Georger's response to Vicki
Vicki, as I recall the original story, and correct me if I am wrong - - -
Your father was a counterfeiter of some consequence. That was part of his vita. He was being sought by law enforcement and just prior to being taken into custody Melvin escaped with some of his counterfeiting paraphernalia, and he dumped his plates and some $200,000 dollars in counterfeit bills, which were found along some river along the route of his escape (I forget the city) in 1971. He was never seen again in spite of law enforcement doing an extensive search for him over a number of years. His loss of $200,000 dollars in bogus bills he had printed and intended to use, and Cooper's demand for $200,000 along with saying he had a "grudge", might be more than a coincidence.
Is this account true ? I believe there were newspaper articles detailing the above. ? If true, were these facts ever conveyed to Eng?
The following facts should be in my father's file at the FBI, the Secret Service and the US Marshals. When I spoke with Eng, I referred him to my dad's FBI number and he pulled the computer file and looked at my father's information while speaking with me on the phone.
Melvin Wilson was the head of a major counterfeiting ring. He started counterfeiting in his own print shop on the strip in Las Vegas in 1965/66.
Our family moved to Minnesota in 1968 and lived in St. Paul.
We then moved north and for a short time lived in St. Cloud, MN then to Brainerd, MN in 1969.
While we lived in Brainerd, my father would travel between St. Paul and Brainerd to work. In a rented apartment in St. Paul he had a fully functional print shop where he rolled out the $20.00's. The US Marshal I spoke with called the bills "near deception quality".
On April 20, 1971 Melvin was arrested in Janesville, WI. for passing a counterfeit note to a bartender. When arrested he had a stash of counterfeit in the trunk of his vehicle.
On May 1st, a barrel of counterfeit $20's (note that UM states it was $250,000 and the newspapers of that time state $500,000 to $1 million), along with the plates, were found by a 17 y/o boy who was fishing in Alma, WI. When Mel was asked about this (as he was awaiting a court date in Dane County for the original charge), he confessed that the bills and plates were not perfect and he dumped them in the Mississippi River in the town of Wabasha, MN. in March of 1971.
I am not sure when, but a few months later he had gone through the court system and was found guilty. He was released from custody to take care of any business with the family, etc before returning in Mid September for his sentencing hearing. On the morning of September 15th, 1971, Melvin left our house in Brainerd, MN and drove to his sentencing hearing. I am not sure if this would have been St. Paul or Madison, WI. I believe it would have been Madison as the US Marshal's office that was investigating his fugitive status was located in Central Wisconsin.
Shortly afterwards, I remember two men in black suits talking to my mom in the living-room. My brother (6 y/o) and I (7 y/o) were listening while hiding in the kitchen. We heard them tell my mom that Melvin did not show up to the hearing and we would probably never see him again.
I tried to add a newspaper article from the time Melvin was arrested: Because of its size they cannot be uploaded. If it is something that anyone wants to see, I can email all 7 articles.
