(Credit: Quakertown Borough Police Facebook)
A Philadelphia man has been charged with felony counts of forgery, theft by deception, and attempted use of an access device to commit fraud after he allegedly tried to withdraw more than $58,000 from a Quakertown bank using a fake driver’s license.
Dante John Cardelli, 55, of Philadelphia, was also charged Jan. 9 by Quakertown Borough Police with misdemeanor drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia for allegedly having seven vials of cocaine on him at the time of his arrest at QNB Bank that afternoon, police said.
Police responded to the bank at 320 W. Broad St. at 1:08 p.m. for a report of a man, identified as Cardelli, attempting to use a fake ID to withdraw $58,624.13 from a bank account that does not belong to him, according to the affidavit.
After being detained and read his rights by Quakertown detectives, Cardelli told police he was picked up and dropped off at the bank by an unknown man, police said.
In Cardelli’s alleged possession were the following, police said: A fake Pennsylvania ID, a fake Navy Federal Credit Union card, and a fake business invoice.
Cardelli allegedly checked the balance of a member’s account, and then attempted to withdraw the money via a teller.
A bank teller recognized the identification as fake and notified police, per the complaint. The fake Pennsylvania ID had Cardelli’s picture, but another man’s name and signature, police said.
Authorities contacted the victim, who told police he was no longer the owner of the account, and it was no longer active, according to the affidavit. However, the victim had an active business account at the bank with more than $50,000 in it that Cardelli could have accessed, police said.
Cardelli was taken into custody and a search found an Altoids container in his pocket, containing seven vials of suspected cocaine, police said. A glass pipe was found in Cardelli’s other pocket, police said.
Cardelli told police the drugs were cocaine; a field test determined the substance was positive for cocaine, police said.
As of Thursday, Cardelli remained at Bucks County jail in lieu of 10% of $50,000 cash bail, reduced from 10% of $250,000 cash bail, per court order. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 20 at 12:30 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Lisa J. Gaier.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
