Law enforcement and local officials gathered at the Xerox FCU branch here to commemorate a new law making it a federal crime to use the uniform or badge of law enforcement in a misleading or deceptive way.
The new law, the Badge and Uniform Security and Trustworthiness (BUST) Act, was enacted in response to the August 2003 armed robbery at the Xerox branch when a man dressed in an "FBI" jacket and wearing a U.S. Marshal's badge shot one member to death and wounded another during the hold-up. The assailant even announced to employees that he was with the FBI and was quote "staging a robbery." The robber is still at large. A $75,000.00 reward is still being offered for any information leading to an arrest. U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, R-N.Y., who sponsored the bill, said it was too easy to misappropriate law enforcement gear and use it in crimes.
