Police Say Mall Shopper Passed Phony Money

If an , and – all in one week – was not enough, Livingston Police arrested a shopper trying to pass off $100 counterfeit bills at the Livingston Mall.

The phony bills were $5 bills that had been washed and reprinted for $100s, a common scheme, said Detective Sgt. Anthony Dippold. Because they use the paper from real money, the counterfeits can be hard to detect. “In my opinion, these were very well made,” Dippold said.

Police arrested Taqoyia Davis, 18, of Orange. She was charged with uttering a false document (under the forgery statute), possession of stolen property, and theft by deception.

According to the police report, Davis allegedly used three fake $100 bills on Thursday at two stores in the mall before she was confronted by mall security, Dippold said. They were tipped off after clerks at two other retailers refused to accept the money.

The Secret Service is part of a continuing investigation of the phony money, Dippold said, and the case was referred to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

In other news this week, fuel that likely leaked from a landscaper’s truck in the 7/11 parking lot on South Livingston Avenue was stopped from spreading by the Fire Department and the Nutley hazardous materials team, Dippold said.  The gas spilled into a storm grate on Beaufort Avenue and absorbent pads were put inside the catch basic until a private contractor arrived to clean out the sewer. The state Department of Environmental Protection was notified.