Legal tender.
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Posted on 04/07/2005 2:49:38 PM PDT by samtheman
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."
Actually it's a sign that Best Buy is about to be facing a helacious law suit.
XS, was it Best Buy that wouldn't let you use a gift cert purchaseed on line?
That 9/11 comment was beyond stoopid! Guess the newer color reproduction technologies have nothing to do with the hinkiness of retailers...
Anyway, I guess they haven't had any of the kind of protests that used to happen every once in awhile, where some minority was supposed to pay for everything with two dollar bills, to demonstrate how much of an impact they have on a local economy. Most cash drawers aren't set up for em, which is why they aren't in more common use. If you're not getting them with change from your purchases, you don't usually come in contact with em.
I predict that these people can have great 2nd careers with the TSA.
I'm a southerner, but this does remind me of a joke...
A counterfeiter was printing up money when he realized he had printed $18 bills. He figured if he went to a small hicktown he would be able to pass them off. He went to a store in a small town and presented the $18 bill and asked for change. The clerk replied, "sure, you want 3-$6's or 2-$9's?
Can anyone PLEASE tell me where I can get some $2 bills like those?
Oh, don't be silly. Those things aren't backed by gold, so they can't be real money. Nobody would take that stuff!
...What? Oh, they do?
Well, dang it. This stack of $100 gold certificates I got must be worthless then. Guess I'll just go burn 'em...
I have a couple of those. Cool, but not amazing, that's rediculous.
"It's a sign that we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world."
Good grief...don't these people know you can't even by a AK-47 at a gun show for $2? Terrorists would need a whole pile of $2-bills to buy one of those "mass murdering killing" machines. //sarcasm off//
They are required to call the Secret Service when suspected counterfeiting is involved. They not only provide protection for dignitaries, they also handle counterfeiting. They're part of the Department of the Treasury.
That's why I dont buy from Best Buy...the help is generally NOT helpful at all!
always remember that half of us are stupider than average
Lawsuit Lottery:
Poing.
If you're serious, just ask your bank for them. They can order them for you.
Ask for them at the bank. I have about $40.00 worth from when they first came out.
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