Susan Finkelstein was charged with soliciting.
- A Phila. effort to counter the departed Dad Vail
- CityCenter raises stakes on the Vegas Strip
- Killer of Officer Chuck Cassidy sentenced to die
- Appeals Court: School district can ban Christmas carols
- N.J. won't enforce flu-shot mandate
- Get started collecting your family stories
- Tragic mystery: How did John Lewis become a killer?
- Nepal begins a ritual in blood
- Claims against Phila. VA up to $58 million
- Boxer's death ruled accidental
- Obama taps Penn's Gutmann to lead bioethics panel
- Body of missing N.J. fisherman found in N.C.
- Your life, by personal historians
- Comcast's holiday show is a breakout in 3-D
- Pottsgrove students mourn classmates killed in crash
- Beach repairs at risk in restrictive Shore towns
- Wyeths' work up for auction
- Dan Gross: Sports talker opening comedy club
- Fallen boxer's organs will give life to others
- Sports Authority, Nintendo team up to sell Wii Fit as fitness equipment
- Holiday train shows take Obama homes on board
- 23-year coma victim talking, or no?
- Boat owner's body found
- John Lewis was unlike many killers, but in prison he'll slip into a familiar pattern
- Officer Cassidy's killer sentenced to die; defendant asks forgiveness, is rebuffed by widow
- Parade taking a new route
- Boxer dies in Blue Horizon bout
- Camden again ranks worst on crime list
- Gunshot victim Brinkley renews NFL quest
- Shooter cop was investigated for multiple citizen complaints
- Buy Phillies jerseys, playoff t-shirts, hats, and more
- Purchase Phillies playoff photos & reprints
- Photos: 2009 Phillies
- Relive the memories: Coverage of the World Series run
RELATED STORIES
Ticket seeker's pitch runs afoul of police
If they ever invented a version of catnip for the human male, it would probably have something to do with sex . . . and World Series tickets.
So when a 43-year-old, self-described "gorgeous tall buxom blonde" from Philadelphia seemed to offer one for the other in an ad on the Web site Craigslist, it was guaranteed to capture the attention of men throughout the region - including the Bensalem police.
After setting up a sting in a Bensalem bar on Monday night, police say they arrested Susan Finkelstein, 43, who lives in West Philadelphia and works at the Wistar Institute.
She allegedly had posted a Sex-and-the-Series ad saying she was a loyal Phillies fan in need of two World Series tickets. The posting said that the price was negotiable, and that "I'm the creative type! Maybe we can help each other!"
A Bensalem undercover officer who responded to the ad asked Finkelstein to meet him at the bar.
Once there, "she said she would trade sexual favors for Phillies tickets," Bensalem's safety director, Fred Harran, said yesterday. "She wanted the tickets at any cost and was willing to go the extra mile."
In the time it takes Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins to turn a double play, Bensalem officers arrested Finkelstein and charged her with soliciting prostitution, a misdemeanor.
Her reaction? "She realized she wasn't going to the World Series," said Harran - who is a native New Yorker, by the way.
To be sure, last-minute Series tickets aren't cheap. The Web site StubHub was offering seats for tonight's opening game in Yankee Stadium at anywhere from $249 to $9,500 - and more for the games that follow.
Police seemed a bit chagrined at the widespread interest in the case. A Bensalem sergeant mistakenly sent out a news release and scheduled a news conference that attracted media from as far away as New York, Harran said.
By the time Harran realized what had happened, it was too late to call off the news conference. Now he's afraid people will think Bensalem police "had nothing better to do."
"It's only a prostitution arrest. It's not that big a deal," he said.
Why Bensalem? Because the arresting officer was part of a unit that trolls the Internet for crime, Harran said. He said the officer pursued the Craigslist ad to protect minors.
Police say Finkelstein is married. Her Facebook profile says she is a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania.
She also is a devoted fan. On Oct. 20, the day after the Phillies' come-from-behind victory in game four of the National League Championship Series, Finkelstein wrote that "it was WELL worth freezing in the stands and paying $7 for Bud Lite!!!!"
Yesterday, she added a post saying she wondered about the "integrity" of police. A friend replied: "I share that thought with you Susan. But, on the bright side, it's good to know that they've completely eliminated all of the violent crime in Philly and now have the time to focus on insignificant issues . . ."
Later, another friend wrote: "Youre a hero, Go Phils!"
No one answered the door yesterday at Finkelstein's home near the Penn campus.
Last night, Finkelstein's attorney said what happened between his client and the police officer was "not a crime."
"She was looking for tickets, not sex," said lawyer William J. Brennan, calling Finkelstein a "live-and-die Phillies fan" who simply wanted tickets for herself and her husband.
A spokeswoman for the Wistar Institute, which specializes in biomedical research, said Finkelstein was assistant director of communications. She was not at work yesterday, said Staci Vernick Goldberg, Finkelstein's boss.
"It's an unfortunate situation, and we're treating it as a confidential personnel matter," said Goldberg.
Though Harran played down the arrest, David Zellis, first assistant Bucks County district attorney, said Bensalem police were known "for being very aggressive about upholding the law."
Zellis said the prostitution pinch wasn't exactly the case of the century.
"It's kind of one of those interesting things that gets a chuckle out of people," he said. "Hopefully this woman is not a prostitute and this was a one-time dumb thing."
Contact staff writer Kathy Boccella at 610-313-8123 or kboccella@phillynews.com.
Inquirer staff writers Tom Avril, Larry King, and Robert Moran contributed to this article.
