Cops arrest California man near Sugar Grove

A 57-year-old California man was charged with felony money laundering after he was pulled over on Interstate 88 near Sugar Grove and $43,000 in eight shrink-wrapped bundles were found in his pickup truck, police said.

Henry Franco, of the 1000 block of Hooper Drive in West Covina, Calif., faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of the offense, but probation also is an option.

A Kane County Sheriff’s deputy became suspicious of Franco, who was pulled over going 60 mph in a 65 mph zone on westbound I-88 near Route 47 at 1:05 p.m. Friday afternoon, when the man’s story didn’t make sense and he changed it several times.

“That’s good policework right there,” Lt. Chris Collins said.

According to reports, Franco was nervous and sweating during the traffic stop, which was made because a trailer hitch obstructed the view of his California license plate on his pickup truck.

The bed was empty on the truck and it appeared Franco was living out of a duffel bag. Franco told the deputy he came to visit his ailing friend in Chicago, stayed for one day and planned to drive back to the West Coast, reports said.

He gave the deputy a bogus street address in Chicago and gave police permission to search his vehicle, where deputies found $43,000 bundled in eight different heat-sealed wraps, according to a police report.

“Bulk narcotic related currency is often packaged in heat sealed wrapping to avoid detection by narcotic sniffing canines. I have never seen legitimate currency packaged in this manner,” the arresting officer wrote in his report.

Franco then said he was using it to buy “a chili product” from Mexico, then said he got it as a loan from “a guy” in Chicago, reports said.

Franco’s bail was set at $50,000, and he paid a $5,000 bond and was released Saturday afternoon. He is due in court March 14.

In January, authorities arrested two men from the West Coast after a stop on I-88 and found more than $1 million in high-grade marijuana in their vehicle. The two men claimed they were headed to Chicago and Elgin for construction work. But the deputy noticed the men had soft hands and became suspicious.