Mugger Leaves Birth Certificate, Note From Mom at Crime Scene

By Aditi Mukherji, JD on July 01, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A mugger in Connecticut took off with a woman's clutch wallet -- but left behind his birth certificate and a letter from his mother at the scene of the crime.

While struggling to grab the wallet, the man allegedly dropped and left behind two bags he'd been carrying. Inside the bags were clothes, shoes, toiletries -- oh, and a birth certificate for Zachary Tentoni, 26, and a letter addressed to him from his mother, reports The Boston Globe.

The alleged robber probably thought "whoops!" while police probably thought "woot!"

It Wasn't Me

Not long after the incident, officers stopped a man fitting the victim's description of the alleged robber. The man told the officers he was John Foisy from Connecticut and that he was 20 years old, according to police.

"John Foisy" is a pretty fun name -- better than North West, anyway.

Giving police officers a false name is a bad idea because you, like Lindsay Lohan, could face charges for pulling a Pinnochhio with the police.

In Connecticut, if you lie to the police, they can charge you with making a false statement under Connecticut General Statutes 53a-157b which is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison.

It's better to simply say, "I don't want to give my name," rather than lie and give a fake name.

Bottom line: When you talk to the police, you either tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, or you keep mum.

'John Foisy' Foiled

Despite "John Foisy's" lie, the victim positively identified the man as the robber and the officers arrested him. They later confirmed that his real name was indeed Zachary Tentoni, according to police.

By the end of the ordeal, Tetoni wasn't charged with giving a false name -- but he was charged with unarmed robbery.

He may have lost one letter from his mom. But if "Foisy" winds up behind bars, he should have plenty of time to get letters from his mama. Who knows, maybe he'll pick up a few pen pals along the way.

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