POLICE SAY ROBBER STOLE $2,000... PLAY MONEY

A 32-year-old man realized a ittle too late that George W. Bush's picture isn't on any United States currency.

At about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, the man entered Reed's Zephyr service station at 102 Mason St. in Cape Girardeau, police said. He was relatively polite, asking the station's attendant for a loan. The attendant, who was there with two other men, explained that only the station's owner could approve a loan.

Perturbed, the man took out a pocket knife, opened it, and laid it on the counter. But he made no threats. As the conversation continued, the man put his hand over the knife and barked out an order to one of the men to give him money. The attendant told him to "head on up the road," police said.

Not wanting to leave empty handed, the man noticed money dangling from the shirt pocket of one of the men. He grabbed it and ran.

He went up Mason Street and down Spanish Street. When he got to the intersection of Mill Street, the robber took off his white shirt, black baseball cap and sunglasses and set them on the curb. Police believe he was attempting to conceal his identity.

But as the man continued to walk, he took out the money he had stolen to see it was a fake $2,000 bill. The face of presidential candidate George W. Bush was stamped in the middle.

The man walked back to retrieve his clothing, but police already had found the clothes and met him when he returned.

The man presently is in custody at the Cape Girardeau County jail. His name is being withheld pending formal stealing charges.

The $2,000 bill will be kept as evidence, police said.