A couple, who wish to remain anonymous, have revealed what happened when a mobster knocked on their door. Photo / File photo
The former Mongrel Mob member who has been asking for donations at Northcote Point has been seen knocking on doors across several other Auckland suburbs since the end of last year.
Her partner answered the door and spoke with the mobster who said he was looking for donations for a family vehicle.
The male resident described the mobster as a short Polynesian man with a Mongrel Mob tattoo on his left cheek, tattoos on his eyebrows and who was missing some teeth.
This warning has sparked others to come forward to the Herald and speak about their experience with the "non-threatening" mobster on the condition they remain anonymous.
A resident who lives in Sandringham shared her heartfelt encounter with the mobster in November last year. She said she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt even though he had face tattoos.
"I live in Sandringham and this man came knocking at my door in November. I never felt threatened and I did not judge him by his tattoos.
"He was open about his past and was happy to give me his name when I asked him. He never tried to look past me into the house or anything.
"He turned up on a day when something horrible had happened at work. I was home because I emotionally couldn't deal with the rest of the day. I looked a mess and he started to apologise for bothering me while I was getting a couple of dollars for him.
The Sandringham resident said when he went to walk away she explained her situation to mobster and he consoled her while she was crying.
"I suddenly burst into tears. He was wonderful. He stood there with a blubbering white woman and offered to listen. 'I am a good listener' he said. It all poured out and he offered a hug which I really needed. I felt so silly and he kept a respectful distance the whole time.
"I was home alone. Not once did he make me feel threatened and I genuinely believe that he is trying hard to turn his life around. Hard to do when people keep judging you by your tattoos. He made my day that day and I wish I could thank him."
A Mt Eden businessman explained what happened when the mobster approached him at his business around midday today.
"I just looked up from my desk and he appeared in the office," the businessman said.
"He turned up and gave me the same story [as the previous residents].
"He said he came out of the gangs and was trying to turn his life around."
"He obviously has his pitch down."
The businessman said there was no suspicious behaviour and the mobster was not aggressive in any way.
"He wasn't overbearing, he was quite polite ... and softly spoken."
However, the businessman said that "he looked pretty rough and ready."
"It's just unusual to see someone like that come into a work premise," he said.
The businessman said the mobster then disappeared after the conversation and was not sure if he went knocking on other local businesses or neighbours' doors in the area.
Another Sandringham resident said he went through the exact same scenario as the previous residents before Christmas time.
"He was most likely the same man - knocked on our door with this very same story," the local said.
"A few weeks later I saw him in a neighbouring street and I reported it to police.
"A policeman in a car called later for assistance with ID'ing the man, so they have spoken with him.
The Sandringham man said that he suspected there was no outcome as on the surface there is nothing wrong with what he was doing, however, he believed it didn't seem right.
Yesterday at about 9.30am, a male Northcote Point resident answered the mobster's knock at the door.
The mobster, who told the resident he had eight children, delivered a spiel about how it has been hard for him to find work because he has been in and out of jail and rehab and that his daughters were pushing him to make money so the family could buy a $2800 seven-seater van.
"He's out of rehab and his kids are the ones that said, 'dad, stop doing that. Make an honest dollar'.
"One stage when he was talking his eyes started to well up, he took a couple of steps back and he was like 'this is really hard for me, I'm sorry, I'm trying to do my best. I just want to get a van for my kids'."
The mobster told him that he has been in South Auckland and West Auckland looking for donations and he now was knocking on people's doors in Northcote Point.
After the mobster's spiel, the resident found him "non-aggressive" and "non-threatening" and therefore decided to give him a $5 donation.
"He wasn't intimidating," the resident said about the encounter.
"I didn't think anything of it, other than there was a guy that came to my door and he was asking for koha. I could have sent him away, I could have said no, I could have ignored him, I could have shut the door on his face but I decided to listen to him and I made the choice to help him with a $5 donation for his cause."
But thinking about it afterwards, the male resident told his partner what happened and suggested she post a warning on her local Facebook page to warn others.
"I'm a male, it didn't mean a lot to me, but there are a lot of males around here that are at work and their wives are home with their young kids and I could imagine if he turned up at most of the places at Northcote Point, the women would get bit of a shock and a fright."
The female resident then reported the incident to police after making a Facebook post on her local page yesterday morning.
"He could be completely legit, but it if it was just me on my own at home with the kids I would have been really unsettled if it had been me answering the door," she told the Herald.
A police spokesman said: "Police are aware of this report. We encourage members of the public to report any suspicious behaviour to police immediately."
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