Posted on 04/07/2005 2:46:06 PM PDT by TitansAFC
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.
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."
Belesta 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."
Since when is trying to pay for a purchase with legal tender "probable cause"?
I'm presuming using an accepted form of United States legal tender is probable cause to be arrested.
I hope some enterprising reporter puts this story on page one of his local paper, if only to clear this poor guy's name!
I hope he sues best buy. I suspect he will own that store if he does. He should also sue the police for false arrest. He has a rock solid case here. There is no excuse for a citizen being treated in that manner.
The issue of probable cause would be interesting. Perhaps a Maryland jury would agree that it was suspicious that someone would try to pay for something with two-dollar bills and he would get nothing.
LOL. One would think not. But who knows, it may be a subjective test, if the cop didn't know better, then the cop had probable cause based in part on personal ignorance.
Can you still get the $1 coins with the Indian babes picture on it, whos name I cannot spell?
"How much do you think Best Buy is going to pay to make this all go away?"
If they did something stupid like that to me, they couldn't pay me enough to make it go away. I would not be satisfied until the store was out of business and the local PD was severely punished. The arresting officer should have his peace officer status permanently revoked along with his entire chain-of-command on duty that day, and the city should have to screen their PD for mental defectives.
If it had been 114 one-dollar bills, non-issue. Store takes the money and moves on. The probable cause test here has to be to the police that detained him. I assume the probable cause test is subjective, so if the cop is ignorant in matters of currency, and is honestly fooled into belief he has a perp passing counterfeit currency, then he has probable cause. A belief based on a mistake, to be sure.
A "trifle"? As posted before they were as moronic as the buest buy employees, but we expect that for minimum wage, not from the "city's finest"!!
"The issue of probable cause would be interesting"
There is not sufficient probably cause here. The officer is so deficient he should be terminated along with all those superior to him on duty that day.
Mr Two Dollar Bill should count himself lucky that he wasn't Tasered!
Can't be too careful after 9-11.
Mr Two Dollar Bill should count himself lucky that he wasn't Tasered!
Can't be too careful after 9-11.
"Mr. Burns! I'm so sorry the grocery clerk had you committed. I'll never shop there again."
The USSS guy says that sometimes ink smears on bill currency?!? Is that accurate?
Sounds like a nice fat lawsuit to me.
The leal definition of stupidity is, CHA CHING!!!!
A perfect storm
Starring 'tards from Best Buy and 'tards from the police department
"It's a sign that we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world."
The stupid statement of a man who knows, deep down, his department is about to be cutting this gentleman a substantial check. Then again, this being Balmer, they can probably find a judge that'll throw the case out and put the guy in jail for contempt.
}:-)4
they oughta arrest the pubic screwl teechers who edjucated these twits!
That is basically the point I was trying to make. The three of us will roll our eyes upon learning that he was arrested for trying to pay with legitimate currency: two-dollar bills. We will all agree that it doesn't make sense. That being said, when or if, the issue is put to a jury in Maryland, will they believe that the officer, even if mistaken, or downright stupid, has probable cause to arrest? My guess is that they will laugh their asses off in deliberations at the dope, but won't award any money. Well, maybe a couple of thousand dollars.
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