Daniel McCarthy, the man who posed on the South Shore as a New York City police officer buried in the rubble of the Twin Towers, continued his sordid story by denying these accusations.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I think someone is trying to screw me up,” McCarthy said Monday from the Monroe County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania, where he was being held on charges of writing bad checks.

McCarthy said he never told anyone he worked for the New York City Police Department.

But several people were there when he told a Tahoe Daily Tribune reporter about what was believed to be a heroic effort in rescuing people from the rubble of 9-11.

Authorities confirmed Monday that the man in custody is the same McCarthy who appeared in the newspaper. The Tribune retracted the series of lies as soon as the truth was uncovered.

The New York City Police Department was alerted to the story after McCarthy appeared in the July 19 issue of the Tribune with his story a day after he married Eleni Golding. The agency told the paper McCarthy had never worked for the department.

When asked Monday about the marriage to Golding, McCarthy initially said he married her, but denied it upon further questioning.

“I have been to the Lake Tahoe area on several occasions, and I am a Diamond member at Harrah’s. But I’m married to a different woman,” he said. He declined to say who.

McCarthy and Golding left Tahoe for Las Vegas, where he proceeded to marry Lucia Castelli.

Whatever his fate, it’s doubtful McCarthy’s two wives will support him. Beyond Golding’s expressing her desire on Sunday to end the relationship, a Pennsylvania trooper said Castelli has filed for divorce. Phone calls to Castelli, who lives in the Long Island area, were unreturned.

Trooper Shawn Noonan, said Monday from Fernridge, Pa., that McCarthy had been arrested seven times on theft and forgery charges in various parts of the country.

“I have no clue what drives this guy,” Noonan said, adding his feeling McCarthy may be a pathological liar.

“He lies when he knows he’s going to be caught. He lied right to the judge’s face,” Noonan said, citing McCarthy’s exchange with Monroe County Magistrate Debbie York when she inquired about his employment.

He said he worked for a dry cleaning business, a false claim, Noonan said.

The judge originally set his bail for $10,000, but the trooper was concerned McCarthy might have been a flight risk given his transient past. It is now set at $50,000.

McCarthy, who has not made a plea, remains in custody awaiting his preliminary hearing slated for May 30 to determine probable cause, according to the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office.

While in jail, McCarthy has entertained other inmates with stories of his escapades, Noonan said.

“Inmates told the security guard: ‘This guy’s a real criminal,'” the officer recounted what the jail worker told him.

In addition, it appears New York City may not be done with McCarthy. The internal affairs division of the city’s police department is investigating him for posing as an officer, Noonan said. Phone calls to the division were not returned.

— Susan Wood can be reached at (530) 542-8009 or via e-mail at swood@tahoedailytribune.com