LEWISTON – Police on Wednesday said a report that $2,000 in counterfeit money had been paid to the city tax office was erroneous. What started as a small incident developed into a rumor that caught hold around the Twin Cities, investigators said.

According to Lewiston police Lt. Michael McGonagle, the situation began two weeks ago when a 20-year-old local man tried to pay a bill at City Hall. The man was paying with two crisp $100 bills that had been left to him by his recently deceased grandfather, McGonagle said.

Police said city officials became concerned because the bills appeared to be new and yet were dated 1983. In addition, they were marked with consecutive serial numbers and did not look like bills in circulation today.

“Obviously, the bills have changed over the years,” McGonagle said.

City officials used a specially designed marker to test the $100 bills for authenticity. The markings left on the bills implied that the money was fake, and city officials refused to take them.

Police interviewed the 20-year-old, and the U.S. Secret Service became involved in the investigation, McGonagle said. But further testing of the money revealed the bills were genuine, so the matter was dropped.

By then, however, word about the curious bills already had spread among city and county officials until misinformation was rampant. In most circles, it was believed that $2,000 in fake cash had been uncovered.

“It was just a big mix-up all around,” McGonagle said.

The lieutenant pointed out that city officials did what they are supposed to do when they come across money that looks suspicious. And the man who had tried to pay his bills later concluded his business despite the headache.

“He did nothing wrong,” McGonagle said.