$1,000 bill foils robbers

Published 3:48 pm Wednesday, February 25, 2009

TEXAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Authorities said an old $1,000 bill proved the downfall of three teenagers on the run in Michigan.

The Kalamazoo County sheriff’s department said the trio stole a safe containing the money from one of the youth’s parents.

The Kalamazoo Gazette and the Birmingham News say they drove a stolen van to Birmingham, Ala., last week where an 18-year-old tried to exchange the $1,000 bill at a Service First Bank branch.

The problem: The U.S. Treasury stopped printing $1,000 bills in 1945.

The bank called police. Officers arrested the teen and two 15-year-old companions.