Evening star., 1942-06-21

Aofaham Auerbach. counterfeit n q
forgery or alteration of all obliga-
tions of the United States and other
governments and to enforce other
laws, as provided by Congress.
Counterfeiting, the Secret Service
believes. could be eliminated if every
one would carefully examine the
money that passes through his
hands, for no counterfeiter has ever
been able to duplicate the work of
the Bureau of Engraving and Print
ing. Even in the bureau no one per-
son does all the work of engraving
q new bill or stamp There are
specialists for all parts OF the de-
sign, and no one can engrave a
whole bill.
Exhibit Samples
In talking with Mr. Sanderson
learned that counterfeiters operate
in different ways. Some merely
print the bills and allow others to
distribute them. Others form gangs,
print large quantities of spurious
notes and sell them to distributors, :"
who pay, say. l0c in good money for
one dollar of bad. A few have been
known to offer to print bills for un-
scrupulous businessmen, sometimes
exhibiting a genuine note as a
sample Of their work!
All phases of counterfeiting are
equally dangerous. In 1910 alone,
2736 persons who tried to defraud
Uncle Sam were sent to jail. In
the past 10 years the amount of
counterfeit money printed has been
reduced by more than 95 per cent.
Mr.. Sanderson also was kind
enough to give me typical case
from the files of his office.
Late in 1886 a new counterfeit $40
bill found its way into circulation
In the New York area, and the
Secret Service quickly went into ac-
ton. BY January, 1887, the trail had
led to a house in Brooklyn. The
agents were fairly certain this was
the headquarters of the counter
feiters. For a week they kept a
24-hour- day watch.
One day a man visited the two
story house, walking out % minutes
later with another man. -Four
Secret Service agents followed them
to a residence in another part of
Brooklyn and took up their watch
outside.
Carries Package.
The men stayed in the house a
long while. When they came out
one carried a fair-sized package,
wrapped in brown paper. Two OF
the agents remained on guard at the
house while the Others followed the
pair. This time the suspects went
to a subway station and separated.
The agents kept on the trail OF
the man with the package and let
his companion go. Their quarry
boarded a subway train and rode to
125th street and Lexington avenue.
alighted and walked back to l24th
street. then east to Third avenue,
where he turned south.
Then suddenly he began to hurry.
Perhaps he thought he was being
followed. Or maybe the package
began to get uncomfortably warm.
Anyway, he passed the next cor
ner in such a hurry that he caught
the eve of two policemen. They
halted him. unaware that two Secret
Service agents were on his tran, ana
began to ask the routine questions.
He was so vague in his answers tnat
the officers became more suspicious.
One of them pointed to the package
and asked. Whats that?" He look
the package from under the mans
arm and opened it. The Thinning
twilight revealed a bundle OF coun-
terfeit $40 bills. The man was ar
rested and turned over to the Secret
Service agents, along with $4'o7o IN
bogus bills.
Houses Are Searched.
That night two other members OF
the gang we're taken into CUSTODY
and the Brooklyn houses searched.
In the houses we're found engraV-
ing tools and other apparatus Ior
making spurious money. One OF the
prisoners admitted the apparatus
belonged to him.
The next day the prisoners tolo
some more of the story. The agents
were anxious to hear it, for the
plates used to print the notes nao
not been found.
What the prisoners said LED 10
another visit to one OF the houses
where the gang leader took from a
secret cache S31, $50 in counterfeit
bills Then he showed the agents a
spot in the East River where the
plates had been thrown. The river
was dragged and the plates were
recovered.
When the case went to court all
three men were sentenced to eight
years in the penitentiary. But the
troubles of the ringleader did not
stop there. The immigration Bu-
reau considered him an undesirable
alien and began deportation pro-
ceedings against him.