Jersey City police on Saturday arrested Michaelangelo Costello, 27, for allegedly posing as a cop and abducting a 22-year-old woman, according to a report from The Jersey Journal.
Police said Costello flashed a gold badge marked “U.S. Fugitive Recovery Special Agent” and ordered patrons at a local bar to show him IDs around 11:45 p.m. When the victim did not have identification, police said Costello “questioned” her outside, then forced her into his rear passenger seat, claiming she was under arrest for underage drinking.
According to investigators, Costello told the woman he wouldn’t arrest her if she gave him $400 and drove her to a local Bank of America, where she withdrew the money from an ATM. Police caught up with the pair as the woman returned to Costello’s vehicle and was yelling, “Get me out of this car,” through the window, according to the report.
Costello reportedly told officers that he went to the bar as part of a crusade to stop underage women from drinking because he had personally seen the ill effects of alcohol on a relative. He allegedly claimed that he gave the woman a ride to the bank as a favor before dropping her off at her home.
Costello is charged with kidnapping, theft by extortion and impersonating a police officer.
