MONROE, CT — A 30-year-old New York City man allegedly passed counterfeit $100 bills at businesses in Monroe and several other towns before his arrest.
On Oct. 3, Monroe officers served a warrant to Eduardo Rodriguez Jr., of 11th Street South in Ozone Park, at Bridgeport Superior Court, charging him with forgery in the first degree and sixth degree larceny.
He was held on $25,000 bond, turned over to judicial marshals and later arraigned.
On Aug. 20, Takumi Ramen, 435 Main St., called police to say they believed a bearded man wearing a red hat, an orange reflective traffic vest, white shirt and pants used a counterfeit $100 bill to buy a passion fruit slushy, pocketing the $93 in change.
Police said the owner was removing money from the cash register while closing the restaurant that night, when he noticed a strange blue stripe on the $100 bill. Officers investigating the complaint confirmed it was a counterfeit bill, sparking their investigation.
Police said video surveillance confirmed the description of the man and officers learned from other area police departments that someone wearing an orange traffic vest had also passed counterfeit $100 bills at businesses in their towns, according to the report.
Greenwich police reported a similar incident on Aug. 19 and images of the vehicle the suspect drove off in was captured on video, police said.
On Aug. 28, Greenwich police said they identified the suspect as Eduardo Rodriguez, who was recently arrested by police in Orange for allegedly passing a bogus $100 bill at a business in their town.
Still photos of a similarly dressed suspect were also connected to an incident that took place in Rocky Hill for the same offense, police said.
A searched of Rodriguez’s name in the Connecticut Judicial Branch website also found pending forgery in the first degree and sixth degree larceny charges from police in Cheshire and Southington and a first-degree forgery charge from Connecticut State Troopers.
Burglary at Sunoco
Police responding to a burglar alarm at the Sunoco station, which includes Monroe Auto Service at 396 Monroe Turnpike, found the bottom of the glass door had been pushed in to gain entry early Sunday morning.
Approximately 300 to 350 packs of cigarettes were stolen for a total value of around $3,000, police said.
The incident occurred around 4:54 a.m. Detectives processed the scene for evidence and the investigation is ongoing.
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