Cop, truck driver, whatever

BIDDEFORD, Maine - Maine state police have charged a man who managed to get free rides on Amtrak's Downeaster by impersonating a trooper. Paul Rumery, 32, of Biddeford, told Amtrak personnel he was a state police sergeant and needed a ride from Saco to Boston for official business, authorities said.

The ploy worked four or five times dating back to November until Rumery was nabbed over the weekend by a real trooper outside the train station in Saco, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Public Safety Department.

Rumery got the free rides by telling Amtrak ticketing agents that he was a state trooper riding the Downeaster to look for trouble spots along the route, McCausland said. Real troopers don't accept free rides, the spokesman added.

A search of Rumery's vehicle and his apartment turned up no police paraphernalia such as fake identification or badges, McCausland said. Rumery, a truck driver employed by Labbe Construction of Arundel, has never been a law enforcement officer.