Infamous counterfeiter recently released from prison, dies in hospice care
1630Boston
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July 9, 2020
Updated: July 9, 2020 1:31 p.m.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island man who proclaimed himself the “world’s greatest counterfeiter” has died just weeks after his release from his latest prison sentence.
The Providence Journal reports Louis “The Coin” Colavecchio died Monday in hospice care after dealing with a range of ailments, including dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 78.
“If he used the amount of ingenuity and knowledge he had for good, he could have been a millionaire and changed people’s lives,” former Rhode Island State Police Col. Steven O’Donnell told the newspaper.
Colavecchio, a North Providence native and Providence College graduate, was infamously banned at nearly every casino in America for counterfeiting gambling tokens.
He was released from federal prison in North Carolina in late May after being sentenced to 15 months for producing counterfeit $100 bills last year.
Colavecchio frustrated casinos for years with counterfeit slot machine tokens. He was arrested at Caesars Atlantic City in 1996 with 800 pounds (360 kilograms) of the fake tokens. His 2015 autobiography, “You Thought it was More, Adventures of the World’s Greatest Counterfeiter,” details his exploits
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Comments
"A talented tool-and-die maker, Colavecchio recounted the thrill of minting slot-machine tokens with such accuracy that even labs couldn’t differentiate between his work and the actual tokens."
I'd like to hear them expand on this statement:
"He spent two years in federal prison for his handiwork and was paid $18,000 by the feds as a consultant to explain why his manufacturing dies outlast those at the U.S. Mint."
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In his most recent case, U.S. Secret Service agents raided Colavecchio’s Pawtucket home in December 2018, seizing presses capable of producing counterfeit bills with simulations of the security features used in real currency, and about 2,400 fake $100 bills.
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The world is now a better place.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Right or Wrong - You must admit, the guy was very talented...........multi-talented at that.
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Good timing. Paper money is on the way out too.
RIP
Why would you want a career criminal to rest in peace? He should burn in hell.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Who am I to make that judgement.
Chinese forgers probably have a pin up photo of this guy on their factory wall. Peace Roy
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He served his sentence and was released.
He seems to have been a career criminal but based on the feedback here he wasn't a hateful or physically dangerous person (I haven't read the article yet). I know of a lot of people who have never been in jail but are pure evil (at least by my standards) and deserve the hot seat more than a habitual counterfeiter.
He did the crime, he served the time.
I'd buy him a beer.
Those are incredible attributions to his skills.... I am surprised China did not make him an offer he could not refuse.
Cheers, RickO
I'd probably let him pay...
I honestly thought this was going to be a joke - “counterfeiter released from prison dies.”
It’s all about where you pause.
Too bad about the wasted talent and potential genius.
Yeah, afterwards I thought about the comma, Ill add it now
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Did he coin the phrase "your money is no good around here" ?
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Would this coin have been made with "prison dies" ?
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The "World's Greatest Counterfeiters" are the ones that don't get caught.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
That's better.
With the the counterfeit coin or $100.00 bill.
Love the irony...
"Genuinely" talented making "fraudulent"
Sounds like he had an eye for detail and the knowledge to back it up.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown