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The case of Gregory Serrano, 34, of Monrovia, is due to go to trial Tuesday at Pasadena Superior Court, according to court officials.

Serrano is accused of using the Internet to lure, molest and take pornographic pictures of 10 underage girls.

His trial has been postponed several times already, so we'll see if this time it sticks.

Serrano has been charged with 20 counts of child molestation in the alleged crimes, which Los Angeles County District Attorney's officials say date back to June of 2006, United States Attorney Joey Blanch said.

In addition to the local charges, Serrano has been indicted on 23 federal charges including using the Internet to entice minors, producing and possessing child pornography and destroying evidence, United States Attorney's officials said.

Serrano was arrested March 12 after a 15-year-old girl reported the alleged molestation to her parents, officials said.

The alleged victims in the case range in age from 13 to 17, said Blanch.

If convicted on the federal charges alone, Serrano could face a sentence of life in prison, she added.

Burglary rings, psychic reading, lottery scams and insurance frauds are among a sampling of crimes that Gypsies have committed throughout the area since 1965.
Gypsies, or Roma, are an ethnic group that originated in South Asia about 1000 B.C. and migrated through the Middle East and Europe.
Today, when police refer to Gypsies they are talking about a mixture of these ethnic Gypsies, as well as those who have adopted the lifestyle, which many associate with crime and superstition.
"It's a subculture of people, and of course you can't say all Gypsies are bad," said Jon Grow, executive director of the National Association of Bunco Investigators. "But the problem is that their laws and things they do for work - fortune telling, insurance fraud, welfare fraud, home repair scams

Here's the top of a story I just filed for tomorrow's newspaper:

The District Attorney's Office added 29 more charges Wednesday to its case against a Covina man accused of using Craigslist and eBay to scam renters and potential investors.

Prosecutors accuse Pardeep Singh, 30, of defrauding 22 potential renters of $2,400 each. Wednesday's filing follows a seven-count criminal complaint brought against Singh last week. He remains at large.

Two of the counts in the amended complaint involve the suspected theft of $185,000 from Kenneth Yandoli, a Glendale man.

"I hope something comes of it," said Jennifer Yandoli, who along with her husband loaned Singh $100,000 in September in exchange for a trust deed on Singh's Covina home at 5441 N. Calera Ave., according to public records.