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But his sweet deal, arranged through a Craigslist.com posting, went south as the ATM refused to accept what the man discovered were counterfeit $100 bills, Stamford police said.
Police began an investigation and reported the car as stolen. A bit of luck and an alert state trooper helped lead to the arrest of Angel Vasquez, 26, of 123 Cooke St., Waterbury, on charges of first-degree forgery and third-degree larceny.
Vasquez turned himself in to Stamford Police on Monday after learning there was a warrant for his arrest. He was held on $10,000 bond.
Some time after the vehicle was reported stolen, a state trooper saw a broken down 2007 Passat on Interstate 84, police said. The driver, later identified as Vasquez, told police he had called a tow truck. The trooper noted that the car had valid New Jersey license plates on it.
The trooper left the scene for another call, but a couple of hours later saw the vehicle was still on the side of the road but with no driver, police said. The trooper checked the vehicle's VIN and saw it had been reported stolen in Stamford, police said.
Stamford police had little to go on other than the telephone number of the buyer, which they discovered wasn’t registered to anyone. Police then obtained the telephone numbers that had been called by the suspect’s phone and were able to speak to an individual who gave them the suspect’s name.
Police also discovered that Vasquez had been arrested by Mohegan Sun Tribal Police on charges of passing $4,100 in $100 bills at the Mohegan Sun casino.
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