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Anthony A. Rivera
Former Santa Fe police officer Anthony Rivera and brother Dominic were arrested Sunday and charged with overseeing the production of fake $100 bills, created using $20′s that were stripped of their color using paint thinner.

The two men, 44 and 34 respectively, were arrested along with 20-year-old Tyler Ament and accused of creating more than $1,200 in counterfeit currency in recent months, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Tuesday.

Police broke the case last week after Ament tried to use one of the bills at a gas station and a clerk turned him away. Ament returned to the gas station for cigarettes after buying jeans at a local Kohls and officers were waiting for him.

Ament ultimately told police that Dominic ran the counterfeiting operation while Anthony approved the bills that went out, according to KRQE-TV. They used paint thinner to strip $20′s of their color and printed $100 bills onto the remaining material.

Police confirmed Monday that Anthony Rivera left the Santa Fe Police Department in 2011 after two decades on the force. He currently works for the Tesuque Tribal Police Department, which did not respond to a request for comment.

This video is from KRQE-TV, aired Monday, March 11, 2013.