VAN NUYS : Motorist Pays Bribe to Phony Officers

Two men impersonating police officers pulled over a driver in Van Nuys and persuaded him to hand over a bribe to avoid a costly speeding ticket, authorities said Wednesday.

Eugene Werbicri, 19, of Mission Hills told police that he was stopped at Roscoe and Balboa boulevards on March 22 by men driving a Chevrolet Caprice painted like a police car. Werbicri did not report the crime until last week because he believed that the men were real officers until an acquaintance suggested to him that they weren’t, police said.

The men, who were about 30 years old, were clad in dark blue uniforms and one man wore a badge, said Detective Wayne Newton of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The two men told Werbicri that he could avoid a $150 speeding ticket if he paid them $40 on the spot, Newton said.