- The
Secret Service and Infamous Counterfeiters
"Protection and Investigation" - -the dual mission of the the U.S. Secret Service
- During the American Civil War as much as one-half of
U.S. currency was counterfeit. It was during this period
that the investigation mission of the Secret Service was
established. During its history, the law enforcement
agency of the Department of the Treasury has foiled the
attempts of hundreds of "print-it-yourself millionaires".
Here are some of the more famous cases taken from
"Moments in History" , a Department of the Treasury
publication.
- The "King of the Counterfeiters" was William E.
Brockway who operated between 1850 to 1890. He took pride
in printing realistic notes and avoiding capture. The
highlight of his career came when he printed a batch of
$1000 bonds. Even the Treasury department was fooled and
lost about $75,000. It took the Chief of the Secret
Service William Wood to even recognize that the bonds
were counterfeit. The Treasury Department offered a
reward of $20,000 for the capture of Brockway. Chief Wood
traced Brockway to Philadelphia where he was living the
lifestyle of the rich and the anonymous. Wood, in a
questionable legal move, took Brockway and his lady
friend hostage for several days until he got a confession
and the cash.
The Secretary of the Treasury never gave Chief Wood the reward, because he said the the Treasury "couldn't afford it!"
- Pete McCartney was as famous for his jail escapes as
his counterfeiting. He once jumped from a moving train
while he was handcuffed and manacled. Every so often in
his 1860 -1875 career he would repent, turn in his plates
and go to jail. When he would get out he would go back to
passing his bogus notes.
- McCartney was once interview by the Secret Service
Chief in a jail cell in St. Louis. About 10 o'clock that
evening, McCartney decided he wanted to continue the
conversation. So he broke out of jail and went the the
Chiefs hotel room to pick up where they left off. He
willingly returned to jail with the startled Chief.
- Emanuel "Jim the Penman" Ninger was a sign painter
with a sideline. He liked to paint $50's and $100's. Each
note was an individual work of art hand painted on bond
paper. He even made slight "improvements" in the official
design when he felt the government designer had done a
poor job. When Jim had enough notes he would travel from
his New Jersey farm to New York to buy painting supplies
with and for his art. For fourteen years he financed his
trips in this manor, until 1896. After a career of
successfully passing $40,000 in near perfect notes he
made the mistake of going into a bar to buy a drink. He
laid the fake bill on the wet bar and the ink ran. The
bartender, not a patron of the arts, turned him in.
- Arthur Taylor and Baldwin Bredell were Victorian
partners in crime. They turned their cigar shop in a
photoengraving business to make counterfeit tax stamps.
When they tried their hand at making currency they were
caught gluing the backs to the fronts of their bills.
Their notes were excellent, but too thick. Incredibly
they served time in the same prison cell. With the help
of a lawyer and equally crooked relatives they used
smuggled tools to continue to turn out very
authentic-looking notes from jail. After a second
sentence, with no extracurricular printing, both men went
on to become honest successes. Bredell became the founder
of an engraving and lithography firm!
- In addition to printing counterfeits, the Secret
Service is called on to investigate other crimes
involving U.S. Government obligations and the Treasury.
In 1889 the Philadelphia Mint was missing $130,000 in
gold bars. It was not a case of a "break in", but a
"sneak out". The case was solved in one day, when it was
noticed that one employee had reinforced trouser pockets
and heavy duty suspenders.
- Possibly the most ironic incident of the Secret
Service took place on April 14, 1865. This was the day
Abraham Lincoln gave presidential approval for the
founding of the Service. That evening in Ford's Theater
the President was killed by John Wilkes Booth.
Copyright (C) 1999 by Frank Granger
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