Faux ambassador pleads not guilty

[NewsWhore]

Dominican Francisco Gautreaux Calcano has said he is not guilty of charges of fraud, criminal impersonation and grand theft after allegedly passing himself off as the Dominican ambassador to the United States. Judge Richard Carruthers made him post a half million-dollar bail bond. The charges stem from a period between October 2010 and January 2011 when Gautreaux Calcano, 42, allegedly swindled several people saying he was the Dominican ambassador to the United States, Roberto Saladin or posed as an employee of the embassy, according to prosecutors. Gautreaux was arrested in Maryland on 24 February and extradited to New York where formal charges were drawn up against him. Gautreaux allegedly asked people for money in return for sending articles and emergency vehicles to Dominican cities, including Salcedo where there was a fire in 2010, as well as several non-profit organizations. According to the case file, the accused managed to con as much as US$15,000 from several people as well as US$5000 from employees of a Dominican orphanage with the promise that he would use the money to send vehicles obtained from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The case came to light when Gautreaux contacted New York State Senator Adriano Espaillat saying that he represented Saladin, and talked about needing funds to send some emergency vehicles to Salcedo.

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