"Man gets probation for using fake badge at airport"

Saturday, March 20, 2004

Man gets probation for using fake badge at airport
By Torsten Ove
The Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette


German watchmaker Michael Kobold, convicted of skirting airport security
with a fake constable's badge, stood before a federal judge yesterday
and admitted he is a wealthy son of privilege who comes across as
"pompous" and "arrogant." 

But he found some humility, too.

"I would like to acknowledge that what I did was bloody stupid," said
the 24-year-old owner of Kobold Watch Co. in Robinson, whose father runs
Kobold Instruments of Frankfurt. "I shouldn't have done what I did. I
certainly made a fool of myself."

Kobold said he truly believed he was a deputy constable and entitled to
the badge he wore in passing himself off as a law officer throughout the
region in 2002.

After a lengthy hearing, U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti sentenced
Kobold to three years probation and a $5,000 fine. 

As part of the probation, she ordered Kobold to undergo mental health
treatment and perform 400 hours of "hands-on" community service for the
poor.

"I think helping poor people -- not just giving money to poor people --
will help you in your future life," said the judge.

Kobold could have received 6 months in federal prison, but the judge
agreed with the prosecution that his offense, while a felony, "is not
the crime of the century."

He still faces possible deportation. After the sentencing, U.S. marshals
escorted him to the immigration office across the street from the
courthouse to discuss that process. 

A jury in December convicted Kobold of lying to U.S. Customs agents when
he flashed a badge at Pittsburgh International Airport on Dec. 8, 2002. 

But the jury found Findlay Constable William DeForte not guilty of two
counts of lying to the same agents about how Kobold acquired the badge,
which DeForte had given him.

The government said both men lied to Customs officials after Kobold
showed a constable's badge stamped with DeForte's ID number to bypass
security and escort his brother to Gate 61 for a flight home to Germany.

When Customs Inspector John Rupchis stopped him, he held up the badge
and said, "I'm with the state. I'm a Pennsylvania state constable."

County police Detective Patrick Miller arrested Kobold the next day at
his office in the Parkway Industrial Park.

Kobold's defense was that he thought he was a deputy constable because
DeForte had told him he was. He maintained that stance after the
verdict, and repeated it again just before his sentencing yesterday. 

Kobold wore a badge and carried a gun in helping DeForte serve bench
warrants many times in 2002, when the two were close friends. The
prosecution said the pair also shopped at a North Side uniform store
together in June 2002, where Kobold bought badges stamped with DeForte's
number.


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