More like F-I-B.
A Somers man was charged with Criminal Impersonation over the weekend after he came to Playland Park wearing an FBI shield and spinning a tall tale about being shot on the job. The shield was a fake. The story was, too.
On July 4, about 5:45 p.m., several undercover officers assigned to Playland stopped to talk to a man whose dog was wearing a tan vest adorned with a K9 patch with a blue line as well as other patches. The owner told them that he and his dog had recently been shot, and he removed a knee brace to display a wound.
The man then raised the hem of his shirt to reveal a gold shield affixed at his waist. He stated that he was “FBI” and that he and the dog had been shot in the line of duty. To make the tale even better, he went on to say that his dog had bitten – and killed – their attacker.
When the man went back into the Tiki Bar restaurant, an employee in the area gave the officers a business card that the man had been handing out. It was for a dog walking service with John Fiore listed as the owner.
Now this guy’s story didn’t add up from the get-go, but you have to do your due diligence. In follow-up investigation, officers were not able to find any evidence of an FBI agent named John Fiore. They did not find any reports of a recent shooting of an FBI agent or canine.
What they did find was a May press release from the New York State Police. That release announced the arrest of a man named John Fiore who had claimed he was shot by an intruder at his home but actually had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A search at that time of Fiore’s home turned up illegal weapons and narcotics.
Fiore was retrieved from the Tiki Bar and directed to accompany officers to the Playland Precinct. As they walked there, he knocked the shield off his waistband and attempted to kick it out of sight. There’s a picture of it here so you know how that worked out.
In the end, Fiore, 47, was charged with Criminal Impersonation 1st Degree, a felony, He is due to answer the charge in Rye City Court on July 14.
Reminder: Criminal charges are merely allegations, and all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
