You Can't Take It with You

Before he began serving a sentence for parole violation at Minnesota state prison at Stillwater, Richard C. Jackson had never been considered an artist. But in 2% years, the 53-year-old printer developed a keen aesthetic eye as well as an appreciation for shading, contrast and tone. Working laboriously in the prison's printing shop, convict Jackson came up with an amazingly good portrait of Andrew Jackson, a nice rear view of the White House and passable reproductions of the filigree found on a U.S. $20 bill. When his sentence expired in March, he loaded up a cardboard box with $16,000 in phony 20s, asked the guard to hold it while he signed out, took back the box, and walked off a free and rich man.

Jackson was finally rearrested three weeks ago after he had spent a part of his bogus fortune. "Actually, the bills he turned out were pretty good," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Thor Anderson in appreciation of the artistry. "The major failure was that the paper he had to work with just wasn't suited for a really good counterfeit."

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