Not all heroes wear capes, and not all cops deserved to be treated like narcs, man. For New York City’s 20th Precinct squad up on the Upper West Side, they’re going to be treated like royalty by Phish fans in the near future and you probably wouldn’t immediately guess why.

They just posted a huge social media story about how they were following up on a story of a person getting scammed on some bad concert tickets, and in the process of busting the guy, he was specifically IN THE PROCESS of creating counterfeit tickets for upcoming Phish at Madison Square Garden run. Oh no! Hopefully nobody custied up with the wrong dude yet.

As for the bust, the post shows the equipment they grabbed, the dude that got busted gets social media shamed, AND these guys even dropped a near perfect Phish reference into the post when they did it. Wow. Like. A. Boss.

NYPD’s 20th Precinct is the official precinct of Phish fans everywhere. You guys sell merch? — Brian 💸 Ries (@moneyries) December 17, 2019

Read the post here (or below) and peep that incredible “Poor Heart” reference. I’m impressed, to be honest. And a few weeks ahead of the run, these guys took down a big set of tickets that would have been floating around and scamming good fans from seeing their favorite band at The Garden.

Kudos, guys. 👮🏻‍♂️👮🏻‍♀️🚔

A huge buzzkill for Upper West Side residents is when they buy concert tickets on the secondary market only to discover they are fake when they reach the venue. In October, members of our Plainclothes Anti-Crime team worked with a victim of one such scam, and were able to arrest a middleman. Further investigation led us to 3340 Bailey Avenue in the Bronx, where 33 year-old Michael Pinero (below) was creating hundreds of fake tickets. Working with the Manhattan DA’s Office, the below members of the 20th Precinct – Police Officer Sokrates, Detective Larosa, and Sergeant Perez – obtained a search warrant for Mr. Pinero’s apartment. When they executed it last Friday, Mr. Pinero was caught red handed in the process of creating counterfeit Phish @ Madison Square Garden tickets. (C’mon, bro!) All of his computer equipment was seized, and he is currently being prosecuted by the Manhattan District Attorney.

As Phish fans ourselves, on behalf of Mr. Pinero’s victims, we can think of nothing more appropriate than this:

“I can’t track you anymore

Detective work has sure become a bore

So tell me what you did with it

And stop this ****, give up yourself

Before they come knockin’…”

Last Friday, we busted a professional counterfeiter who was making fake @phish tix. Don't worry Phish fans… He won't steal your poor heart again. Get the full story on our Facebook page here: https://t.co/p1WuG7m7W5 pic.twitter.com/enrYiqOB15 — NYPD 20th Precinct (@NYPD20Pct) December 17, 2019



