Behind the Badge
Detective Corporal Victor Cass of the Financial Crimes Unit has had his share of interesting cases land on his desk the last 26 years at Pasadena Police Department.
He’s also heard a number of dating stories in his day to keep life interesting.
But when crime and dating landed on his desk back in April 2018, Detective Corporal Cass began to unravel a story of one man’s quest for a great meal, which came at the cost of the women who showed up looking for love, but instead got stuck with the check.
Behind the Badge has launched its own podcast where we will feature stories from the field, talking to law enforcement officials and getting behind the scenes with pivotal cases making headlines.
Our inaugural podcast features Detective Corporal Cass who sat down with us to share how an anonymous tip helped him catch the notorious dine-and-dash-dater Paul Gonzales who had been finding women on dating apps, setting up dates and then abandoning victims minutes after he finished his main course.
Photo Courtesy of Eater LA
There were at least 16 victims over the course of three years with restaurants covering most of Los Angeles County, including Long Beach, Pasadena and the San Fernando Valley.
“One thing the victims all had in common was this feeling of being humiliated. Here they were, honestly looking for love via the internet, and they fell prey to this new kind of predator who used them, skipped out on them in the middle of their dates, in front of everyone, bruised their pride and egos and cost them money many couldn’t afford,” said Cass. “Worse, most of the victims were too humiliated to even report the incidents to police, which is why Gonzales was virtually known to law enforcement.”
Listen to the Behind the Badge Podcast and find out how Detective Cass was able to put the dine-and-dash-dater into jail and bring some justice to victims who never thought Gonzales would ever get caught.
LISTEN: Behind the Badge Podcast, here .
You can follow Victor Cass on Twitter @Victor_Cass
