More Fun in Our Police State

New York City:

Careful what you pick up in the subway _ it could lead to your arrest.

Straphanger Carlos Alayo said he learned that lesson when he picked up what he thought was a derelict wallet laying on a subway platform bench.

He said he intended to find its owner and return it, but as he went to get on the G train, he said he was stopped by police.

The 32-year-old had been ensnared in Operation Lucky Bag, an initiative from the New York City Police Department to lay decoys _ shopping bags, purses, backpacks or wallets _ around the subway system under the watchful gaze of officers who wait to see what passersby will do.

The decoys often contain real credit cards issued under pseudonyms to the police department. Theft of a credit card is grand larceny, a felony that could lead to jail time.

I can guarantee you this, the twisted individual who created this entrapment scheme will see no consequences. Heck, they will probably get a nice plaque calling them a "hero".