DOTr con man falls

A man who has been impersonating top administration officials for extortion purposes has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin identified the suspect as Vimbi Flores Avilla, alias Jayvee, whose latest exploit gained him P950,000 extorted from a businessman by posing as Department of Transportation (DOTR) Secretary Arthur Tugade. Operatives of the NBIAnti-Graft Division (NBI-AGD) arrested Avilla last March 1 at a restaurant in San Pedro City, Laguna following weeks of verifications, sureveillance and casing operations. (Jeffrey G. Damicog)