‘Just as important’
Police can’t extradite their suspect from Europe
MILFORD — Elizabeth Ballard, 65, is now happily married, but for the sake of others she isn’t letting go of a dark part of her past involving a man who broke her heart and allegedly drained her bank account.
“My husband is not happy that I do this, but he understands . ... I am not a quitter,” Ballard said. “We could not be happier together.”
Milford police also are not letting go of the case: The department recently made sure the arrest warrant they have for Ballard’s former husband on impersonation and larceny charges remains active, though they are unable to extradite him from France.
Ballard, who wrote a book about the case, also helps others others through her Facebook page, she said, because it continues to spark conversation among people who face the same situation, lets them know they’re not alone and offers an opportunity to share information.
“I try to forget about it, but then someone will email me or call me (with a story),” Ballard said. “That’s what keeps me going — to help, save someone else. It just makes me mad to see these women have their lives ruined.”
In 1994, Ballard, formerly known as Elizabeth Gregg, had her heart broken while living in Milford, by an alleged international con man.
It was after a six-week whirlwind romance that started in Florida Ballard discovered the man she had fallen in love with was not famous Formula One race car driver Dr. Jonathan Palmer — as he told her — but was British citizen Jonathan Kern, who she would later learn traveled the world allegedly posing as Palmer.
Active warrant
When she put the pieces together, Ballard pressed charges with Milford police, and the department confirmed this week that there is an active warrant for Kern, who would be arrested if stopped by police in Connecticut. He is now living in France.
“This particular arrest warrant is not extraditable,” said Milford police Officer Marilisa Anania, of the Crime Prevention unit.
“Since the arrest warrant was issued for Kern in 1996, he was arrested in France in 1998 but extradition was not approved by the court due to cost,” Anania said. “If Kern ever has any police contact in Connecticut he will be arrested.”
Anania said all warrants are controlled by the court and remain active “for the amount of years pursuant to the crime, unless the court has consulted with the victim to vacate the warrant.”
Anania said there was a recent clerical mistake that removed the Kern arrest warrant from the system, but once it was noticed police worked with the court to get it re-entered.
“This case is just as important to us as any case with an active arrest warrant,” she said.
‘Gut instinct’
Ballard started the Facebook page, “Conned, but not Conquered,” three years ago and the audience keeps increasing, she said. Ballard previously wrote a self-published book about the ordeal, “I Fell in Love with a Con Man.” She spread the word about Kern through the internet, although there are many more virtual platforms now, including Facebook.
Her story was featured on an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries.” To this day, Ballard said she gets emails and phone calls when the episode airs.
Ballard was known as Elizabeth Grzeszczyk when the Register first told her story shortly , but she changed it to Gregg because the other was so difficult to spell and pronounce.
She met Steve Ballard, a retired U.S. Air Force career veteran on Match.com. He was a widower and she had been divorced for 30 years. They had a small, lakeside, backyard wedding in May and now live in South Carolina.
Although she persists to help others in the situation she faced, Ballard said it’s not an obsession and she isn’t involved with it every day.
Ballard has said she wrote the book years ago to keep the story alive for others who might face a similar circumstance. In writing the book, Ballard recalled many details of her relationship with Kern by pouring through items she had saved, such as airline boarding passes, calendars, notes and old telephone bills.
Ballard says today that she encourages others to follow their gut instinct.
“The person at the time just can’t see straight — they’re so taken,” she said. “I just can’t in good conscious not do anything when I’m in a position to speak.”