South Side Man May Be Victim Of Dog Extortion Plot
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It was on Friday, May 2 when Danny Schwartz says he let his two French bulldogs, Mojo and Pudge, out in the backyard of his South Side Slopes duplex.
Admittedly, he stepped away for a few minutes and when he came back, the dogs were gone.
"Originally, we just thought they were lost. We went out and printed flyers," said Schwartz.
He couldn't believe what happened next.
On Saturday, Schwartz says he was contacted by a man on a private number, claiming to have Mojo. The man told Schwartz he paid someone in the Mt. Oliver-Arlington area $250 for the dog.
"He started asking me things like how much did you pay for your dogs, how old are they," Schwartz said. "That started to make me anxious too because why should it matter."
Schwartz said when the man asked about French Bulldogs costing over $2,000, he became extremely suspicious and contacted Pittsburgh Police.
Schwartz agreed to pay the man $500 to get Mojo back safely. He met him at the Giant Eagle on Wharton Street in the South Side with police watching.
"That's when he told me that he knew the guy with Pudge and he lived right up the street from him and he could talk to him for an extra $50," Schwartz said.
Pittsburgh Police stepped in.
They took the guy in for questioning, driving him to the area where the man claimed to have bought the dog from. Pudge was not located.
Schwartz fears that Pudge could be hurt or even sold to someone else.
"If I get Pudge back, I don't even really care," Schwartz told KDKA during an interview Tuesday. "I won't press charges. And there is a reward out for him still."
Schwartz is willing to pay $200 for Pudge's safe return.
Anyone with information can contact Officer Christine Luffey at 412-488-8425 or call Zone 3 Station at 412-488-8326.
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