A counterfeit $20 bill led to a man’s arrest at a local pizzeria.
Sumter County sheriff’s deputies were called Friday afternoon to Marco’s Pizza on U.S. Hwy. 441 to investigate a report of a bogus bill. Restaurant staff turned the bill over to deputies and said a man handed it to them and received $12.76 back as change. Deputies confirmed the bill was counterfeit as it did not have a visible watermark or security strip. It also felt “grainy.”
The man had walked to the nearby Tropical Smoothie restaurant, where he went in to use the restroom. He returned to the pizza restaurant with deputies. He initially gave deputies false information with regard to his identity. They eventually determined he was 36-year-old Richard Thomas Stivale of Summerfield.
He was arrested on charges of passing a counterfeit bill and providing false information to a law enforcement officer. He was also wanted on Marion County and Lake County warrants. He was booked without bond at the Sumter County Detention Center.
In 2019, Stivale had been arrested in connection with the theft of golf carts at Spanish Springs Town Square.
