They’re in the Funny Money

For at least a moment, it must have seemed like Christmas came late to a northeast Los Angeles neighborhood Tuesday.

Police responded to a 7:30 a.m. call about $20 bills “flying all over” Los Feliz Boulevard near Lowry Road, Officer Gene Hancock said. By the time officers arrived at the scene--within six minutes--the money was virtually gone.

One problem, said Hancock. Turns out the bills were fake.

“It was a good photographic copy of the money, but it was obviously the wrong kind of paper,” he said.

The police weren’t the only ones who realized the money was funny. “People kept calling and saying, ‘It’s fake’ and hanging up,” Officer Cook Barela said.

One woman brought in 41 of the $20 bills Wednesday morning, Hancock said. For others holding onto the fake cash, Hancock politely warns that possession of counterfeit currency is against the law.

Police remain uncertain how much may have been scattered. And how the bills came to rest on Los Feliz Boulevard is still unexplained.

It’s not unusual for people to throw money around at Christmas, the officers noted. But Barela offered a few suggestions.

“I think it was ‘Totally Hidden Video,’ ” he said, referring to a current television show similar to “Candid Camera.” “Either that, or a present from Noriega.”