Wax Obama Photo On Facebook Helps Catch Alleged Sicilian Drug Dealer: Michele Grosso Arrested In London
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A wanted Sicilian drug dealer was found hiding in the U.K. after he posted a picture of himself with President Obama's wax figure on Facebook this week.
Michele Grosso, 27, disappeared from his hometown of Taormina in 2008 as cops sought to arrest him for peddling drugs, The Guardian reported.
Four years later -- after cops had apparently been following Grosso's Facebook page -- he was tracked to London. About two weeks ago he took a picture of himself posed with President Obama's wax copy at Madame Tussauds.
That photo was published with other shots of him on London's famous double-decker buses, posing at landmarks and, most importantly to police, at a restaurant where he waited tables. That led London cops, working with Interpol and Italian officers, to his not-so-secret hideout in an operation called "Big Ben" and deported him, according to The Telegraph.
He also posted messages on his page that seemed to allude to his drug dealing, The Guardian reported.
In 2010, he posted photos of himself building a snowman, writing, "Have you seen how beautiful it is here with the snow?"
A friend responded: "Why don't you let me know where you are? Is it in case you get caught?"
Grasso was sentenced in 2011 to five years in prison for dealing drugs, though he was already on the lam, by a Sicilian court. Now that he's been caught, he was extradited to Italy and will face new charges.
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
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Mug Shot:
Levon T. Sarkisyan, allegedly broke into a Connecticut home and smashed statues and furniture, because he claimed God told him to do it, according to police.
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
Police in Michigan say a man claimed he was royalty before trying to steal a pack of Marlboros from a 7-Eleven. Joseph Lawrence Borowiak is charged with strong-arm robbery and resisting arrest after allegedly wrestling a store clerk over a pack of cigarettes. Borowiak reportedly stated, "The king doesn't pay for cigarettes."
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
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Leo Earl Sharp
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Andrei Bibbs, 54, of the 3000 block of Coopers Grove Court, was arrested Jan. 7 Illinois State Police and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol. He <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/12/andrei-bibbs-blue-island-_n_1201547.html" target="_hplink">was clearly shocked by the change. </a>
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Michael Belton
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Dumb Crime: Masterminds Need Not Apply
Tiffany Pocock, 27, of Bellevue, Ohio, spat blood on the cops who were arresting her in late May 2012. After being detained for driving a vehicle while impaired, Pocock also began banging her head repeatedly against the door of the police vehicle, sustaining personal injuries that resulted in her hospitalization. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/woman-spits-bood-on-cop-ohio_n_1534392.html?ref=crime" target="_hplink">Read more.</a>
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Milton Hodges
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First Posted: 02/13/2012 5:52 pm Updated: 02/13/2012 6:00 pm