Palm Coast, FL - Deputies say a "'Catch Me If You Can' wannabe"—referencing the 2002 film—remains in jail with no bond after law enforcement found him with multiple aliases, a stolen car, and $20,000 in forged checks.
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office (FCSO) says deputies were notified about a stolen Nissan SUV with a New York tag that was traveling on Palm Coast Parkway on Friday (July 9). Both the tag and the vehicle were reported stolen from separate dealerships up north.
After finding the vehicle unoccupied in a restaurant parking lot, deputies began to stake out the area and later saw a male and a female walking towards the car. FCSO made contact with the male, who identified himself as 50-year-old John Desernio from New York. The male told deputies that he was on his way to an Orlando resort for vacation.
The male stated he didn't have his driver's license with him, but he had a piece of paper with his information on it. When deputies checked the information they found a photo of the real John Desernio, who did not resemble the subject.
During their investigation, deputies made contact with the dealerships from New York. One dealership confirmed that a subject stole the vehicle during a test drive, while the other confirmed that the license plate was stolen off of a new vehicle.
A search of the suspect's vehicle yielded dozens of hotel cards and 13 checks, ranging from $50 to $9,000, that totaled around $20,000. The company listed on the checks confirmed they were stolen and mentioned that a van was stolen from the company in April that had a large number of blank checks in the vehicle.
In a video of the arrest, the subject can be heard refusing to identify himself to deputies. Deputies then told him that if he didn't comply he would have to sit in the county jail until they could identify him. FCSO later determined that the suspect was 48-year-old Joseph Borelli, who has also gone by John Doe, John Borello, John Keith, and has several social security numbers registered to his aliases.
"This guy thinks he’s a real Frank Abagnale of ‘Catch Me If You Can’ impersonator with all his aliases and blank checks," said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. "But unlike Abagnale, he made the mistake of stopping in Flagler County and was immediately caught!"
Borelli now remains in the Flagler County Jail on no bond, charged with fugitive from justice, grand theft of a motor vehicle, petit theft, providing false name to law enforcement, and possession of forged notes, checks, or bills.
