World's Greatest Counterfeiter (retired)
And His Cop Friend (retired)
aka
The Louis & Jerry Show
At Gateway Community College
Monday, November 10, 2008,
1:45 - 2:45 p.m.
Community Room
Long Wharf Campus
60 Sargent Drive
New Haven, CT
Free and open to the public.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Prof. Franz Douskey, (203) 285-2206, fdouskey@gwcc.commnet.edu
Prof. Victor Medina, (203) 285-2157 vmedina@gwcc.commnet.edu
Andy Thibault, 860-690-0211, tntcomm82@cs.com
NEW HAVEN, CT -- Fresh from their appearance Oct. 15 at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury with casino investigator Jeff Declerck, Louis "The Coin" Colavecchio and retired Ct. State Police Det. Sgt. Jerry Longo are gearing up for a presentation to a Sociology class Nov. 10 at Gateway Community College in New Haven.
The event -- from 1:45 - 2:45 p.m. in the college's community room -- is free and open to the public. It will be hosted by Professors Victor Medina and Franz Douskey.
Declerck, an investigator for Foxwoods and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, provided high-powered microscopes and legitimate and counterfeit tokens for inspection by WestConn students. Declerck is expected to attend the Gateway event, along with a retired U.S. Secret Service agent.
Louis The Coin's enterprise, featured on the History Channel and the BBC, has been described by the U.S. Secret Service as the largest coin counterfeiting case in the department's history.
"Louis came up with a brilliant plan," Longo, now a senior investigator at Mohegan Sun, said in the Foreword to Colavecchio's novel in progress. "We The Cops did, too. I do not condone his criminal behavior, but I understand it; he was very creative, an artist. I assisted in some small way with him going to jail and he served his time ... After spending time together after the case closed, we have developed a friendship. That's OK with me. I am no longer a trooper, having retired in 2003. He's retired, too, right?"
Colavecchio was such a great counterfeiter -- The Providence Journal reported -- that after he spent more than two years in federal prison for his handiwork, he was paid $18,000 by the feds as a consultant to explain why his manufacturing dies outlast those at the U.S. Mint.
Longo will introduce Colavecchio following a short power-point presentation. Colavecchio will read an excerpt from his forthcoming novel, "You Thought It Was More -- The Real Providence Brought To Life." The manuscript also details adventures in Las Vegas, New Jersey and Italy, among other places. Both presenters will take questions.
--
WHAT THEYRE SAYING ABOUT
LOUIS THE COIN'S NOVEL IN PROGRESS:
"Remarkably crafted. Who would have thought Louis the Coin could be a vivid storyteller? He writes with commanding vigor. Reminiscent of "Honor Thy Father," the gracious portrait of the Bonanno crime family by Gay Talese."
--James H. Smith, a New England journalist for nearly 40 years and author of "A Passion for Journalism."
"So much sets this book apart - the extraordinary tales it tells, its insider's look at organized crime, and Louis Colavecchio's enormous affection for his characters. But the biggest surprise? I was held in total suspense by the technical sections. I never expected to be riveted by metallurgy . . . but I was."
-- Pam Lewis, author of "Speak Softly, She Can Hear" and "Perfect Family."
"Riveting! Raises the bar for all future storytellers in this genre of wise guys and their adventures."
-- New York trial attorney Bruce Baron, frequent media commentator on outlets including MSNBC and Fox News.
"You Thought it Was More is not -- thankfully -- literary. It is, however, a tale told in a voice that rings true, very much in the aesthetic tradition of our best oral histories. Louis "The Coin" Colavecchio would probably be right at home in a Studs Terkel book."
-- Poet Jon Andersen, Professor Of English, Quinebaug Valley Community College, and author of "Stomp And Sing."
"Louis The Coin had to learn how to survive the high and low-life existence. He chose to live on the streets of Rhode Island. He learned by going to "college" in Ft. Dix and knew a guy or two who did his time in Danbury, and I ain't talking about the college on White Street. It is fortunate that he did, too, because he lived to tell the tale in this compelling, insider's account of the Providence Underworld he knows because he sat at the knee of The Old Man, watched the code of the old "Fellas" broken when young scum like Baby Corsino sold drugs right under the Old Man's nose on Federal Hill and learned to smile when headlines in The Providence Journal screamed out things only an insider like Louis The Coin could know. In this book, Louis The Coin offers the novice the genuine article when he promises to take his readers on a stroll through the streets of the Providence only an insider knows - DelSesto's Bakery, inside to the cutting tables of Shewood Manufacturing on Eagle Street. You can add the name Louis The Coin to that stellar list of Brando, Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. What? You thought it was more?"
-- Lionel Bascom, Professor of Writing at Western Connecticut State University and author of "Rubouts" (Avon 1991) and "A Renaissance in Harlem: The Voices of a Lost American Community" (HarperTrade, 2001).
"Louis has nailed Rhode Island In The 1960s and 70s: Raymond, National Vending, the wise guys, the cars, the cash-carrying habits of certain individuals, travel tips in Italy and more."
-- Ed Dunn, retired newspaper editor, USA Today and The Norwich Bulletin.
"This tale gives you an unblinking look straight into the criminal mind."
-- Novelist Denning Powell, author of "Monkey Trap" and "Hiding Hand."
DIRECTIONS
TO LONG WHARF CAMPUS,
GATEWAY COMMUNITY COLLEGE,
NEW HAVEN, CT
Long Wharf Campus
60 Sargent Drive
New Haven, CT
From Hartford
I-91 South to I-95 South (New York). Take Exit 46, Long Wharf (first exit on the right). At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn left onto Sargent Drive. Go straight. Turn right at the traffic light facing the New Haven Register. The college is on the right.
From New London
I-95 South (New York). Take Exit 46, Long Wharf (first exit on the right). At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn left onto Sargent Drive. Go straight. Turn right at the traffic light facing the New Haven Register. The college is on the right.
From New York
I-95 North to Exit 46 (Long Wharf). At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn right. Follow Long Wharf Drive around and under the overpass. At the traffic light, go straight across Sargent Drive into the college parking lot on the right.
ABOUT GATEWAY
What do actor Tom Hanks, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, Space Shuttle Commander Robert Gibson, baseball player Nolan Ryan, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger all have in common? They all went to a community college.
The Princeton Review has the message right; community colleges produce leaders!
For over 30 years Gateway Community College has played a major role in the higher educational pursuits of residents in the greater New Haven.
There's a reason why Gateway Community College was listed in the New York Times as the top community college in the state. Over 11,000 students a year, full and part-time, choose Gateway Community College. And, with a new, state-of-the-art campus due to open downtown in 2011, Gateway students will have the additional benefits and convenience of being centrally located in a thriving city, with academic, cultural, and retail opportunities within blocks of the campus.
Gateway Community College is currently located on two campuses, the Long Wharf Campus in New Haven and the North Haven Campus. The college offers over 90 academic programs and program options that lead to either associate in arts, associate in science, or associate in applied science degrees, or certificates. Courses at both locations are offered at convenient times for both full-time and part-time study during the day, evenings and Saturday mornings and the internationally respected faculty ranks among the finest educators in Connecticut.
The community also benefits from a wide range of continuing education, and credit-free offerings. Gateway Community College is licensed and accredited by the Board of Governors for Higher Education in Connecticut. The college also is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. The Gateway Community College service area includes the following: Bethany, Branford, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, West Haven and Woodbridge.
BACKGROUND:
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