Westmoreland County

Allegheny County man uses fake $100 bill to buy drinks at airport before boarding plane

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — An Allegheny County man is facing felony charges, accused of passing off a fake $100 bill before he boarded a plane at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport over the weekend.

”He said that the pants he was wearing were not his, and he found the $100 bill in the pocket, so he decided to just use it,” Park Police Chief Henry Fontana said.

That’s the excuse police said Stephen Patterson gave Park Police officers when he allegedly passed a fake $100 bill at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport on Friday to buy some drinks before boarding the plane.

The cashier at the snack bar inside the airport noticed the bill that said “for motion picture use only,” and tipped off officers at the airport.

They identified Patterson as a passenger on the plane and arrested him when he landed back in Latrobe.

”They got a warrant for him, and Sunday, when he flew back into the airport they picked him up and served the warrant,” Fontana said.

State troopers are also looking into a suspect who was wanted for passing fake $100 bills at two Dollar General stores in Derry Township within 10 minutes of each other last month.

Police notified the Secret Service about both incidents.

Channel 11 tried to reach out to Patterson about the charges, but could not reach him by phone.