An upstate New York man who previously claimed he was the victim of a home invasion shooting was arrested at an amusement park in Westchester County on July 4 after falsely telling undercover officers that he and his dog were federal agents shot in the line of duty, according to police.
John Fiore, 47, faces a felony charge of criminal impersonation following the incident at Rye Playland. Records show Fiore maintains a residence on Narcissus Drive in Mahopac. The arrest comes just two months after state police discovered that a separate shooting incident Fiore reported at his residence was entirely staged, as reported by Mid Hudson News.
According to Westchester County Police, undercover officers stationed at the amusement park noticed Fiore as he spoke to park visitors, claiming to be an FBI agent. He was accompanied by a dog wearing a tan vest equipped with a blue-line K9 patch.
When the undercover officers approached him, Fiore removed a knee brace to show them a wound, lifted his shirt to display a gold shield on his waistband and stated that both he and the animal had been shot during official duties. He further claimed that his dog had bitten and killed the alleged attacker, the Mid Hudson News reports.
The officers became suspicious after Fiore entered a nearby restaurant, the Tiki Bar, and an employee handed them a business card Fiore had given them. The card advertised a local dog-walking service owned by Fiore.
County investigators ran a background check and found no record of an FBI agent named John Fiore, any federal shootings matching his description or an FBI canine that had killed a suspect. Instead, the search revealed his arrest from May.
In the May incident, Fiore told police an unknown gunman shot him in the knee when he answered his front door, according to Mid Hudson News. State police later determined he fabricated the story and the wound was self-inflicted.
The investigation led officers to search his home, where they seized firearms and narcotics. Fiore was charged with falsely reporting an incident, 13 counts of criminal possession of a weapon and multiple counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.
After discovering his history, officers entered the restaurant to detain him. While being escorted to the Playland Precinct, Fiore knocked the gold shield off his waistband and tried to kick it out of view, police said.
Fiore is scheduled to appear in Rye City Court on July 14 to face the new impersonation charge.
