Pocono News Section

Postal Worker Recognizes Man from Wanted Poster

Postal Worker Recognizes Man from Wanted Poster - Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 5:30PM EST

KINGSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY- A man, wanted for forgery, picked the wrong post office to conduct business. An alert postal worker in Luzerne County spotted the man from a "Most Wanted" list and now the suspect is in custody.
It happened last week at the Kingston Post Office at Pierce Street and Wyoming Avenue. And thanks to that alert worker, that suspect is now off the streets.

Police had been looking for 47-year-old Alfonso Rizzuto of Scranton. They say he's a known criminal who was wanted for forgery in Scranton.

Rizzuto showed up at the Kingston Post Office last Tuesday. A worker recognized him from a most wanted poster that Scranton Police provided.

The worker called Kingston Police who rushed to the scene and stopped Rizzuto as he tried to leave. It turns out he wasn't empty handed. Police found an electronic stun gun and 2 canisters of pepper spray in his front pockets.

He also claimed to be his brother, Angelo Rizzuto, and even showed a driver's license with that name. But police weren't buying it. They took him to headquarters, did a fingerprint scan and determined his true identity.

They say Rizzuto then admitted it was him and that he was using his brother's driver's license.
This criminal affidavit indicates Rizzuto has a criminal record 80-pages long from 3-states. His latest charges include possession of electric or electronic incapacitation device, identity theft and false identification to law enforcement

He's locked up at Luzerne County Prison on $300,000 bail. Meanwhile, the post office plans to honor that alert worker in the future for helping police catch their man.