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Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Counterfeiting ring rounded up By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune When Michael James Curtis and James Michael Monroe got down to the business of making money, they didn’t do it the old-fashioned way, authorities say. They allegedly did it the high-tech way, with a $100 printer-copier, paper and cheap adhesive. The resulting counterfeit ten-, twenty- and fifty-dollar bills turned out smaller than the real McCoys, police said. They also felt lighter, the coloring was off and they didn’t sport the tell-tale water mark of legitimate bills, police said. "I’d describe them as run of the mill, not great but they’re not bad," said Medford police officer Brandon Bloomfield. But they were good enough to fool drug dealers who police say took the cooked cash for methamphetamine, eventually helping push the bad bills into general circulation over the past two weeks throughout Southern Oregon and Northern California. Advertisement With Curtis in jail on counterfeiting-related charges, Monroe remains on the lam and police hope they get their hands on him before he starts cranking up his bad-bills-for-meth machine again. Medford police said they almost caught Monroe during a Friday drug raid at a Central Point motel, where he allegedly left behind a fresh set of counterfeiting tools bought since the police raid two days earlier led to Curtis’ arrest and the seizure of hand grenades and counterfeiting tools at a house on Midway. Police were still searching Monday for the 34-year-old Monroe, who has ties to Medford and has been here since his March 2005 release from prison, where he served time for drug and identity-theft convictions, court records show. At least 10 people have been arrested on a variety of charges in connection with this case over the past two weeks, police said. "It looks like we have most of the folks rounded up, except Mr. Monroe," Medford police Lt. Tim George said. "Right now, he’s the guy on our radar screen." And George traces it all back to what happens when criminals and technology mix. "The biggest problem with this type of crime is the quality of the devices out there," George said. The device of Monroe’s choice, Bloomfield said, was the Hewlett-Packard PSC-1510, a color printer-scanner that retails for $100. Police seized one from the North Medford house where Curtis was arrested and officers also found one Friday in the Super 8 Motel room in Central Point where police just missed Monroe, Bloomfield said. First, he would make copies of both sides of the real bills, cut them and then use basic craft-store adhesive to glue them together, Bloomfield said. Then the two-sided bill would go through two- sided color copying before it would get cut into the counterfeit bills, Bloomfield said. Police believe the bad bills then may have been put into a bag with a rock and tossed around before they were tumbled in a dryer, Bloomfield said. "They seem to be a little on the small side, but they looked used enough," Bloomfield said. At least used enough to pass them to methamphetamine suppliers, George said. "Your standard drug transaction usually occurs rather quickly and not at a counter under a fluorescent light," George said. The dealers then passed the bills on to gas stations, convenience stores and banks, George said. In all, police have 25 counterfeit cases in Medford, with several in Central Point and elsewhere, George said. Bloomfield said it was unknown if all the counterfeit bills were first passed to drug dealers. Police believe the pair offered the counterfeit bills for sale, but it was unknown if they had any takers, said Bloomfield, who declined to reveal the suspected asking price. "One of the individuals arrested through this admitted his meth was repossessed when the dealer found out the bill was bad," said Bloomfield, who did not identify the suspect. "But the guy didn’t get the bill back." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail Counterfeiting ring rounded up ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews Advertisement s