Louis B. Colavecchio (January 1, 1942 – July 6, 2020) was an American

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

er known as "The Coin". While residing in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, Colavecchio defrauded several

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

casinos until his arrest and initial conviction in 1998. He had led a gang which fabricated numerous

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

coins using hardened steel dies of the originals, and was revealed when casinos began to notice a surplus of coins on their gaming floors. Sentenced to seven years, Colavecchio was released in 2006. He was arrested by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

only a few months later after having resumed his activities, and released on a $25,000

surety bond In finance, a surety , surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a person or company (a ''sure ...

. His counterfeiting equipment was auctioned off on

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following his arrest, and crimes were the subject of a documentary series ''

Breaking Vegas ''Breaking Vegas'' is an American television series that premiered on the History Channel in 2004. The series covers the great lengths people have gone to make money, sometimes illegally, from casinos. Many episodes have to do with cheats who ill ...

'' from

The History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the General Entertainment Content division of The Wa ...

, where he was portrayed by Angelo Fierro. Due to the initial success of his crime, casinos have slowly phased out tokens, replacing them with paper vouchers. Today

s will dispense a paper voucher when a player cashes out. The vouchers are then redeemed for cash at kiosks located next to the cashier. Colavecchio collaborated with Andy Thibault, a veteran journalist, and Franz Douskey, author of several non-fiction books, including SINATRA & ME: The Very Good Years, to write a memoir, “You Thought It Was More – Adventures of the World’s Greatest Counterfeiter, Louis The Coin.” It was published by IceBox Publishing LLC in 2015. In August 2019, Colavecchio was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to manufacturing counterfeit $100 bills. He died a few weeks after a federal judge granted him compassionate release from the Federal Medical Center in Butner, N.C., a prison for inmates with special health needs.

Notes

External links

“You Thought It Was More – Adventures of the World’s Greatest Counterfeiter, Louis The Coin.”
22:47, 30 January 2021 (UTC) {{DEFAULTSORT:Colavecchio, Louis 1942 births 2020 deaths American counterfeiters