OXNARD : Pop Star Impostor Gets 3-Year Term
A man who obtained $18,000 worth of medical care at an Oxnard hospital by claiming to be pop singer Christopher Cross was sentenced Friday to three years in prison.
John Reutcke, 36, pleaded guilty June 16 to grand theft. He admitted using the name of the singer to bilk St. John’s Regional Medical Center earlier this year.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. sentenced Reutcke to two years on the theft charge and to one additional year because he had served time in prison before.
Reutcke testified last month at the trial of Kevin Kolodziej, who is accused of murder in the fatal stabbing of a Ventura woman. In that case--which is still pending--Reutcke testified that he overheard a telephone conversation in which the defendant discussed faking insanity.
On cross-examination, Reutcke admitted that he had used the Christopher Cross name several times to obtain medical care and treatment for alcoholism--sometimes going so far as to autograph photos. Defense attorneys said Reutcke’s testimony in the Kolodziej case was another tissue of lies aimed at winning favor with the district attorney’s office.
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