BOSTON, Oct. 31, 2013—A New York man with a lengthy record for selling counterfeit tickets was arraigned today for allegedly plying his trade at Fenway Park just hours before the Red Sox won the 2013 World Series, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
CLARK L. BELL (D.O.B. 5/10/80) of New York City was formally charged in Roxbury District Court today with larceny over $250, uttering a false document, and providing a false name to police. Prosecutors recommended $7500 cash bail and orders to stay away from Fenway Park, to remain in Massachusetts pending trial, and to check in with a probation officer once per week. Judge Tracy-Lee Lyons imposed $5000 cash bail and all the recommended conditions of release if he posts that amount.
Bell – who has 10 known aliases with three different social security numbers and 12 different dates of birth – is accused of selling two counterfeit tickets to yesterday’s game to a 24-year-old Boston man for $400. When the victim checked their validity at the ticket counter, he learned that they were phony.
The man notified Fenway security, who called Boston Police to the scene just before 11:15 a.m. They took a detailed description of the seller and soon spotted a man meeting that description who was evasive in answering officers’ questions. In a bring-back identification procedure, the victim identified this man as the one who had sold him the tickets.
The seller, later identified as Bell, told officers his name was “Michael Smith” and lived in Connecticut. During the booking process, officers recovered $1,604 in cash secreted within the left leg of his pants. They also recovered an additional nine bogus tickets in Bell’s left sneaker and a New York identification card and a Maryland criminal citation for disorderly conduct – both in his true name – in his right sneaker.
A review of Bell’s criminal history showed no fewer than 48 prior criminal cases charging Bell with various forgery and counterfeiting offenses in other states. He will return to court next month.
–30–
All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
