Another case of counterfeit money in the suburbs is stopped, by Santa Claus!
On Christmas Eve, Greg Steffek dressed as Santa Claus and made his rounds to various family members. Just before midnight he stopped by Mugshotz, the bar that he owns, when his son Neil noticed something suspicious.
A customer walked in, ordered one shot and paid for it with a $100 bill. Police had warned businesses to be on the lookout for funny money as a lot of it has been passed around Milwaukee’s suburbs.
“I took the $100 bill and put it over my cell phone with the light and checked the watermarks on it,” Neil Steffek said.
After the man got about $95 in change he started to leave. Neil told his red-clad father.
“I told him stop! I said we know you passed a fake $100 bill and we'd like to have that change back,” said Greg Steffek.
“Next thing I know is he grabbed my dad,” Neil said.
“He just threw me in the street. It was kind of scary tumbling along,” Greg said.
Neighbors say they heard a lot of commotion and looked out their windows to see Santa scuffling in the street.
“I held on as long as I could,” Greg said.
Customers called 911 and within minutes West Allis police arrived. Officers arrested a 33-year-old Milwaukee man. They also arrested a man and woman they suspect were driving a getaway car.
“That made me feel good. Santa felt good then,” Greg said.
All jokes aside, Greg Steffek is thankful the man didn’t have a gun and that it ended this way. Plus he admits he’d do it all over again in order to keep Christmas spirit alive.
“I just kind of thought he should do the right thing and apparently he didn't. He's a bad boy,” Greg added.
West Allis police are investigating whether the suspects are involved in any other counterfeit crime.
