Caught in an Internet sting operation, a 42-year-old man tried to arrange a sexual liaison with someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl but who actually was an undercover police detective, authorities said yesterday.

Federal prosecutors allege that Joseph Giancaspro was carrying three condoms when he met "Mary" in Greenwich Village in April 2006, believing he was going to her parents’ home for sex.

Police said they found 15 images of child pornography during a search of his workplace computer in the Bronx.