King of the Counterfeiters

Pete McCartney was known as the “King of the Counterfeiters,” manufacturing perhaps millions of dollars in bogus bills between the 1840s and 1880s.  He was also an expert at breaking jail. In the late 1860s, McCartney was captured and put in the St. Louis jail by federal officials.  As he went into his cell, Pete asked where Secret Service chief Hiram Whitley (pictured) was staying. At 10 that night, Whitley heard a knock at his hotel room door—and found McCartney had come for a visit.