[k_semler]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/artic ... E_ID=43685

YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Man arrested, cuffed after using $2 bills
Best Buy customer on being jailed: 'At this point, I'm a mass murderer'
Posted: April 7, 2005
5:12 p.m. Eastern


© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

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."

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."

[RockHind]

Maybe somebody ought to update them on all these new fangled quarters out now to avoid any misunderstandings.

[savethehumans]

Nickels are supposed to get updated, too, I think.

Look, it's simple. Have sports announcers announce these things. And have 'em written into dialogue on shows like "Desperate Housewives," "CSI," and "Law & Order." And on the news shows, just to make it look good and civic and responsible.

Then virtually EVERYONE in America will know--and we'll have one less homeland security "problem."

[Kingcoal]

I've already had pre security stripe $20 bills rejected by clerks. The girl, only about 16, had apparently never seen one before. I get a kick out of it all. I wasn't hauled off the jail though. This is a good example of a trend I see where cash will eventually be obsolete. While this might be convenient, it also makes it much easier to levy someone of all his or her money in an instant.

[Tyler_JC]

I wish we could throw those kinds of ignorant people into The Machine. How can you be 16 and have never seen one of the old twenties? Seriously, that's just unfortunate.

[KiddieKorral]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')'ve already had pre security stripe $20 bills rejected by clerks. The girl, only about 16, had apparently never seen one before.

[TWilliam]

Good god...

I hope he sues the F#C% out of Best Buy. They are such @$$holes. They've been nothing but a pain in the @$$ any time I've ever dealt with them...

[JoeW]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RockHind', 'M')aybe somebody ought to update them on all these new fangled quarters out now to avoid any misunderstandings.

[JoeW]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JoeW', 'E')verybody in the store that day who has the responsibility of accepting cash payments should be fired for not being familiar with the country's currency.

[oowolf]

I'm so glad to be up here on the mountain-away from all the walking dead.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('oowolf', 'I')'m so glad to be up here on the mountain-away from all the walking dead.

[lotrfan55345]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'I') wish we could throw those kinds of ignorant people into The Machine. How can you be 16 and have never seen one of the old twenties? Seriously, that's just unfortunate.

[The_Virginian]

next time he should pay in ONE dollar bills...twice the fun. (or Pennies?)

"All jittery since 911" was a fargin excuse...LAME...counterfiters have always been prime target. Either way the Ink that changes color (what's this "run" story?) they use to detect fakes only works on real cruddy counterfits that have to much ACID....most counterfit bills are much better than that...and yes even real paper can have acid snafu's.

Tis' a demented world we live in...can it be changed back, or propelled to a better future?

Bet ya a 3 dollar bill it can.