Pubdate: Mon, 21 Nov 2005
Source: Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC)
Copyright: 2005 Evening Post Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.charleston.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567
Author: Schuyler Kropf
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

LOOK OUT FOR FUNNY MONEY

Meth Cookers Join Ranks Of Counterfeit Cash Producers

When you start your holiday shopping, be wary of the person next to
you. He could be a methamphetamine cooker. And a counterfeiter. At the
same time. South Carolina's growing methamphetamine problem has
spawned another crime that seems to peak around the holidays: passing
counterfeit cash. And meth cookers are the newest entrants into the
practice, authorities say. "More and more we're seeing counterfeit
being mixed up with methamphetamine," said John Kenney, resident
agent-in-charge with the U.S. Secret Service in Charleston.

"The people that we are arresting, the people that we suspect or are
investigating are more and more using counterfeit money to support
their habit," he said.

As recently as 10 years ago, most counterfeiting was done by skilled
professionals who had extensive knowledge of ink, printing presses and
plates. That changed in the computer age when ink-jet printers made it
possible to copy legitimate U.S. bills directly onto paper.

"Over 80 percent of what we see in this district is made on computers,
what we call desktop publishing," Kenney said.

The processes for meth cooking and counterfeiting are surprisingly
similar in their simplicity.

Both can be launched for an investment of $200 or less and don't
require an overabundance of skill to perfect.

Both can be launched using goods bought over the counter from local
retail stores. Both also have the advantage of being mobile, meaning
they can be set up almost anywhere, including hotel rooms, which are
fast becoming a favorite cooking spot for meth producers.

Outside of the drug world, the peak of the counterfeit season begins
later this month when stores begin to fill with thousands of holiday
shoppers. A favored method for "passers" is to seek out crowded stores
and pay for goods with phony bills in the hope that clerks are too
busy to react. Twenty-dollar bills and $100s are the most popular.

The Secret Service collects or seizes $2,000 to $10,000 a week in the
nine counties that make up the eastern district of South Carolina. By
comparison, a larger city such as New York or Miami might see seizures
of up to $80,000 a week. The amount put into circulation locally isn't
enough to upset the economy, but victims of counterfeiting usually
have little recourse for their losses. "There's no reimbursement,"
Kenney said "If you are the last person with it, then you are the victim."

Local chain stores say they are ready for the counterfeit-passing
season. But they aren't eager to talk about it.

A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, the world's largest retail chain, declined
to discuss how the company educates its store clerks to detect
counterfeit money, citing internal security concerns.

Linda Casey, spokeswoman for the Marathon Petroleum Co., which
operates the Speedway gas chain in South Carolina, said the most
common detection method used in her chain's stores is
counterfeit-detecting ink pens that change color on bogus bills.
Clerks are instructed to use them on all denominations greater than
$20, she said.

A weakness of counterfeit bills, Kenney said, is quality. Ink-jet
print is prone to bleed and run when it gets wet, he said.

Finding passable paper is a big hurdle. Some counterfeiters prefer
resume paper, although nothing on the market comes close to the
linen-based material used in U.S. bills, experts say.

Many times, however, meth users aren't worried about the quality of
their bills because they are more interested in trying to rip off
someone, Kenney said. For anyone convicted of producing counterfeit
bills, the penalties can be severe. A first-time offender faces a
mandatory minimum of 18 months in prison. Foreign counterfeiters seem
to be the best counterfeiters of U.S. dollars, Kenney said, pointing
to the South American nation of Colombia as a regular culprit. "High
quality usually comes from overseas," he said. Why? "The U.S. $100
bill is the currency of the world," Kenney said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin