Allegedly Stole $20,000 In Brand New $100 Bills From A Flight

A bag of brand new uncirculated currency came up short following a recent flight from Dallas to the Federal Reserve in East Rutherford, NJ. And the trail led back to a baggage handler at Philadelphia International Airport (KPHL), who has been charged with stealing $20,000.

The theft was discovered when packages of the currency, which was not scheduled to enter circulation until next year, were being transferred from an armored car at the Federal Reserve building for inventory. They are distinctively marked with an orange "100" and an image resembling the Liberty Bell.

Television station WCAU in Philadelphia reports that the FBI knew that the bills had to have been stolen between a stop at KPHL and their arrival at the East Rutherford, NJ, facility. Officials on Tuesday said they had arrested and charged 25-year-old Alex Price, a baggage handler at KPHL. When he was first interviewed, he said he had not seen anyone take anything from the plane without permission, and admitted during a second interview by authorities that he was the only baggage handler to have had direct access to the stolen currency.

Price eventually confessed to stealing the money during a polygraph exam at FBI headquarters in Philadelphia. The stolen money was found in a bag in his car, and he was arrested and charged with theft from an interstate shipment.

FMI: www.fbi.gov