DETROIT (AP) — Police investigating bad checks say they found much more: A Detroit-area impostor who inspired a 1989 award-winning film was posing as someone else — again — this time taking the name of a Maryland man
William Street Jr., 64, was charged in federal court with fraud and identity theft after he was found with documents and a white doctor's coat with the name of William Benn Stratton.
"Oh my God, you can't make this stuff up. I am completely dumbfounded and speechless," said Stratton, 54, who isn't a doctor but a vice president at ClearShark, a technology company in Hanover, Md.
Street has two dozen convictions going back decades and even fooled the Detroit Tigers into giving him a tryout in the 1970s, The Detroit News reported Friday. He was the inspiration for "Chameleon Street," which won a prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival.
Street allegedly told the FBI he decided to assume Stratton's identity after reading about the former Green Beret running a marathon, according to a court filing. He obtained diplomas, transcripts and a U.S. Military Academy class ring in Stratton's name, the FBI said.
"He has proved himself to be extraordinarily resourceful in perpetuating his schemes," U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Stafford said last week in keeping Street locked up while he awaits trial.
Defense attorney Joseph Arnone acknowledged Street's "long history" and said he was investigating the allegations.
In 1985, Street told the News that the Tigers tryout was a turning point.
"That was the first time I found out how easy it was to get people to believe whatever you said as long as you said it right," he said.