The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-07-13
COUNTERFEIT MONEY
FLOODS COUNTRY
MORE THAN ONE MILLION TWO
DOLLAR BILLS.
Italian Banker of Pittsburg Under Ar
rest Charged With Circulating
The Money.
The Money

NEW YORK, July 13.-Counterfeit
currency of the apparent face value OF
s1OO0,O00 or so, has been scattered
broadcast over the country. Uncle Sam
is trying to run down the leaders in
the biggest swindle of its kind ever
launched against the government.
Chief Flynn, head of the secret service
in New York is known as the counter
feiters' greatest foe and discovery of
the present plot is credited to him.
His attention was first attracted two
months ago by reports from his agents
that spurious So bills were being cir
culated on the East Side. The num-
Der of bills of larger denomination
were comparatively small, and because
of this Chief Flynn deduced that the
counterfeiters were foreigners wifi
piohiNu W NllSululC ihOll SOOho
among the poorer classes who seldom
use big bills. Secret service agents
were put on watch on the East Side in
Harlems little Italy, in the Browns
vile section of Brooklyn and in near
by New Jersey towns.
Although the facts hitherto have
been kept secret. forty arrests have
been made in less than two months.
Have Plant in Italy.
This successful and wholesale raid
ing by Chief Flynn drove the more
active of the counterfeiters out of New
York and vicinity, but it was his am
bition to discover the plant where the
money was manufactured.
Il am satisfied now that the gang
has it's factory in Italy," said Chief
Flynn today. perhaps never before
has counterfeiting scheme on such
a big scale been directed against the
United States
A dragnet was set for all the coun-
terfeiters in this country and this can
vass proved pretty conclusive that the
plant is not in the United States. The
spurious bills are brought from abroad
and until the plot was discovered, New
York was the distributing point.
I The Showers" as the crooks are
known who ploce counterfeits in cir
culation, purchased the currency from
dealers" at the rate of 80 cents on the
face value of dollar. The ease with
which the bills were imposed on the
poorer class and the enormous profi.s
attending the trasaction account for
the wide distribution of the currency.
Was Banker Distributor.
Chief Flynn's warning sent to the
larger cities in the East and Middle
West was responsible for the arrest in
Pittsburg on Friday night of three men
who are suspected of being in league
with the principals in Italy. One of
the prisoners, Sedele Postovelli, man.
ager of the Pittsburg branch of the
prominent banking house of Diberar-
DIM is charged by the federal author
tiles. with being the distributing agent
for the counterfeiters in the Pittsburg
district.
When he is placed on trial, Chief
FLYNN will present evidence that he
came to New York, where he formerly
lived. procured a grip filled with spur
lous bills and left for Pittsburg.
Chief Flynn says the bills are diff
ficult to detect except by bank en-
ployes and others accustomed to hand
ing money. The texture of the paper
is similar to that used in genuine cur
'ency, but close inspection reveals that
he printing frequently is blurred.
STATE