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Kahlan Amnell
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 Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:48 pm Post subject: Man arrested for using legal tender. |
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this I found both funny and sad. We all know about $2 bills right? that they are legal, right? mmk.
| Quote: | PUT YOURSELF in Mike Bolesta's place. On the morning of Feb. 20, he buys a new radio-CD player for his 17-year-old son Christopher's car. He pays the $114 installation charge with 57 crisp new $2 bills, which, when last observed, were still considered legitimate currency in the United States proper. The $2 bills are Bolesta's idea of payment, and his little comic protest, too.
For this, Bolesta, Baltimore County resident, innocent citizen, owner of Capital City Student Tours, finds himself under arrest.
Finds himself, in front of a store full of customers at the Best Buy on York Road in Lutherville, locked into handcuffs and leg irons.
Finds himself transported to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, where he's handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service is called into the case.
Have a nice day, Mike.
"Humiliating," the 57-year old Bolesta was saying now. "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."
What we have here, besides humiliation, is a sense of caution resulting in screw-ups all around.
"When I bought the stereo player," Bolesta explains, "the technician said it'd fit perfectly into my son's dashboard. But it didn't. So they called back and said they had another model that would fit perfectly, and it was cheaper. We got a $67 refund, which was fine. As long as it fit, that's all.
"So we go back and pay for it, and they tell us to go around front with our receipt and pick up the difference in the cost. I ask about installation charges. They said, 'No installation charge, because of the mix-up. Our mistake, no charge.' Swell.
"But then, the next day, I get a call at home. They're telling me, 'If you don't come in and pay the installation fee, we're calling the police.' Jeez, where did we go from them admitting a mistake to suddenly calling the police? So I say, 'Fine, I'll be in tomorrow.' But, overnight, I'm starting to steam a little. It's not the money -- it's the threat. So I thought, I'll count out a few $2 bills."
He has lots and lots of them.
With his Capital City Student Tours, he arranges class trips for school kids around the country traveling to large East Coast cities, including Baltimore. He's been doing this for the last 18 years. He makes all the arrangements: hotels, meals, entertainment. And it's part of his schtick that, when Bolesta hands out meal money to students, he does it in $2 bills, which he picks up from his regular bank, Sun Trust.
"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.'"
At Best Buy, they may have perceived the protest -- but did not sense the comic aspect of 57 $2 bills.
"I'm just here to pay the bill," Bolesta says he told a cashier. "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."
He remembers the cashier marking each bill with a pen. Then other store personnel began to gather, a few of them asking, "Are these real?"
"Of course they are," Bolesta said. "They're legal tender."
A Best Buy manager refused comment last week. But, according to a Baltimore County police arrest report, suspicions were roused when an employee noticed some smearing of ink. So the cops were called in. One officer noticed the bills ran in sequential order.
"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,'" Bolesta says. "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 then taken to the county police lockup in Cockeysville, where he sat handcuffed to a pole and in leg irons while the Secret Service was called in.
"At this point," he says, "I'm a mass murderer."
Finally, Secret Service agent Leigh Turner arrived, examined the bills and said they were legitimate, adding, according to the police report, "Sometimes ink on money can smear."
This will be important news to all concerned.
For Baltimore County police, said spokesman Bill Toohey, "It's a sign that we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world."
The other day, one of Bolesta's sons needed a few bucks. Bolesta pulled out his wallet and "whipped out a couple of $2 bills. But my son turned away. He said he doesn't want 'em any more."
He's seen where such money can lead. |
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Rebel_Rouser
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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I tell you what, if that were me someone would have a nice lawsuit on thier hands, cause thats BS to be locked up and treated like that for doing nothing wrong.
But it is baltimore county 
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Last edited by Rebel_Rouser on Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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shovelnose
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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if that was me i would own baltimore county.
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Mike
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Joined: 23 Nov 2003
Location: New Jersey
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:23 pm Post subject: Re: Man arrested for using legal tender. |
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i thoguht banks had to send those in to be destroyed 
| Kahlan Amnell wrote: |
If you want to see the original article:
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i got the bugmenot plugin for firefox so i dont have to make an account for anything, i just right click, press the button and it fills in the name and pass someone else submitted. its great  .
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Speaker's Xeno
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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that is so stupid i swear....
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Stevo
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crackhead_fred
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Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Location: oh
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| instead of best buy it would be Crackhead Fred Buy in the county of Crackhead Fred County, Maryland. |
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Easy Target
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:37 pm Post subject: |
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I work as a assistant-manager in a Wal-Mart and if one day I'm up again a situation like this, that guy would'nt have to pay the installation fee for sure. They let him go and they call him back to pay it, what a nice customer service!? Blame the technician, not the customer in that case!
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Kahlan Amnell
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Joined: 20 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:48 pm Post subject: |
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while I find this whole situation comical, I bet I know what might have "really" happened- you do know not to believe the media 100% right?
probably someone did say it would fit (newer worker) and then when it didn't, the new system was under 100 (if it is 100+ you get free installation), the new/not so bright worker than said free installation still (without clearing with a manager). manager finds out, decides to go ahead and charge for installation (and wth, 114? is it really that much? or did he buy something more? i doubt that a <100 stereo deck is going to cost 114 in installation, at that i would install it myself.) so, customer service has to place the call (and wow, i know they can be complete **** on the phone, and in person, honest, i work with em, not all, but some) and they know that the guy on the other line is going to get mad (who wouldn't?) so they start with a bad attitude.
so, he comes in, probably has some words to exchange with customer service (notice how it said he tried to pay 3 times?), then goes to cashiers, cashiers DO NOT accept money for installation - that is handled by the car guys. all service fees/installation fees are charged and rung up in that department - the front lanes can't do it (least not at my best buy).
the only time I have seen our "security"/ loss prevention team react is when a guy walked in, picked up a digital cam, clipped the cable and started running for the door, they tackled him (was funny as anything) other times they just form a block at the door. the time we had a guy with a stolen card, they just had the cashier walk the card to loss prevention stand, and they put it in a locked drawer, made a block at the door, and put him in the little security room beside the doors.
whatever happened, i doubt the guy was the sweet gentle guy the media portrayed him as, it simply casts the most interesting shadow on the event and the most talk.
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crackhead_fred
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 9:23 am Post subject: |
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| Kahlan Amnell wrote: | the only time I have seen our "security"/ loss prevention team react is when a guy walked in, picked up a digital cam, clipped the cable and started running for the door, they tackled him (was funny as anything) other times they just form a block at the door. the time we had a guy with a stolen card, they just had the cashier walk the card to loss prevention stand, and they put it in a locked drawer, made a block at the door, and put him in the little security room beside the doors.
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lol i worked at our local Meijer here in town for 1 1/2 years when i was a youngster in highschool and I remember some great fights with theives and our loss prevention. It's always a good time to kick back and watch.  |
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Simpleman
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Kahlan Amnell wrote: | while I find this whole situation comical, I bet I know what might have "really" happened- you do know not to believe the media 100% right?
probably someone did say it would fit (newer worker) and then when it didn't, the new system was under 100 (if it is 100+ you get free installation), the new/not so bright worker than said free installation still (without clearing with a manager). manager finds out, decides to go ahead and charge for installation (and wth, 114? is it really that much? or did he buy something more? i doubt that a <100 stereo deck is going to cost 114 in installation, at that i would install it myself.) so, customer service has to place the call (and wow, i know they can be complete **** on the phone, and in person, honest, i work with em, not all, but some) and they know that the guy on the other line is going to get mad (who wouldn't?) so they start with a bad attitude.
so, he comes in, probably has some words to exchange with customer service (notice how it said he tried to pay 3 times?), then goes to cashiers, cashiers DO NOT accept money for installation - that is handled by the car guys. all service fees/installation fees are charged and rung up in that department - the front lanes can't do it (least not at my best buy).
the only time I have seen our "security"/ loss prevention team react is when a guy walked in, picked up a digital cam, clipped the cable and started running for the door, they tackled him (was funny as anything) other times they just form a block at the door. the time we had a guy with a stolen card, they just had the cashier walk the card to loss prevention stand, and they put it in a locked drawer, made a block at the door, and put him in the little security room beside the doors.
whatever happened, i doubt the guy was the sweet gentle guy the media portrayed him as, it simply casts the most interesting shadow on the event and the most talk. |
The Best Buy here made take a ticket up to the cashiers and pay for my car stereo and then take them the reciet and then they installed it. Which I ended up getting more money back then what I payed because they broke a piece of my dash  . That was the first time I ever let someone install a stereo in one of my cars as I always have done custom $6000.00 plus systems in my cars, but this was my 4x4 that didn't need a extreme system. ( By the time I was done it had 2 Zapco's 600 watt compitition amps $3000.00, 3- Eclipse 12's $1200.00, 2 sets of Polk Audio highs $1200.00, Eclipse DVD player and 6 disk CD changer $2500.00 along with a few other goodies ) So much for not getting extreme...lol
Anyways moral of the story I had to pay at the cashier and they broke my truck
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Royce
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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I want to do that now... when i go to buy my new video card.. I'm going to go to the bank and get all $2 bills if possibly and use them, just to stir up some trouble. I'll take shovel along with me for sh*ts and giggles. 
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Kahlan Amnell
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Joined: 20 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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ooh, can you come down to my store? please? and I will point you to the cashier who would be an idiot about it... come on please? I want her fired 
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rANCOR hUNTER
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Royce wrote: | | I want to do that now... when i go to buy my new video card.. I'm going to go to the bank and get all $2 bills if possibly and use them, just to stir up some trouble. I'll take shovel along with me for sh*ts and giggles. |
teehee
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CarbinE
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| that is crazy, we used to get those all the time too |
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