John Nickerson
Updated 8:47 pm, Tuesday, January 21, 2014


Lucas Suarez-Cabeza, 24, of 908 182nd Place, Queens, N.Y., was held by Stamford police in lieu of a $100,000 court appearance bond over the weekend, after being charged Saturday with first-degree forgery, resisting arrest and marijuana possession. Photo: Contributed Photo

STAMFORD -- A Queens, N.Y., man accused of helping a Peruvian counterfeit cartel smuggle more than $130,000 in phony new $100 bills into the country through Stamford was arraigned Tuesday at state Superior Court in Stamford.

Lucas Suarez-Cabeza, 24, of 908 182nd Place, was held by Stamford police in lieu of $100,000 bond over the weekend after being charged Saturday with first-degree forgery, resisting arrest and marijuana possession.

Lt. Diedrich Hohn said Stamford police were contacted by U.S. Secret Service agents on Friday that they had intercepted $130,700 in phony $100 bills. The bills were to be picked up at a Cove residence by a New York man on Saturday, they said.

Stamford police and Secret Service agents set up surveillance on the house before noon in hopes of capturing the person who was to pick up the bills and bring them to New York for distribution.

New $100 bills first put in circulation last October have numerous hard-to-forge features that include a 3-D security ribbon down the middle, a copper-colored bell and a new portrait watermark.

Around 1 p.m. on Saturday, a livery cab with New York plates pulled up to the residence. Suarez-Cabeza got out of the vehicle and walked up to the home, where someone passed him a package, police said. He then turned to walk back to the waiting car. But instead of getting into the car, he began walking to Matthew Street, reports said.

Police stopped him on the street and after a short struggle, Suarez-Cabeza was brought to the ground and searched before being taken into custody, Hohn said.

When police searched the package, the money was found and Secret Service agents seized the bills as evidence.

Suarez-Cabeza was then brought to the Stamford police station, where he was charged and processed for court, Hohn said.

"The Secret Service was very interested in the case because this was one of the first times they saw the new forged $100 bills being brought into the country," Hohn said.

Hohn said that the Secret Service agents told him that the bills, which were brought into the United States from Peru, were of good quality.

Even if Suarez-Cabeza is able to post his bond, he will not be released from custody. Hohn said that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement put a hold on Suarez-Cabeza because he had been arrested and charged with entering the United States illegally in Arizona.

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