The State - News from April 2, 1987

San Mateo police were looking for a San Francisco man that they said may have conned residents out of hundreds of dollars with a phony plea for money and groceries. Norman Fluce, 45, was flooded with offers of help after the San Mateo Times ran his photo last week. The newspaper story said he had lost his job and needed help for his cancer-ridden wife and two young daughters, who he said were living with him out of their car. More than 200 people and charities responded with offers of help, but the newspaper later reported that there was no Fluce family. “He was very charming and convincing,” San Mateo Times Managing Editor Virgil Wilson said. He said readers started sending in contributions on their own. “We didn’t set out on a campaign to raise money for him.”