Crime & Safety
State Police Seize Counterfeit Money In Wilmington
State Police found thousands of dollars in phony c-notes after chasing down a suspect impersonating a police officer who refused to stop.
WILMINGTON, MA -- Massachusetts State Police Trooper Stephen Thomson was paroling I-93 North in Wilmington Monday night when he saw a black Acura TLX sedan with flashing blue lights traveling at speeds up to 110 mph in the center lane. The only problem was the Acura had New York license plates, tipping Thomson off that he hadn't seen a fellow law enforcement officer.
Thomson gave pursuit but the accurate kept speeding along. It was only 10 miles later, in Chelmsford, and after Thomson had gotten clearance to pursue that he was able to pull over the Acura driven by Kevin Portalatin, 27, of the Bronx, N.Y., and his two passengers, Samuel E. Morales, 38, of the Bronx and Yefri Arias-Rodriguez, 22, also of the Bronx.
Portalatin told Thomson the three men were rappers and were to perform a show in Massachusetts. He also said he was a volunteer police officer and firefighter and he thought the pursuing Troopers were “helping” him. He also said they were coming from Lawrence, even though they were traveling northbound towards the Merrimack Valley city.
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The Acura was equipped with flashing blue lights. As troopers searched the car they found a box containing $100 bills believed to be counterfeit and stacked in 10 separate bundles, each bound with a paper band. A single $20 bill, also believed to be phony and with Chinese writing on it, was also found. They also found three bottles of pepper spray and a handheld radio that scans police dispatches.
A special agent for the U.S. Secret Service interviewed the three men at the State Police-Andover Barracksand confirmed that the bills were fake. Portalatin faces charges of impersonating a police officer, unlawful use of blue lights, possession of counterfeit notes, failure to stop for police, speeding and marked lanes violation. Morales and Arias-Rodriguez were charged with possession of counterfeit notes.
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Photo by Massachusetts State Police.
Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).
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