Counterfeit $10 bill creates real nightmare for Kalihi woman

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

Mauricia Gonzales' voice dips a little when she talks about her surreal Sunday that began in church and ended in a police cellblock after an arrest that the head of the U.S. Secret Service in Hawai'i said should not have happened.

Mauricia Gonzales of Kalihi was arrested Sunday by Honolulu police in connection with a fake $10 bill. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

She said the worst part of her arrest in connection with a counterfeit $10 bill was removing her jewelry and putting it into her purse in front of five police officers at the Bishop Street Longs store while three of her friends looked on in shocked silence.

She said police tied her purse shut with plastic binding strips, handcuffed her, put her in the back of a squad car and took her to the police station.

"I was nervous," Gonzales said. "I get mad. How come they make me like that? I am not stealing. I was so scared I could not sleep on Sunday. I was thinking what happened. I was nervous at the time. How come this happen? They no tell me."

Gonzales was interrogated at police headquarters after she handed the $10 bill that turned out to be fake to a cashier at Longs. But Gonzales said she got the bill from the Waiakamilo branch of Bank of Hawai'i and didn't know it was counterfeit.

According to the Secret Service, the law-enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over all counterfeiting cases, the arrest was not supposed to happen.

Albert Joaquin, special agent in charge, said that the procedure is for HPD to contact the Secret Service before an arrest is made. He said that usually HPD calls the Secret Service, there is a discussion, and the federal agency makes the call on whether or not to arrest the individual.

He said Sunday's incident was an isolated event and that, generally, people do not get arrested for passing a counterfeit bill.

"In the 15 years I've been here, this is the first incident that we've had that I'm aware of," Joaquin said. "Sometimes the system breaks down, and, obviously, this time it fell through the cracks."

Joaquin said he will not seek federal charges against Gonzales.

Gonzales, a Kalihi resident, said she caught the bus from Waikiki to the Longs store Sunday afternoon to buy bread and toothpaste. But when she tried to pay for her items, a clerk discovered that the $10 bill she was using was counterfeit.

The store manager called the police, and Gonzales was arrested on suspicion of using counterfeit cash.

Gonzales was searched at the police cellblock, fingerprinted and given a breath test. As part of the booking process, she also posed for mug shots.

Police said the arrest was viable because the woman was in possession of a counterfeit bill.

"The incident is unfortunate," HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said. "However, based on the circumstances and the information received by the officers, the arrest was made."

Deputy Chief Paul Putzulu said police had enough evidence to arrest Gonzales.

"We arrest people of all ages," Putzulu said.

"We need to investigate and establish whether we have a case, and the officer makes that determination, and in this case the officer made the arrest," he said.

Longs Drug Stores does not have a "zero-tolerance" policy when it comes to customers passing counterfeit cash, spokeswoman Phyllis Prosser said.

"If we suspect a counterfeit bill, we are to advise law enforcement and they tell us what to do," Prosser said. "We follow whatever direction police tell us."

Any bill suspected as being counterfeit immediately involves the U.S. Secret Service, which must confirm the money is fake before an investigation can continue. The service then provides documented proof for prosecutors. If the amount is significant, federal charges are filed.

The Secret Service said the state does not have a counterfeit problem on the scale of other large cities such as Los Angeles. No cases involving counterfeit money have gone to trial here in several years because most offenders accept plea agreements.

Most fake bills are printed on computers and reproduced with high-quality printers and photo copiers, with minor enhancements added later. The Secret Service trains local merchants' associations and HPD officers in the latest detection and protection methods.

The most widely employed detection method, the one used in the Gonzales case, is the iodine pen.

Legitimate bills are printed on paper that is almost 100 percent cotton, while most fake money is printed on low-grade paper with a high concentration of wood pulp. If a merchant swipes an iodine pen across a set of bills and a dark brown stain appears, the bill is most likely counterfeit.

The test is subject to false positives, and older bills and foreign substances rubbing off on the bill may create the brown mark.

According to the Secret Service, almost $3,000 in counterfeit cash is seized in the state each month.

Gonzales was released later Sunday. She said the officer that interrogated her was polite and friendly. She said that when he was done, he drove her home.

Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.