BMC-Dorchester Probation Assists U.S. Secret Service With
Closing Down Counterfeit Operation

Probation Officer Helen Harrington at the Boston Municipal Court-Dorchester Division and Assistant Chief Probation Officer Michael Branch recently assisted the U.S. Secret Service in closing down a counterfeit check and bogus (ID) identification operation in the city.

"The U.S. Secret Service placed a call to us and asked us to help them locate an individual we have on probation. We went to the address we have for him to verify his residence," Branch said.

When Harrington and Branch arrived they discovered the individual had a stash of marijuana, computers, three scanners, lamination machines, five to six fake ID's, and two to three checks he had manufactured using the equipment.

"The offender was sitting in a rolling chair. When I put my hand on a bag in his room, he rolled his chair to the window and dove out head first," Branch said.

Branch was on the phone to police relaying what he had uncovered when the young man jumped from the second story window. It was later discovered that he had broken his hip as a result of the fall.

A police officer who waited around the corner nabbed the offender following a foot chase.

"As an Assistant Chief Probation Officer, it is reassuring to have the partnership we have with other law enforcement agencies and the fact that they are right there. The response is rapid," Branch said.

He added, "Helen Harrington did a great job."