worth. A week or so later, he would pay another call on his prospects, many of whom had understandably become quite eager to buy an antitheft device.

Pass's scam was exposed when police in Glastonbury, Conn., caught him just as he was escaping from a burglarized house. His previous criminal record, it turned out, included 26 felonies and 50 misdemeanors. Fass has now begun a prison term of 13 to 26 years for burglary.