Arthritic Granny Was Pickpocket Mastermind

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W E S T P A L M B E A C H, Fla. — Police say she was the mother of all pickpockets.

Ernestine Williams, a 67-year-old wheelchair-bound grandmother with arthritis, pleaded guilty to running an elaborate pickpocketing ring targeting elderly shoppers in Florida and Georgia.

She faces up to eight years in prison for various charges, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, grand theft and petty theft.

"She'd been doing this for years," said Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Michael Rachel. "Ernestine would never get arrested, because she looked so feeble that [police and prosecutors asked] how could she have been a part of this, how could she have known?"

"She was always in total control," he said. "She always used that act of being out of it or being a little old lady."

The pickpocket ring went to supermarkets and retail stores, where Williams would direct the crime, Rachel said. She would instruct one accomplice to distract the victim, while another reached into his or her pocket or purse.

Police say she coached her accomplices in different techniques, and would wait in the parking lot while the crimes took place.

"They would go after 70-year-olds and up," Rachel said.

Police said the ring — which included family members — would use the stolen credit cards to buy clothes, computers, and other equipment, which they would resell.

Williams' attorney said she pleaded guilty because a trial would have been too wearing on the septuagenarian. Williams has kidney problems and high blood pressure.

When asked by the judge to comment on the charges against her, she responded, "Most of them lies."

Williams has been arrested dozens of times over the last 40 years — including many shoplifting and drug-related charges.

Rachel said there were other pickpocket rings active in Florida, and he wouldn't rule out the involvement of other senior citizens.

"I don't know," he said. "Nothing surprises me anymore."

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