Fire inspection conman strikes Santa Barbara
November 8, 2013
A New York man running a nationwide scam charged a Santa Barbara restaurant more than $900 for a phony fire inspection.
Michael Angelo Carrion, 47, is accused of posing as a fire inspector and scamming businesses in Atlanta, Georgia and Austin, Texas, as well. Carrion is currently in custody in New York for unrelated charges.
Carrion conducted the phony inspection in a north side Santa Barbara restaurant on October 4, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department. A crime lab technician identified Carrion using fingerprints from the scene.
Carrion, who also goes by the alias of Nicholas Angelo, told an on-duty clerk at the restaurant that he was a Santa Barbara city fire inspector and proceeded to spend several minutes examining fire extinguishers.
After Carrion conducted the phony inspection, he spoke over the phone with the restaurant manager, who authorized the clerk to pay him cash from the register.
The next day, a California Highway Patrol officer arrested him in Los Angeles. Officials in New York then demanded that he return to the state.
Carrion will face charges in Santa Barbara when he is cleared to leave New York.
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