I learned something new that I thought other residents of Clatsop County might find interesting. My brother and I have owned and operated a business in Seaside for the past 28 years, and recently we discovered that we had for the first time been bamboozled by a counterfeiter.

During a transaction I had been handed a $100 bill, which I gave a cursory check (made sure there was a security strip and a watermark), before giving the customer their $92.50 in change.

Only later, when I checked the bill more carefully, did I discover that the security strip said USA FIVE. The watermark, of course, was Abraham Lincoln. It was a $5 bill that had been washed of its original ink and reprinted as a $100 bill. I called the police immediately.

Because of the business were in (movie rental), we know who our customers are, and their addresses, so we were able to give the responding officer quite a few good clues to help in the investigation. We were confident that the case would be quickly solved and arrests made.

A couple of days later I called the police department to see how the investigation was progressing. This is when I was given the bad news that may be of interest to others: I was told that Clatsop County no longer prosecutes counterfeiting cases, and that even if the police were to discover someone with tens of thousands of dollars in counterfeit bills (and all the equipment used to manufacture said bills), that person would do no more time than one day in the county jail. 

When I mentioned possible Secret Service involvement, I was given the further bad news that the Secret Service no longer investigates counterfeit currency. When I was a kid in grade school, I remember learning that counterfeiting was a federal crime that could get a guilty person 20 years in a federal prison. Apparently, those days are gone.

This whole situation is already common knowledge among local criminals. I dont fault the police theres really no point in devoting a lot of time preparing a case that will never be prosecuted, anyway. I just hope this will be a caveat to any persons who regularly handle cash.

With no federal protection of the integrity of U.S. currency, and no negative consequences locally to printing your own money, its critical that each bill be inspected carefully before being accepted. Some merchants may find it prudent to simply institute a policy of not accepting large denomination bills.

STEVE HAUGEN

Seaside

Managing Editors Note: The Daily Astorian contacted the Clatsop County district attorneys office, and was told that small counterfeiting cases are prosecuted by the county as forgery and theft, usually as a misdemeanor. While counterfeiting remains a federal crime, generally the Secret Service and federal prosecutors only become involved if it is a large amount of counterfeit bills.