Pennsylvania Man Charged With Identity Theft: Greenwich Police

GREENWICH, CT — A Pennsylvania man has been arrested and charged with identity theft after an incident at Citizens Bank on Greenwich Avenue, police said on Tuesday.

According to police, Junior Buddington, 25, of Elkins Park, Pa., was added to a victim's bank account in 2020 to attempt a fraudulent withdrawal, but the fraud was prevented by the bank at the time.

Police then said on July 10, Buddington went to the Citizens Bank located at 53 Greenwich Ave. "to attempt to gain account statements and personal information of the account holder from the bank with the goal of opening a small business loan using that account information."

The bank alerted police, and several officers responded. Before officers arrived, according to the arrest report, Buddington left the bank and headed south on Greenwich Avenue after being denied the transaction.

Police said bike patrol officers, who routinely ride up and down the Avenue, located Buddington in his car and detained him. Lt. John Slusarz of the Greenwich Police Department said plainclothes officers working in the area were able to positively identify Buddington.

Buddington was charged with third-degree identity theft and third-degree criminal attempt at identity theft. He was unable to post a $5,000 bond, and has a court date of July 19 in Stamford.

Slusarz praised the bike patrol officers for responding quickly.

"This is a perfect example of those officers doing what they're intended to do," Slusarz said. "They're very, very mobile, and they're out in the central Greenwich business district, so when a call like this comes in, they can respond and be on scene much, much quicker than an officer trying to drive a patrol car into the downtown area or from one place on Greenwich Avenue to another place on Greenwich Avenue. They've been exceptionally useful in response times."

The bike patrol officers were added to Greenwich Avenue over a year ago in an effort to streamline coverage on the Avenue and increase police visibility. Traffic cops were subsequently removed from their posts in intersections. The move has been controversial in town, as many residents have called for the traffic cops to return.