Two New York residents are accused of using a cash-switch trick to take a valuable piece of gold artwork from a Wiscasset, Maine, business after presenting what appeared to be a payment made with $100 bills.
Mircea Lucaci, 35, of Woodside, New York, and Maria Rostas, 49, of Flushing, New York, have each been charged with Class C theft by deception. A Sept. 10 Wiscasset Police Department release republished by Wiscasset Newspaper said both suspects also had outstanding arrest warrants in multiple states for similar theft-related offenses.
According to the release, the Aug. 9 incident happened at Ingram Fine Arts on Main Street, where the pair asked about gold pieces before selecting artwork valued at $8,000. Investigators later identified them with assistance from law enforcement agencies in Maine, Virginia and Florida…