LEWISTON – A Missouri man accused of a home invasion in Auburn earlier this week may be linked to a group of people selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door, police said Friday.

Police are investigating a group of people who have been peddling magazine subscriptions for a company known as Tower of Power. Investigators belive that 20-year-old Mark E. Eliot, accused of assaulting and robbing a woman on Cook Street in Auburn, was working for the group.

Eliot, arrested early Wednesday morning, came to Maine from Missouri and was believed to be staying in a local motel while working for the company.

Police here and in other parts of the country have been investigating links between that company and violent crimes committed by people who work for them.

Earlier this month, federal agents in Portland arrested seven people on charges of selling magazine subscriptions without a license. One of those caught later proved to be wanted for the May kidnapping, burglary and robbery of an elderly couple in Ozark, Ala.
The seven arrested in Portland were linked to a company in Washington State. It was not immediately known if those seven were working for Tower of ower.

Police are, however, advising anyone who is approached by someone offering subscriptions to contact them. Anyone with related information is asked to contact Lewiston police Detective Brian O’Malley at 513-3138 ext. 3317.