He stole widow's water, police say

A Collingdale man has been charged with theft, trespassing and related offenses for allegedly stealing water from his elderly neighbor.

That's right. Dude was stealing an old lady's water, according to police.

Mark Getty, 44, was busted after 84-year-old Mae Westover – a widow who lives on a fixed income of $1,100 a month – called the cops yesterday and said "Getty has his hose hooked up to her outside faucet and appears to be stealing her water," police said.

Her water bill had tripled and she couldn't figure out why until her friends from church discovered the illegal hookup. Westover had previously hired a plumber, and had Aqua Pennsylvania check the outside line from the street.

Sure enough, Getty admitted that Aqua Pennsylvania had shut off his water two months ago and he had been siphoning water from Westover's house without her permission, police say. His house was disgusting, "with spoiled fruit on the front porch along with torn open garbage bags and trash all over," according to police.

Really, though, what else do you expect from an alleged water thief?

I say we head over to Clifton and have that granny with the hose administer the appropriate punishment.