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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/2007/06/25/2007-06-25_one_is_real_met__whos_the_fake.html
One is real Met - who's the fake?
Florida woman says she lost 1M to scammer who pitched her on Pedro
By DAVE GOLDINER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Monday, June 25th 2007, 4:00 AM
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Kenneth Day scored a hit with Dr. Rhonda Schroeder, convincing her he was Mets superstar Pedro Martinez - and that he was madly in love with her.
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A wealthy Florida chiropractor thought she was dating Mets ace Pedro Martinez, but the lovelorn back cracker wound up being scammed out of almost $1 million.
Dr. Rhonda Schroeder says she was fleeced by Shirley Gordon, a career con woman who enlisted two male pals to pose as the superstar pitcher.
Schroeder, 34, is suing the imprisoned grifter to get back some of the cash she splurged in an effort to keep her bogus boyfriend happy, the St. Petersburg Times reported yesterday.
The phony romance started in January 2005 when Schroeder went on a date set up by Gordon with a man she believed to be Martinez, prosecutors said.
Much later, Schroeder identified a photo of the man - who turned out to be Kenneth Day, an ex-boyfriend of Gordon's, prosecutors said. Day, who has not been charged in the case, bears a resemblance to the eight-time All Star pitcher, although he has a scar above his left eye, the newspaper said. Martinez has no such mark.
That led to a cyber-courtship that went on for months, only this time Gordon's jailbird boyfriend, Greg Buchanan, allegedly was playing Martinez.
"I love you very much! I adore you even more," the pretend Pedro wrote on April 23, 2005, the St. Petersburg Times said.
Two days later, he e-mailed Schroeder an even more romantic message: "The light of GODS LOVE shines through YOU!!!"
Prosecutors said the sweet talk worked wonders, and Schroeder even sprung for engagement rings for herself and the man she believed to be a millionaire.
Even though she never again met "Martinez," Schroeder bought Gordon, who once was her patient, a $449,000 waterfront mansion near Tampa.
The chiropractor spent $150,000 on fancy furnishings, including an ornate fountain, gave Gordon $20,000 for jewelry and a tummy tuck, and even leased a $45,000 Cadillac Escalade for her.
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