Authorities say a 31-year-old man in upstate New York faked his own kidnapping to extort ransom from his girlfriend.

Police in Plattekill in Ulster County tell the Times Herald-Record of Middletown ( http://bit.ly/WqzFH6 ) that Mark Rodriguez left for work in his girlfriend's car on Jan. 14. Officials say the woman later received a telephone call from a stranger saying her boyfriend had been kidnapped and she needed to hand over $2,000 or he would be killed.