Two Men Arrested by Florissant Police for 'Pigeon Drop' Scheme

arrested two men Friday for their suspected involvement in a “pigeon drop” situation.

Eugene O’Neal and Lawrence C. Van, both of St. Louis, have been arrested and served with warrants for "felony stealing."

Both men match the suspects' description for an incident that happened Dec. 14.

Outside of the grocery store, a man approached the victim and said that the person could make money easily.

The victim listened and allowed the man to get into a car where they drove to West Florissant and Dunn Road and met up with another man. He overheard the two discussing $100,000 and returning to South Africa to look for family members.

The victim, in turn, drove the two men to his bank where he withdrew $5,000.

After the men left and did not return, the victim realized that his money had been switched with torn newspaper.

Police officer Joseph Monahan, who was the original responding officer and off duty on Friday, spotted two men outside of the Flower Valley Shop ‘n Save when he saw two men matching the description of the “pigeon drop” and overheard some of the same language described the previous day.

He called the police department for assistance, and police officers discovered the two men’s involvement after investigation.

Bond has been set at $50,000 for each man.