(HE)
OUR OTHER BIG LOCAL
STORY TONIGHT --- WE
NOW KNOW WHAT A PAIR
OF SUSPECTS WERE
DOING IN A PROVIDENCE
HOTEL ROOM -- THAT
PROMPTED AN
EVACUATION EARLIER THIS
WEEK.
(SN)
IT WAS FIRST BREAKING
AT NOON ---
TONIGHT, POLICE TELL US
THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A
PAIR OF SUSPECTS, THEY
SAY WERE TAKING PART IN
A MONEY SCHEME AT THE
HILTON GARDEN INN.
AND IT'S A SCHEME WE'VE
REPORTED ON BEFORE.
(HE)
EYEWITNESS NEWS
REPORTER MADELEINE
WRIGHT IS LIVE IN THE
NEWSROOM WITH ---
THE NEW DETAILS.
SHANNON, STEVE, IT WAS
A MONEY SCHEME
INVOLVING CHEMICALS.
THE WHOLE THIRD FLOOR
WOUND UP BEING FILLED
WITH TOXIC FUMES.
FIREFIGHTERS HAD TO
BREAK OPEN A WINDOW
TO VENTILATE THE PLACE.
NOW THE SECRET
SERVICE AND D-E-A ARE
INVESTIGATING.
PROVIDENCE 4-10
aLEXNADER (too short)
Lapatin 30-35
MW 36-47
TRT = 1:20
POLICE SAY THEY'RE LOOKING
FOR THESE TWO MEN
RESPONSIBLE FOR A CHEMICAL
ACCIDENT AT THE HILTON
GARDEN INN IN PROVIDENCE
THAT LED TO THE HOTEL BEING
EVACUATED TUESDAY NIGHT.
"I was shocked to know that
something like that would happen
in
the hotel."
POLICE SAY THEY INITIALLY
SUSPECTED A METH LAB, BUT IT
WAS ACTUALLY A SO-CALLED
"BLACK MONEY SCHEME" GONE
WRONG.
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS.
A SCAMMER EARNS THE TRUST
OF A WEALTHY VICTIM...AND
THEN TRICKS HIM WITH STACKS
OF BLACK PAPER.
"What they'll tell them is
they've
taken in this money say, from
West
Africa."
"The scammer tells the victim
that
all of this is real money that's
been
dyed black to avoid detection by
authorities. He invites the
victim to
pick any one of these bill and
he'll
prove that it's real. All it
takes is a
little chemical."
"And that the chemicals are so
expensive to get it back to
normal
that they need an investor and
if you
invest with us, we'll take care
of
you."
IN THIS CASE, THERE WERE
TWO SCAMMERS...BELIEVED TO
BE DRIVING A RENTAL
CAR...WHO PROMISED THE
VICTIM WOULD GET A HUGE
PERCENTAGE IF THEY TOOK
PART.
THE VICTIM PUT UP
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BUT
DIDN'T LOSE ANY MONEY...
BECAUSE OF THE MISHAP IN
THE CHEMICAL PROCESS AT
THE HOTEL.
"That ammonia became
overwhelming for the people in
the
room. So it just didn't go right
that
night. And that's why police
were
called and everybody fled the
scene."
POLICE SAY THE
SCAMMERS MET THE
VICTIM AT A RESTAURANT
IN PROVIDENCE, BUT THEY
DECLINED TO SAY WHICH
RESTAURANT.
COMING UP NEW AT 6,
HOW YOU CAN AVOID
FALLING VICTIM TO THIS
SCAM.
LIVE IN THE NEWSROOM
MADELEINE WRIGH,
(SN)
AN INCIDENT EARLIER
THIS WEEK - ORIGINALLY
THOUGHT TO BE A DRUG
LAB...
WAS ACTUALLY A BLACK
MONEY SCAM...
AND IF YOU NOT FAMILIAR
WITH THE CRIME --- WE
HAVE THE IMPORTANT
INFORMATION TO ENSURE
YOU DON'T FALL VICTIM.
EYEWITNESS NEWS
REPORTER MADELEINE
WRIGHT IS LIVE IN OUR
NEWSROOM WITH THE
DETAILS - NEW AT SIX.
(MW)
STEVE, WHEN POLICE
RESPONDED TO THE
HILTON GARDEN INN ON
TUESDAY, THEY
EVACUATED THE HOTEL
BECAUSE OF TOXIC
FUMES COMING FROM A
THIRD FLOOR GUEST
ROOM.
THOSE TOXIC FUMES
THEY SAY WERE FROM A
SO CALLED "BLACK
MONEY" OPERATION GONE
WRONG.
POLICE SAY THE SCHEME
INVOLVES THESE TWO CON
ARTISTS WHO TRICKED A
WEALTHY MAN FROM
PROVIDENCE INTO THINKING
STACKS OF BLACK PAPER
WERE REAL MONEY.
THE SCAMMERS CLAIMED THE
MONEY WAS DYED BLACK SO
THEY COULD SMUGGLE IT IN
FROM WEST AFRICA.
"They'd show the intended victim
the piles of black paper and
they'd
say look, pick any bill out.
He'd pick
a bill out from the pile, hand
it to
him, and now they'd have the
other
black bill in the other hand,
just pull
a quick switch, they use some
chemicals on the bill, and turn
it
back to a fresh $100 bill."
POLICE SAY THE VICTIM
AGREED TO PAY THOUSANDS
OF DOLLARS TO CLEAN THE
DYE OFF THE MONEY...IN
EXCHANGE FOR A
PERCENTAGE.
BUT A MISHAP IN THE CHEMICAL
PROCESS LED TO THE
SUSPECTS ESCAPING FROM
THEIR ROOM AT HILTON
GARDEN INN TUESDAY NIGHT.
"If you're going to waste your
hard
earned money to strangers you
don't know, it only has to be
greed
that will make you do that."
"There's no way that to make
fast
money in this life by someone
coming up to you and offering
you
you know, a huge percentage on a
cash loan. You just have to use
common sense."
POLICE SAY THE
SCAMMERS MET THE
VICTIM AT A RESTAURANT
IN PROVIDENCE AND IT
TOOK WEEKS TO EARN HIS
TRUST.
THE TWO SCAMMERS ARE
STILL ON THE RUN.
LIVE IN THE NEWSROOM,
MADELEINE WRIGHT,