In 1938, the owner of a cigar store in New York went to the bank to deposit his daily income, only to be told by the teller that one of his one-dollar bills was fake. This was one of the many counterfeit bills that started to be found irregularly in Manhattan during November 1938.
The most weird thing about these fake notes though, was the fact that they were poorly executed and they were all one-dollar bills. Which serious counterfeiter would risk imprisonment for some phony one-dollar bills, right?
For 10 years, the Secret Service tried to capture the one-dollar counterfeiter, but to no avail. The money were never spent at the same place twice something that drove the authorities mad. Eventually, Mr. 880, as he was nicknamed by his case number, was caught in the age of 73. Some neighborhood boys were exploring his warehouse and found a couple of zinc engraving plates for printing money and a few fake dollars. The boys told their fathers, who alerted police. (the article continues after the ad)
He was sentenced to one year in jail but his sentence was later reduced to 4 months. His name was Edward Mueller.
A comedy movie about him was made in 1950 called Mister 880. Mueller made more money from that movie than he did during his entire counterfeiting career.
If you like what you read, then you will definitely love this one: This Is How Much It Costs To Print Money
Photo: http://firsttoknow.com
Widget not in any sidebars
