WARREN - A veteran of World War II, Edward Morrison has lived in his small Vienna home on the outskirts of town since about the time the war ended.

In that time, Morrison can't remember when he and his wife, Lucinda, had any problems with crime or suspicious people hanging around their neighborhood.

That changed early last month.

In the early evening, a strange man walked through their front door, told them he was out of gas and asked for $50.

''I didn't know if he had a gun or a knife or what,'' said Morrison, 86. "I sort of played it cool. Just looked him straight in the eye and asked how much do you need. I went back in the bedroom and scraped up enough.''

The man was Steven Kuhn, 41, of Cortland.

At the time, he was wanted by police in Boardman, Struthers and Hubbard on several charges of theft and theft from the elderly in similar scams in Trumbull and Mahoning counties. Even having spent time in prison, court records show Kuhn has been arrested on similar charges dating back at least 15 years, after asking residents in several towns for cash to help with a broken down car or ill mother.

Police in several of the communities recognize his name.

"He's one of those lifers unfortunately," said Boardman Detective Greg Stepuk. ''There's just something he does to coax the cash out of people. One guy explained it, and said it's almost like he's testing them. Give him 30 bucks to get rid of him.''

Stepuk said Boardman police had been looking for Kuhn since the beginning of August, with four to five elderly victims in that area where he would knock on their doors asking for cash. A warrant had also been issued in Ashtabula County for Kuhn, whom police said had stolen a green 1995 Volvo. He was arrested in Warren on Sept. 21 after police spotted him driving it on Parkman Road N.W.

In Warren Municipal Court, Kuhn was bound over to a grand jury this week on a charge of receiving stolen property and is in jail pending a $15,000 bond.

Before he faces his Boardman charges, he'll appear in Girard Municipal Court. This week, he'll appear in a preliminary hearing on the burglary charge stemming from the incident with the Morrisons. He also faces a charge of theft by deception after another incident in Hubbard Township. There, said Hubbard Township Detective Mike Begeot, police believe Kuhn would knock on doors, ask for gas money and then take the money from elderly residents.

He's been in Newton Falls Municipal Court on several charges of criminal trespassing and theft, according to court records. In Warren Municipal Court, his charges date back to the early 1990s, with counts like theft and falsification.

As far as jail time, in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, Kuhn was sentenced to 11 months in jail in 2006 after pleading to seven counts of forgery after panhandling in the area several weeks.

In the Morrisons' situation, police reports said Lucinda, 85, was sitting in the kitchen at the time, when she noticed Kuhn standing behind her. She called out to her husband, who was in the bedroom. Morrison came out of the bedroom and asked Kuhn what he wanted.

"He seemed cool," Morrison said. "He had a white shirt on and was dressed pretty well. I was just thinking, what's this guy going to do if we don't give him something. It seemed to me like something was wrong, but what could I do?"

Stepuk and Begeot said it's likely there are other victims who may not have called police. Stepuk said an acquaintance of Kuhn's said he would stake out neighborhoods, looking for homes that were likely owned by older residents.

"He looks at the house, yard, flower pots, the old light blue Mercury parked in the drive," Stepuk said. "If he knows an older person lives there, he goes up, goes through his spiel, hitting people for $20, $40, $100 at a time.

"For us, he hasn't been violent," said Stepuk. "But we think it's not nice to go up to 80-plus people."

Police said if anyone recognizes Kuhn as having scammed them to call police.

''The end result, don't let anyone in the house,'' said Begeot. ''If you don't know them, don't give them anything.''

dloreno@tribtoday.com