Charges Pile Up on Man With Multiple IDs

Roy Antigua walked into the Pasco County Courthouse in West Pasco on July 27 and flashed what looked like the badge of a CIA officer. It was not the first time he did it.

Antigua is not a member of the CIA or a law enforcement officer of any kind. But he does possess a large collection of fraudulent law enforcement, military and medical credentials, including badges and uniforms.

On Monday, New Port Richey Police Chief and if he’s committed. The police department received , and the department has formed a tasked force with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office to pursue them. 

Authorities announced Friday that Antigua is being charged with four counts of impersonating a federal law enforcement officer, three of which stem from him using the C.I.A. credentials at the courthouse. The other stems from when he wore the uniform of a Lt. Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard at a Memorial Day event in New Port Richey, where Steffens first met him.

Antigua, 52, is also being charged with prohibited use of certain lights. He had carried with him in his Cadillac Escalade a blue LED strobe light bar (the kind a police officer in an unmarked car would use).

Unrelated to the cache of identity-related items, Antigua is also charged with driving with a suspended license, which put him in violation of probation stemming from a grand theft charge out of Miami. 

New Port Richey police arrested Antigua last week on the charge of driving with a suspensed license and then kicked off an investigaion that revealed the cache of identity-related items.

Antigua is from Cuba and has family in Miami and also was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary unit there, which is a volunteer role. The only piece of identification in Antigua’s collection is his auxiliary card is his only piece of valid identification.

Steffens said the grand theft charges stem from something he did in his capacity as an auxiliary member.

Steffens said that the call to the public for tips on Antigua was a “unique" opportunity for the public “to be the police” and help the authorities develop a timeline of Antigua’s activities.

“They alone solved this puzzle to this point, but there are other pieces to put in play, and I can’t thank you enough for the opportunity to have worked with the public, with our partners,” Steffens said. "We’re going to get more of this puzzle solved.”

The investigation into Antigua’s doings is ongoing, and authorities are looking for further crimes he committed using his fake identification items. It could go on for months.

“What we were quite frankly shocked was to see that we’re talking about 20-plus years of an individual developing an expertise at passing himself off as a police officer, a federal agent or a military official,” Steffens said.

Steffens said authorities are still validating tips. Nocco said the authorities have more than 700,000 files on Antigua’s computer to go through.

Nocco said Antigua went to the Sheriff's Offivce at least thrice. The first time Antigua went to the courthouse and showed his fake CIA credentials, he told a Pasco County Sheriff’s deputy he was a law enforcement officer within the CIA and that he was at the courthouse for business.

Each time he passed into the courthouse, he went through the metal detector. He never gained access to any restricted areas, Nocco said. Nocco said authorities don’t know yet the reason for his visits.

Detective Bruce Cohen of the sheriff’s office said Antigua felt “contrite and remorseful.” He said Antigua told investigators he ”had self-confidence issues, and by doing this it makes him feel better. ”

The information investigators have pulled about Antigua indicates "as of right now, he is not dangerous," Nocco said. "However, we are in the midst of the investigation. We don't know what else he did."

Anyone with tips is asked to contact the Pasco County Sheriff's Office's tip line at 1-800-706-2488 or leaving a tip at the Sheriff's Officwe website http://pascosheriff.com.