THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 12, 1995 TAG: 9510120307
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Oceanfront store clerk Elizabeth Hall had to make a quick decision when a 911 operator put her on hold during the busy tourist season in August of 1994.
Should she wait on the phone to report the counterfeit $100 bill she'd just received? Or should she take matters into her own hands?
Without stopping to think, she hung up, ran into the street, flagged down a motorcycle officer and chased the man who'd tried to pass the phony money.
As a result of her quick action, police snagged two Brooklyn men in a scheme to pass nearly $3,000 in bogus $100 bills along the resort strip.
Tuesday, Hall snagged something for herself - a commendation from the Justice Department and a $500 U.S. Savings Bond from the Secret Service.
``Elizabeth Hall has made a very special effort as a citizen,'' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Smythers, who prosecuted the case in federal court. ``She recognized a counterfeit bill and questioned it. But rather than just stop there, she took the extra steps of calling 911, and when they put her on hold, she still went further. She stopped a motorcycle officer.''
Hall, 23, said she was more nervous meeting Justice Department and Secret Service honchos than she had been netting the counterfeiters. Maybe even more nervous than when she had to testify in federal court last month.
Hall confessed she hadn't really wanted to testify out of fear for the defendants, one of whom was linked to the New York Mafia.
``I just answered the questions and focused on the prosecutors,'' Hall said softly. ``I didn't want to look at the defendants.''
Larry Kumjian, local head of the Secret Service, called Hall an ``alert citizen'' who ``helped the Secret Service make the case.'' Kumjian presented Hall with the $500 savings bond.
Hall, a graduate of First Colonial High School who is studying at Thomas Nelson Community College, was working as a clerk at Tequila Sunrise, a souvenir shop, when a young man walked into the store in August of 1994.
She became suspicious when he began circling the store and seemed to nonchalantly pick up a bottle of Panama Jack suntan lotion.
``He just seemed to pick up whatever was closest. Most people look at the bottle and ask questions, so right away I thought something was wrong,'' Hall said.
Then, when he handed her a crisp new $100 bill, her alarms went off. She looked at the bill and noticed that security threads appeared to be pasted on. She refused the bill, then followed the young man outside and wrote down the license number, make and model of the car he entered.
Hall, who also has a job in the mailroom at Household Recovery, a collection agency, also had some advice for other clerks:
``Look out for suspicious people. Don't be afraid to take a step farther to get involved and work with police.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK, Staff
Quick thinking by Elizabeth Hall, 23, helped Virginia Beach police
snag two Brooklyn men in 1994 in a scheme to pass bogus $100 bills
at the Oceanfront. On Tuesday, Hall received a commendation from the
Justice Department and a $500 savings bond from the Secret Service.
by CNB