Strange News Articles

[American Patriot]

Starting this only because of the next article I'm going to post...

Personally, I think the guy is simply a collector. He collects "uniforms".


Tips pour in on Florida mystery man as cops probe 'deeper, darker story'

Published August 07, 2012

FoxNews.com



FILE: This photo shows Roy Antigua. (New Port Richey police department)
MysteryManUnifrms.jpg

Aug. 6, 2012: A stash of fake IDs and uniforms is shown. (MyFoxTampaBay.com)



Hundreds of tips have come in to Florida police about the mysterious man who had a closet full of uniforms and a cache of IDs enabling him to pass for everything from an astronaut to a CIA agent.

But authorities in New Port Richey don't know if Roy Antigua just liked to play dress-up, or if "there is a deeper, darker story," Police Chief James Steffens told FoxNews.com.

"We still don't know if this was fantasy gone wild, or if there is a deeper, darker story."

- Police Chief James Steffens

"We have gotten a deluge of tips and calls from concerned citizens," Steffens said. "We're working through those now and I'm optimistic that we're going to get more information on who Roy Antigua is."

More than a hundred emails and phone calls have come in to detectives from members of the public who had encounters with the 53-year-old Cuba native, much like one Steffens himself had when Antigua sat next to him at a Memorial Day event and introduced himself as a Coast Guard lieutenant commander.

"I had experience myself with this individual," Steffens said. "We still don't know if this was fantasy gone wild, or if there is a deeper, darker story. But a line has definitely been crossed and we need the public's help in piecing together what he has done and whether he has engaged in criminal activity."

Antigua was arrested for driving without a license and a parole violation after the traffic stop, but was further investigated once officers noticed a fake ID. That's when police found uniforms from NASA, U.S. Customs, the Navy, the CIA, the Secret Service and Homeland Security. He also had dozens of military medals, a flight helmet and flight instructor badge and a Boy Scout troop leader uniform.

He is now being held without bail, and has told police his masquerade had "gotten out of hand," according to Steffens.

"It's actually scary. You see these Boy Scout uniforms, who knows if he's been around young children and what his intentions were," an official tells MyFoxTampaBay.com.

He also had a bag filled with doctor's equipment and a physician's assistant's badge and, chillingly, a photo of himself in scrubs holding a newborn.

Now authorities are saying the best-case scenario is that Antigua is someone who has stockpiled his collection for play or dress-up.

"Is he really a threat or is he someone who is living a very involved fantasy life?" Steffens said, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

Steffens tells the paper he can vouch that Antigua impersonated a Coast Guard officer at least once. He recognized Antigua from a Memorial Day event at a cemetery, where he says Antigua introduced himself as a Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander and was wearing a uniform. He then sat next to the police chief in a special section for officials.

"Everybody around there thought that he was the real deal," Steffens told the paper.

The only ID that ended up being real was an identification card saying Antigua was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Miami, a volunteer unit, but Antigua was kicked out in 2011 after being arrested on a grand theft charge. Antigua is a licensed respiratory care practitioner, according to the Department of Health, but detectives aren't sure if or where he was employed.

Steffens asks anyone who might have dealt with Antigua to call his agency at (727) 841-4550. He says authorities are investigating his possible ties to federal law enforcement agencies, the military, hospitals and other groups.

"You don't have this collection just to keep it in your house and look in the mirror," Steffens told The Tampa Bay Times.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/07...#ixzz22sduunRs

[American Patriot]

New Port Richey man had vast collection of fake IDs and uniforms, authorities say

By Erin Sullivan, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, August 7, 2012

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ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Story Tools Print this story Purchase reprints Contact the editor Email Newsletters [DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times] Law officials at the New Port Richey Police Department show the fake law enforcement uniforms, badges and other fabricated items that were found at the home of Roy Antigua, 52. Officials are asking for the public’s help in determining how the uniforms were used. Among them were fake credentials and licenses, ammunition and a doctor’s bag with instruments.

NEW PORT RICHEY — A stranger in a Coast Guard uniform introduced himself to New Port Richey police Chief James Steffens. It was a Memorial Day event at a cemetery. The man said he was Lt. Cmdr. Roy Antigua, and he sat next to the chief in a special section for officials.
"Everybody around there thought that he was the real deal," Steffens said.
But it turns out Antigua is a man of many identities and disguises, none of which appear to be real, authorities said.
"We need to know, from start to finish," Steffens said at a news conference Monday, "who is Roy Antigua?"
So far, authorities have found out he is from Cuba and has family in Miami. He is single. And he owns a worrisome hoard of law enforcement, military and medical uniforms, badges, identification cards and supplies, discovered when Antigua's home was searched after he was arrested on an unrelated charge.
Antigua, 52, had a NASA uniform. U.S. Customs. The Navy. The CIA. Secret Service. Homeland Security. Dozens of military medals. A flight helmet and flight instructor badge. A Boy Scout troop leader uniform.
Officers found a suitcase full of medical scrubs and a black leather doctor's bag with instruments. Antigua had badges saying he was a physician's assistant. There was a photo of Antigua in scrubs holding a newborn. Steffens said his team is investigating to find out where that was taken and what role Antigua played.
Investigators also found ammunition for semiautomatic guns and assault rifles, but no weapons. Antigua's shiny black Cadillac Escalade with dark tinted windows had a Department of Homeland Security registration sticker and a Coast Guard license plate. He had blue flashing lights and handcuffs.
Authorities are trying to figure out if Antigua was using this vast stockpile to impersonate characters, such as at the Memorial Day event, and how far his imaginations reached.
"Is he really a threat or is he someone who is living a very involved fantasy life?" Steffens said, standing behind seven tables full of seized items.
The only thing that was true on the table, Steffens said, was an identification card saying Antigua was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Miami, a volunteer unit, but Antigua was kicked out in 2011 after being arrested on a grand theft charge.
Last week, Antigua was pulled over on a traffic stop and charged with driving without a valid license and violating his probation in the grand theft case. At the station, Officer Ed Campbell, a Marine veteran, noticed Antigua's military ID looked fake.
That began the investigation.
Steffens said Antigua confessed to owning the collection.
"He is remorseful," Steffens said. "He said this was something that got out of hand."
Antigua is being held without bail at the Pasco jail. He declined an interview request Monday.
"He's just a nice man," said Darlene Willis, the property manager at River's Edge apartments in New Port Richey, where Antigua lived for several months. She said he told her he was in the Coast Guard. "He's a gentleman," she said, "truly a gentleman."
Another resident said the opposite, that Antigua was angry and violent, boasting that he was a federal agent, flashing his badge to intimidate others.
"He said, 'The police won't touch me,' " said Patricia Curtin.
Curtin had a business card of Antigua's saying he was a medical social worker for Medi Home Health. A woman who answered the New Port Richey office phone said Antigua stopped working there a few months ago and declined to say more.
Antigua is a licensed respiratory care practitioner, according to the Department of Health. It is unclear where he was employed.
Detectives are working with federal law enforcement agencies, the military, hospitals and other groups trying to find out if Antigua had dealings with them. Steffens said detectives found one person who flew as a passenger in a plane with Antigua, but it is unknown if Antigua actually had a pilot's license.
Steffens asks anyone who might have dealt with Antigua to call his agency at (727) 841-4550.
"You don't have this collection just to keep it in your house and look in the mirror," Steffens said.

[Malsua]

I suspect the guy is a conman.

[American Patriot]

If you walk in wearing the uniform of a Coast Guard Officer and introduce yourself as "Lt. Commander such and such" and you're not really in the Coast Guard.... I suspect that you are doing something illegal.

it may not be that he's a conman, but possibly just an attention seeker - but in a BIG way.

[Malsua]

This goes back to the whole stolen valor debate. I have no issue with someone who has uniforms as long as they don't grant any authority, power or control, whether overt or implied.

[American Patriot]

Agreed. (Again!)

Unfortunately Mal it's not about "stolen valor"... It's about the actual law that was on the books long before this "stolen valor" act came into play. Besides the Stolen Valor act wasn't about WEARING the Uniform. It was about taking credit for things you didn't do.

Federal laws concerning the wear of the United States Military uniforms by people not on active duty are published in the United States Code (USC). Specifically, 10 USC, Subtitle A, Part II, Chapter 45, Sections 771 and 772.

Section 771 states:

Except as otherwise provided by law, no person except a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, as the case may be, may wear -

(1) the uniform, or a distinctive part of the uniform, of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps; or
(2) a uniform any part of which is similar to a distinctive part of the uniform of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps

Section 772 lists some exceptions:

(a) A member of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard may wear the uniform prescribed for the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, as the case may be.

(b) A member of the Naval Militia may wear the uniform prescribed for the Naval Militia.

(c) A retired officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may bear the title and wear the uniform of his retired grade.

(d) A person who is discharged honorably or under honorable conditions from the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may wear his uniform while going from the place of discharge to his home, within three months after his discharge.

(e) A person not on active duty who served honorably in time of war in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may bear the title, and, when authorized by regulations prescribed by the President, wear the uniform, of the highest grade held by him during that war.

(f) While portraying a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, an actor in a theatrical or motion-picture production may wear the uniform of that armed force if the portrayal does not tend to discredit that armed force.

(g) An officer or resident of a veterans' home administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs may wear such uniform as the Secretary of the military department concerned may prescribe.

(h) While attending a course of military instruction conducted by the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, a civilian may wear the uniform prescribed by that armed force if the wear of such uniform is specifically authorized under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the military department concerned.

(i) Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Air Force may prescribe, a citizen of a foreign country who graduates from an Air Force school may wear the appropriate aviation badges of the Air Force.

(j) A person in any of the following categories may wear the uniform prescribed for that category:

• (1) Members of the Boy Scouts of America.
• (2) Members of any other organization designated by the Secretary of a military department

[Malsua]

I still say he's a garden variety conman who uses these uniforms to pull scams on people.

If he's got full active duty type uniforms and they are illegal to wear, was he actually ever wearing them?

[American Patriot]

The one article states he was wearing a Uniform. Naval uniform.

But, I think you're correct. He's some kind of a conman and the cops want to know what he has been up to.

On the OTHER hand, UNLESS he did something illegal, then why are they bothering him (I think that's your main point, right? And again, I agree with this. WHY are they bothering the guy UNLESS he did something illegal and they caught him at it).

[American Patriot]

2 women accused of duping Atlanta police

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By KATE BRUMBACK

The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Atlanta police have arrested two women they say were involved in a brazen plot to collect personal information from officers.

Cintia Ximena Pedone-Allou is seen in an undated photo provided by the Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff's Office. Pedone-Allou, 30, and Dawnetta Patrice Underwood, 23, both of Maryland, walked into police precincts around Atlanta, made presentations about insurance benefit packages to groups of officers and walked out with applications filled with personal information in a brazen fraud plot, police said Monday, Aug. 13, 2012. The two women were arrested Friday, Aug. 9 after having visited multiple police precincts in Atlanta over the previous several days, police said. At least 39 officers and other employees filled out applications, and police believe the women may have also targeted transit police and fire stations. (AP Photo/Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff's Office)


Dawnetta Patrice Underwood, is seen in an undated photo provided by the Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff's Office. Underwood, 23, and Cintia Pedone-Allou, 30, both of Maryland, walked into police precincts around Atlanta, made presentations about insurance benefit packages to groups of officers and walked out with applications filled with personal information in a brazen fraud plot, police said Monday, Aug. 13, 2012. The two women were arrested Friday, Aug. 9 after having visited multiple police precincts in Atlanta over the previous several days, police said. At least 39 officers and other employees filled out applications, and police believe the women may have also targeted transit police and fire stations. (AP Photo/Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff's Office)

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Police say the women went to police precincts pretending to work for an insurance company. They told employees the city was changing its insurance options and got some officers to fill out applications.
Police say the scheme was uncovered when a lieutenant became suspicious because he said the presentation didn't feel like a typical visit from an insurance company.
Sgt. Paul Cooper says it's not entirely clear what the women planned to do with the information.
Thirty-year-old Cintia Ximena Pedone-Allou and 23-year-old Dawnetta Patrice Underwood were in jail Monday on identity theft and racketeering charges. Police did not know whether they had attorneys.
___
August 13, 2012 02:51 PM EDT
Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[American Patriot]

Woman denies NJ man padlocked her in room for years, says ‘I don’t like to go out’

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, August 14, 11:27 AM

PATERSON, N.J. — A woman found behind a padlocked door inside a New Jersey apartment said man accused of holding her there for years is “a good man” who never abused her and that she simply doesn’t like to go outside.


Nancy Rodriguez Duran said the kidnapping case against 42-year-old Michael Mendez is a lie and that she asked him to padlock the bedroom door with her inside on the day police found her.

Speaking to reporters before Mendez appeared in court Tuesday, Duran said Mendez was going out last Thursday and she was worried about maintenance workers coming into their Paterson, N.J., apartment and seeing her in a nightgown. She said workers had occasionally walked in the apartment before without knocking.


“He padlocked the door with my consent,” she said through tears. “He’s a good man. He never hit me. He never abused me.”


Later, during a brief court appearance, Mendez pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, false imprisonment and drug charges. Bail was continued at $1 million.


As he turned to leave the courtroom, Mendez mouthed the words “I love you” to Duran, who was sitting in the gallery.


A state police street gang unit searching the apartment for drugs last Thursday found the 44-year-old woman in the locked bedroom. Based on interviews and evidence, investigators believe she was kept in the room for extended periods of time for the last two years and possibly up to 10 years, state police said.


Police say Mendez is a member of the Latin Kings street gang.


Investigators said Duran was only let out of the room when he was home, but she disputed that.


Authorities have described Duran as Mendez’s girlfriend. She said they consider themselves husband and wife, though they never got a marriage license. The pair have been together for 14 years, the last 10 at the apartment complex, she said.


She said there was nothing sinister about her infrequent trips outside.


“I like being inside. I don’t like to go out,” she said. “It’s not that he was keeping me there. I’m his wife. Why should he keep me in a room for 10 years? How could I be so healthy? I should be dead by now.”


The state attorney general’s office declined to comment on her statements that she wasn’t held against her will.


A neighbor told The Associated Press he saw Duran a few times in recent years, though it was rare. The man, who refused to give his name because of worries over safety, said he remembered seeing the woman get into a car sometime in the last few years.


Other neighbors said they weren’t aware that another person was living in the apartment.


State police said they found 4,200 prescription pills valued at $100,000, 190 grams of marijuana valued at nearly $2,000 and nearly $23,000 in cash inside the apartment.


Mendez once worked as a roofer but has been on disability for the last several years because of lung problems and bipolar disorder, Duran said. She said at least some of the drugs found in his apartment were prescription medications, though she said she turned over marijuana to the investigators.