Man arrested at Best Buy for paying in $2 bills

reply to post by anton74

Secret Service agent Leigh Turner eventually arrived and declared the bills legitimate, adding, according to the police report, “Sometimes ink on money can smear.”

Smearing of ink is not a condition of suspicion for currency validator pens. They work by changing colors. I guess even that bit of information eluded the cashier.

Originally posted by anton74
Op, you forgot to copy and paste the part were they noticed smeared ink on the bills. This is a non-story.

Okay I haven't worked in this area for a while, but when we checked bills we didn't look for "smears" ... if the bill was legit the ink would turn a yellowish color.. if it was fake, it would turn brown/black color.

Plus, why was he eventually cleared?

also, there are other ways of telling if a bill is real-- the easiest is holding it up to a light.. if the bill is a $100 and real, it will have a tiny strip that says something like "US $100".. I don't have a $100 bill on me now so I can't say what it says exactly.

reply to post by ReadyPower


Read the rest of the story for your answer.

Originally posted by anton74
reply to post by ReadyPower

 

Read the rest of the story for your answer.

Secret Service agent Leigh Turner eventually arrived and declared the bills legitimate, adding, according to the police report, “Sometimes ink on money can smear.”

What is your point?

From the story:

Commenting on the incident, Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey told the Sun: “It’s a sign that we’re all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world.”

9/11, the 24/7 excuse for everything.

reply to post by Wolf321

Smearing of ink is not a condition of suspicion for currency validator pens.

But it is a matter of suspicion for counterfeit bills. Not definitive, but worth checking out (along with consecutive serial numbers).

reply to post by ReadyPower


Man walks into store and attempts to pay with crisp $2 dollar bills, with smeared ink and I would bet that they were in sequential order because, you only get that many at a bank and they are given out only if asked for. I have some and they are in order. Perhaps this event went to far but, its easy to understand why he was questioned.

P.S. The marking pens can be easily fooled.

Originally posted by anton74
reply to post by ReadyPower

 

Man walks into store and attempts to pay with crisp $2 dollar bills, with smeared ink and I would bet that they were in sequential order because, you only get that many at a bank and they are given out only if asked for. I have some and they are in order. Perhaps this event went to far but, its easy to understand why he was questioned.

P.S. The marking pens can be easily fooled.

edit on 21-8-2012 by anton74 because: (no reason given)

Yes, people take real $1.00 bills and 'erase' them to make larger bills. Doesn't explain why they didn't put the bill up to light to look for the strip that says the bills value. The point is, the 'smear' wasn't what , made the employees question-- they legit didn't know a $2 bill was a real currency. Common, NOBODY uses the ink pen to test a dollar bill, or even $5. These employees were so stupid they tested a $2.00 bill! It is $20.00+ bills people test. Plus, the cops? How do they not know a $2.00 bill is legal tender?

Go to any store in the US and pay in $1.00 bills. NOBODY will even check if it is real. The only reason they checked is because these people thought it was fake. Then they called the cops-- who obviously must have thought the same for arresting the guy.

This wasn't about legal tender. It was payback for being a snot and making here count them. First she says, I don't have to take them, then she marks each one. She already called the police. Thats her trump card.

Oh Yah? Play with me? My brother on the force. We'll see how much you like a stay there. Abuse of authority. Unlike ordinary people, store clerks have that punch big red button in case of terrorism and the whole abusive authority will come hell bent for leather to protect the corporations.

Forum Name ~ [color=CCFFBD]Other Current Events
Today's Date ~ [color=CCFFBD]08/21/2012
Article Publication Date ~ [color=CCFFBD]04/07/2005



Reading this gave me several moments of "What The .......!"

This is just one of them: So he claimed that he did this as a form of protest, but I don't see that. Using legal tender to pay off a debt, is not a protest.

Originally posted by intrptr

Oh Yah? Play with me? My brother on the force. We'll see how much you like a stay there. Abuse of authority. Unlike ordinary people, store clerks have that punch big red button in case of terrorism and the whole abusive authority will come hell bent for leather to protect the corporations.

This is why i do not shop for anything at best buy.....them people are tarded sure enough.....

Originally posted by ReadyPower
Just another example of our future 'leaders'.. ignorant people.. how do you work somewhere where you deal with money every day and NOT know $2 bills are legal tender?? I knew this when I was like, 8.

This is just another indictment of the US educational system......

"I will take Jersey Shore over knowledge about the government for $500 Alex"

If he can sue that store, I hope he does.

I don't think the $2 bills have that strip. I have one right here and it doesn't, but of course it is very old. I've had it for a while For some reason, the gave them out a lot in Europe when you exchanged currency on base.

Commenting on the incident, Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey told the Sun: “It’s a sign that we’re all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world.”

And how would a $2 bill be seen as a "post 9-11" threat

I wonder how many supervisors and managers it took to dial the phone to the police

You have to assume the "clerks" didn't know how.

The future of the country is in "their" hands.

reply to post by ReadyPower


OMG Finish that article. This idiot had the nerve to say

It's a sign we're all a little nervous after 911

The Fuuuu does that have to do with 911 ?

UGGG I can't stand stupid people. I really cant

Originally posted by skepticconwatcher
reply to post by ReadyPower

 

OMG Finish that article. This idiot had the nerve to say

It's a sign we're all a little nervous after 911

The Fuuuu does that have to do with 911 ?

UGGG I can't stand stupid people. I really cant

edit on 21-8-2012 by skepticconwatcher because: (no reason given)

"A man trying to pay a fee using $2 bills was arrested, handcuffed and taken to jail after clerks at a Best Buy store questioned the currency’s legitimacy and called police.
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According to an account in the Baltimore Sun, 57-year-old Mike Bolesta was shocked to find himself taken to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, Md., where he was handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service was called to weigh in on the case.

Bolesta told the Sun: “I am 6 feet 5 inches tall, and I felt like 8 inches high. To be handcuffed, to have all those people looking on, to be cuffed to a pole – and to know you haven’t done anything wrong. And me, with a brother, Joe, who spent 33 years on the city police force. It was humiliating.”

After Best Buy personnel reportedly told Bolesta he would not be charged for the installation of a stereo in his son’s car, he received a call from the store saying it was in fact charging him the fee. As a means of protest, Bolesta decided to pay the $114 bill using 57 crisp, new $2 bills.

As the owner of Capital City Student Tours, the Baltimore resident has a hearty supply of the uncommon currency. He often gives the bills to students who take his tours for meal money.

“The kids don’t see that many $2 bills, so they think this is the greatest thing in the world,” Bolesta says. “They don’t want to spend ‘em. They want to save ‘em. I’ve been doing this since I started the company. So I’m thinking, ‘I’ll stage my little comic protest. I’ll pay the $114 with $2 bills.’”

Bolesta explained what happened when he presented the bills to the cashier at Best Buy Feb. 20.

“She looked at the $2 bills and told me, ‘I don’t have to take these if I don’t want to.’ I said, ‘If you don’t, I’m leaving. I’ve tried to pay my bill twice. You don’t want these bills, you can sue me.’ So she took the money – like she’s doing me a favor.”

Bolesta says the cashier marked each bill with a pen. Other store employees began to gather, a few of them asking, “Are these real?”

“Of course they are,” Bolesta said. “They’re legal tender.”

According to the Sun report, the police arrest report noted one employee noticed some smearing of ink on the bills. That’s when the cops were called. One officer reportedly noticed the bills ran in sequential order.

Said Bolesta: “I told them, ‘I’m a tour operator. I’ve got thousands of these bills. I get them from my bank. You got a problem, call the bank.’ I’m sitting there in a chair. The store’s full of people watching this. All of a sudden, he’s standing me up and handcuffing me behind my back, telling me, ‘We have to do this until we get it straightened out.’

“Meanwhile, everybody’s looking at me. I’ve lived here 18 years. I’m hoping my kids don’t walk in and see this. And I’m saying, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this. I’m paying with legal American money.’”

Bolesta was taken to the lockup, where he sat handcuffed to a pole and in leg irons while the Secret Service was called.

“At this point,” he says, “I’m a mass murderer.”

Secret Service agent Leigh Turner eventually arrived and declared the bills legitimate, adding, according to the police report, “Sometimes ink on money can smear.”

Commenting on the incident, Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey told the Sun: “It’s a sign that we’re all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world.”"

happy?

I see this story differently than most of you guys here.

The guy "protests" paying a bill??
(for services rendered for installing a car stereo)


To me he was acting like an arsehole and got treated like one.
Of course it was questioned if the bills were real....who the hell pays a 114$ bill with 2$ bills??
The ink smears would have made me wonder too.

The customer is NOT always right and this guy wanted to ruffle some feathers and got ruffled himself instead.
Looks good on him.

Paying for a 6 dollar item with 2$ bills I can understand,this guy wanted attention and got it......I see why the red flags went up.
The guy is a douche.


Next time he should just pay the bill for the work done and shut his mouth and quit "protesting"

reply to post by ReadyPower


All i can say is, This is real SAD.

Bad enough the ignorant clerks didn't know, where was the manager ? he or she didn't know either, then to add insult to injury the cops didn't know.

Is there a school within in 50 miles of this place ? if so did anyone in the area attend ?

This country regrettably has been dumbed down to new lows with no turn around in sight.

lol, that's funny..I thought any money even change is legal tender and has to be taken, he could of paid in all pennies and dimes and quarters..its all legal. but wow, to get arrested under false claims i'd sue them for that. Specially at that age, that would be embarressing..I bet the cops arresting him, felt like idiots and said to each other..'is this for real?" lol.