BETHLEHEM -- Joann Zansky believed it when the psychic told her the magic wands were blessed by nine priests and were supposed to remove negative thoughts.
But four months and $5,400 later, Zansky thinks she may have been swindled.
The 57-year-old West Easton woman said she paid out the money to the psychic between October 2002 and this month. But she became suspicious about the effectiveness of the wands and told her sister, who recommended she report the matter to authorities.
Zansky went to the Bethlehem Police Department with her sister Friday to file the report. The matter was referred to investigators, but they said Monday they are unsure if the matter would warrant any criminal charges against the psychic.
"We're investigating," Bethlehem Police Lt. Robert Righi of the criminal investigations unit said Monday. "Possibly it is some violation of consumer fraud." The state attorney general's office will be contacted to look into the matter, Righi said.
The report names the psychic as Peaches Miller of Psychic Readings, 2538 Easton Ave. No charges have been filed against Miller, the report says.
A woman who answered the phone at Psychic Readings on Monday afternoon said Miller was unavailable. A message left for Miller's husband, Donald Miller, was returned by his attorney, Chris Spadoni. Spadoni declined to comment, saying he had not seen the police report.
Zansky said Monday that she initially went to Psychic Readings after she read an advertisement published last summer in The Express-Times. She disclosed several details about her life to Peaches Miller through a series of visits and phone conversations throughout the fall, Zansky said.
The police report says Peaches Miller convinced Zansky to buy the first wand sometime in the fall because it would help her get rid of her "negative thoughts."
She gave Peaches Miller cash for the $1,800 wand, the report says.
Zansky purchased the second wand with cash sometime in the fall after Miller suggested that the wand would help Zansky's nephew with his problems, the report says.
On Jan. 13, Miller contacted Zansky regarding a dream she had about Zansky's mother, who had passed away 33 years ago, the report says. Miller told Zansky that she needed to buy a third wand and a 6-foot candle to help her mother "get out of limbo and go to heaven," the report says.
Zansky paid for the wand with a check, but told Miller she didn't have any more money to pay for the 6-foot candle, the report says. The third wand has not yet been delivered, the report says.
Zansky said she became suspicious when Miller sold her the third wand. She said she now realizes she was deceived into buying the wands.
"She was a terrific actress," Zansky said. "I believed her."
Zansky said she bought the second and third wands out of concern for her nephew and mother.
"I can't explain why I did this," she said. "I'm a very co-dependent person and I worry about everyone else before myself. I guess that's why I did it."
Zansky handed the two wands over to police. They are being stored in evidence.
Referring to her first visit to Psychic Readings, Zansky said, "To think I just went for fun."
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