Amtrak catches fraudulent "officer"

End of the line for bogus trooper
Police say a man rode trains free, claiming to be a state police officer.
Associated Press
February 5, 2008

BIDDEFORD — State police have charged a man who they say got free train rides on Amtrak's Downeaster by impersonating a trooper.

Paul Rumery, 32, of Biddeford told Amtrak personnel that he was a state police sergeant and needed to ride from Saco to Boston for official business, authorities said.

The ploy worked four or five times starting in November, until Rumery was stopped last weekend by a real trooper outside the Saco train station, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Public Safety Department.

Rumery got the free rides by telling Amtrak ticketing agents that he was a state trooper riding the Downeaster to look for trouble spots along the route, McCausland said. Real troopers don't accept free rides, he added.

A search of Rumery's vehicle and his apartment turned up no police paraphernalia such as fake identification or badges, McCausland said. Rumery, a truck driver who works for Labbe Construction of Arundel, has never been a law enforcement officer.

He was free on $300 bail after being charged with impersonating a public servant and theft of service. He is scheduled to appear in Biddeford District Court on March 5.

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