Arrested man thanks police for finding long-lost bong

A Bradenton man was arrested on Friday morning, but he still thanked deputies for finding a bong during a vehicle search that he thought he’d lost seven years ago, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report. Mark Fiasco and Matthew Hawley were pulled over at midnight for a license plate light being out. The report said the car had also been involved in a previous drug case in which an arrest was made.

When deputies first approached Fiasco, 23, he provided an address that was not listed on his license. He was then asked if there were any drugs in the car and he said no, according to the report. A search of the vehicle revealed about 29.3 grams of marijuana in the trunk, the report said; it also revealed a bong inside a plastic shopping bag.

After being read their rights, both Fiasco and Hawley, 23, admitted to knowing the marijuana was in the trunk and that they had purchased it earlier in the evening with the intent to smoke it later, according to the report. Fiasco then told deputies that he had been looking for the bong for the past seven years. In the report, he also said that he bought the bong for $150 and assumed a roommate had stolen it.

Fiasco has been charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession with the intent to use and failure to change an address on a license. He is being held in Manatee County jail on a $1,240 bond. Hawley has been charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession with the intent to use. He is also in Manatee County jail on a $1,120 bond.