Dennis Magnotta, 69 of Mount Vernon, New York. (MUG courtesy of Holly Police)
HOLLY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A New York man with an extensive criminal history and suspected of stealing money from financial institutions around Michigan was caught in the act in Oakland County, leading to his arrest.
The 69-year-old man from Mount Vernon, identified as Dennis Magnotta, tried cashing a forged and fraudulent check at a bank in Holly on Dec. 20.
During his attempt, staff at the building received an alert memo of potentially fraudulent activity taking place, leading to them calling police.
A responding officer detained Magnotta in the parking lot before interviewing staff and taking note of the interbank alert that employees had seen. According to the financial institution's fraud department, Magnotta had stolen from the company before.
After placing him under arrest, police recovered a fraudulent driver's license from another state and a forged check.
Further investigation revealed Magnotta was a suspect in several other Michigan cities and had been working with an organized crime ring that operated in several states.
He was taken to the Oakland County Jail as a result.
The arrest could help police departments around Michigan who have open cases on Magnotta.
"We are thankful and proud of our Holly financial institutions for their ongoing fraud training, information sharing, posting and recognizing this person at the moment of transaction," police said in a news release.
He was charged with two felonies, uttering and publishing and forging a driver's license with the intent to commit a crime.
He was given a $100,000 cash bond and is expected to be back in court in January.
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