‘Psychic’ electrician milked ditched spouse
An Athens electrician who, posing as a clairvoyant, allegedly took thousands of euros from a young carpenter who wanted his wayward wife back is to be charged with fraud and blackmail, police said yesterday. In a desperate bid to regain the woman who had ditched him, the 26-year-old carpenter, whose name was not made public, visited Lazaros Pavlidis, 39, whom a friend had recommended as a powerful psychic. The electrician allegedly asked for a 30,000-euro fee for his services, and received a 10,000-euro down payment. Police said Pavlidis also acquired a set of keys to the carpenter’s flat, ostensibly to conduct a magical ceremony in the couple’s former home. Instead, he let himself into the flat when the distraught husband was out and cleared out most of his belongings. He then demanded 30,000 euros to return the loot, at which point the carpenter saw fit to call the police.
