Melrose Man Allegedly Impersonated Federal Agent

A Melrose man allegedly impersonated a federal agent to scam two of his fellow Albanian natives out of thousands of dollars.

Gjerji Pelushi, aka Gjergi or George Pelushi, was arrested and charged Friday in federal court with two counts of impersonating a federal agent, according to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz’ office.

The two victims paid Pelushi thousands of dollars because he said he worked for the FBI or CIA and could assist them in obtaining a law enforcement job or in dealing with a law enforcement-related problem, according to authorities. Pelushi promised to get one of the victim’s state court case dismissed, authorities said.

Undercover agents built a case against Pelushi by recording conversations between him and the victims over four months.

In one conversation, Pelushi falsely claimed to have patrolled the 2014 Boston Marathon in plain clothes while armed and said that “the director” had told him and his fellow agents that if they “tell someone to stop and they reach for the bag, shoot them in the head!” authorities said.