• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Alleged Burglar Offers Counterfeit Bribe

Posted on: Monday, 4 August 2003, 06:00 CDT

An alleged burglar tried to buy his way out of trouble when Charles Lee caught him in his mother's home.

The man, trapped in the house about 4 a.m. Tuesday, offered Lee a $100 bill to let him go. The bill sported a picture of President Bush.

"Yeah, the guy was trying to bribe me with fake money," Lee said.

Des Moines police charged Michael Castiglione, 37, of Massachusetts, with second-degree burglary.

Lee was sleeping in the basement of the home when he heard his mother, Rozetta Lee, 87, screaming.

"He came through my mother's bedroom window. He cut the screen," Lee said. "Mom was yelling, 'What are you doing in my room?' I ran upstairs, and this guy is trying to hide in her bedroom.

"I snatched him and was dragging him through the house to take him outside and whoop him a little. I may be 53 years old, but I still have some fire in the furnace.

"The guy tried to hand me a $100 bill. I knew it was fake, but I wouldn't have taken it anyway. It was one of those 9/11 George W. Bush bills."

Castiglione is being held on $13,000 bond at the Polk County Jail.

More News in this Category