Dec. 19--TAMPA -- Tampa police arrested three Atlanta men Saturday, charging them with counterfeiting hundreds of tickets to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sold-out game with the Dallas Cowboys. Police estimated 211 tickets had been sold for $100 each.
A fourth man turned from victim to defendant when he tried to sell bogus tickets he had purchased to another fan.
Many of the buyers were able to get into the game if they passed through Gate A, because ticket-takers there were tearing stubs and not scanning the bar codes. Others who had purchased the bad tickets and tried to enter the stadium at other gates were stopped.
The men were arrested three hours before the 8:20 p.m. kickoff after complaints had been lodged.
Undercover officers arrested Albert Carlos Ford II, 30, and Tony D. Davis, 26, after they sold the officers bogus tickets, police said. Each was charged with counterfeiting and 14 fake tickets were seized.
The other suspect, Oterious Lamar Wims, 26, was arrested after police pulled over his vehicle nearby. Four counterfeit tickets were seized, police said.
Also arrested was Trevor M. Hendricks, 25, of St. Augustine, who police said bought the counterfeit tickets from the men and then tried to sell them to another fan. Four tickets were seized in that arrest, police said.
Copyright 2011 - Tampa Tribune, Fla.
