The following appeared in The Rock County Star on November 6, 1931.
Capone Men Visit Luverne?
Smooth Strangers Pass $10 Counterfeit Bill on Local Café; Almost Make It $20
Federal Investigators Raid Gangers’ Den In Chicago and Find Set-Up For making Spurious Currency — Being Distributed in Rural Communities
The activities of Al Capone, master gangster and criminal, may have included Luverne Friday when two smooth strangers passed a counterfeit $10 bill at the Luverne Café.
This week a counterfeit den in Chicago was raided. In the den, besides thousands of dollars worth of spurious currency in $10 and $20 bills, was an arsenal of 50 guns. The den is said to be a Capone hangout. Federal investigators said the bills were being put into circulation all over the country, particularly in the rural districts where quick detection is impossible through lack of experience with this class of criminology.
E. F. Bader, the proprietor, was not in his café when the bill was presented in payment for meals. The strangers first offered a $20 bill but the cashier asked for a smaller amount as she was short of change.
The deception was not discovered until the bill was presented to the Rock County Bank. In the meantime it had been given to Walter Norelius as part payment for rent.
The bill would pass easily with the average person. On close observation it is found to have a slightly glossy surface and is minus the multi-colored threads of genuine currency. The strangers left town without leaving clues.
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