Prosecutors say there is no way of knowing how much money Ozarowski pocketed in the alleged scam, because so many of the donations were in cash.
There was $317 in the collection jar when she was arrested soliciting donations outside a supermarket on Easter, and investigators say there were at least two dozen jars in restaurants, pizzerias and stores across Long Island that Ozarowski collected from regularly over the past year.
More than 60 potential victims have called prosecutors since the arrest, along with dozens of cancer patients who have called just to vent their outrage.
"It wasn't just about the money," said Elizabeth Patricola, owner of "Paws N Claws" pet grooming, and a breast cancer survivor who befriended the young woman after she and her grandmother came to her shop in March 2012. "It was about the principle and the caring, the faith that we have in people. Everyone came together as a community to help. It broke my heart."
Ozarowski told various versions of having either ovarian cancer, stomach cancer, bone cancer and brain cancer, prosecutors said. Patricola, who has been cancer free for four years, became suspicious when the young woman explained not losing her hair after chemotherapy because of "special vitamins."
"I'm so mad and I'm so sad at the same time," said Denise Bambola, a next-door neighbor in the Selden community where Ozarowski grew up. "I held her. I let her call me mama. I took care of her. She hurt me deeply."
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