We'll he is about to become a wealthy friend. I don't shop at Best Buy much but from now on I am only using $2 bills when I go there.
-----Original Message----- From: Tony Weeg [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 12:26 PM To: CF-Community Subject: Re: Man arrested at Best Buy for paying his bill OHH MY EFFIN GOD!!! thats a friend of mine... i did his website like 7 years ago... he is a RIOT, one of the FUNNIEST HUMANS ive met. HAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!! ill have to call him today!!!! :) tw On Apr 7, 2005 2:58 PM, Howie Hamlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 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. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Get help! 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