Ingram's Troubles Increase
Mark Ingram, the former NFL receiver who was arrested carrying $3,290 in counterfeit money, recently brought $11,000 in fake bills from New York and needed help passing it, said a car theft suspect arrested with him.
The allegation was contained in a Secret Service affidavit filed Thursday with a federal complaint charging Ingram with possession of counterfeit money. A short time later, the former New York Giants player made a state court appearance on two auto theft counts.
Miami-Dade County Judge Murray Klein set $10,000 bond but ordered Ingram, who played for four NFL teams from 1987 to 1996, to be detained for an initial court appearance Friday on the federal charge.
Ingram and Alain Noel were taken into custody Tuesday by Miami-Dade police checking a tip about a stolen vehicle.
Noel later signed a statement saying Ingram asked him if he knew anyone at a bank or department store who could help him exchange real currency for the fake $11,000 he brought from New York City, the Secret Service said.
Ingram was carrying $3,000 in counterfeit $50 and $100 bills in a jacket pocket and $290 in counterfeit $50s, $20s and $10s mixed with the real thing in his money clip when he was arrested, agent Gregory Naranjo said in the three-page affidavit.
The counterfeits simulated some security features of real bills but lacked others, Naranjo said without elaborating.
Ingram was arrested after driving a Ford Expedition reported stolen from Budget Rent A Car in 1999 to a meeting with Noel, police said. Officers were tipped that they would find a stolen Dodge Durango at the meeting place, and Noel showed up in a stolen Durango.
A checkbook belonging to former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor also was found in Ingram's vehicle, and Taylor was notified by police.
Abe Bailey, Ingram's attorney, asked Klein for $2,000 bond, but Assistant State Attorney Todd Bass noted Ingram had an outstanding bench warrant for a battery misdemeanor. The amount set by Klein was standard for uto theft.
"He will be exonerated on these charges," Bailey said of the state case. He said he had no comment on the federal charge, which carries a possible 15-year prison sentence, because he hadn't had time to review it yet.
Secret Service agents attended two previous state court hearings for Ingram, hoping to take him into custody immediately, but they missed the actual hearing scheduled at Bailey's request. The defense attorney missed the other two sessions while tied up in a federal trial across town.
After his arrest, Ingram was served with a bench warrant in the 1998 battery case, in which he allegedly hit someone. Bailey said Ingram was never served with court papers in that case.
Ingram has had another brush with the law a 1999 arrest for failing to pay $200,000 in child support due i New Jersey.
The Giants' first-round draft pick in 1987 played with New York through the 1992 season, making a key catch in the Giants' 20-19 win over Buffalo in the 1991 Super Bowl. He also played for Miami, Green Bay and Philadelphia.
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