A parking meter repairman is accused of stealing a whole lot of pocket change _ several tons that totaled about $170,000.Police searched the Stafford County home of William J. Fell, 61, last week after officials became suspicious when Alexandria's parking meter revenue was lower than expected.
The booty was taken over about a year, police said. Most of the coins were found in cups, canisters and a silver box, court documents said. Police also found paper money in a safe and in zip-lock bags. They even found the top of a parking meter inside the home.
"It's pretty bold," said Sgt. Shahram Fard, who oversees Alexandria's property crimes unit. "I've never recovered that much money in a search warrant."
Police say Fell pulled it off by going to work at 3 a.m., well before his shift started. Under the cover of darkness, he would drive around in his city truck and empty the contents of parking meters all over Old Town, according to court documents.
He would then drive back to his personal car, hide bags full of coins in his trunk and go about fixing meters, a search warrant affidavit said.
Fell faces two counts of embezzlement by a public officer and is being held at the city jail. He told a judge that he needed a public defender because he did not have enough money to hire a lawyer.
City officials suspected something was amiss after Alexandria did not get as much money as expected after raising parking meter rates to $1 an hour.
A supervisor became suspicious of Fell and began following him during his morning rounds, watching him steal the coins, according to court documents. Alexandria officials called police, who hid a surveillance camera in Fell's city truck.
Between Jan. 22 and March 16, Fell was secretly recorded as he took bags and bags of coins, the court documents said. He would empty as many as 24 canisters a day, with each full canister containing about $80, according to the affidavit.
In all, he stole at least $170,000. That much money in quarters, dimes and nickels would weigh at least four tons. If it was all in nickels, it would weigh nearly 19 tons.
Source: wtop.com
