Counterfeiting gang
From Plastic Tub
The venerable art of counterfeiting was a subject of endless fascination for Stimes Addisson, whose modest yet thorough collection of coins included a large number of slugs, tokens, jetons and fake currency. His prize possession was an 1883 "V" nickel that had been dipped in gold so that it could be passed off as a five dollar gold piece, a practice not uncommon in the Western territories before the inclusion of the word "cents" on the coin to combat this very problem. It was worth a considerable amount of money and though he received numerous lucrative offers, such was Stimes' love for the coin that he never gave it up, even in his most financially-troubled hours.
Chips and Salsa
Although counterfeiters operate in almost every area where money is literally to be made (e.g. currency, CD's, designer watches, handbags), it is the realm of ideas and information that concerns us here.
Counterfeit information is most regularly known as Disinformation, and its use forms a regular part of psy-ops and political campaigns. When used to discredit individuals or groups, counterfeit information is called a slander operation.
Scarlet Taxi
Perhaps the most notorious counterfeiting gang in the AA milieu was the Framers. These blackguards, associates of the League of Gnomes, were responsible for the dissemination of disinformation designed to further Pooban ideals. Their favorite tactic was to carry out their operations and then leave evidence pointing a finger at the Unseen Hand, the undercover psy-ops organ of The League of Men with Fancy Gloves.
The exact relationship between the Gnomes and the Framers is point of scholarly contention. On the surface, the Framers appear to serve as Gnomic underlings. But some researchers have presented a compelling case for the opposite: that the League of Gnomes are actually underlings for the more sinister Framers. According to this argument, the Framers pre-date the Gnomes by several centuries. These theorists argue that the entire Gnomic organization is a counterfeit scheme -- either a long-term plot whose eventual aims remain yet to be seen, or a deviously constructed key-stone cops style of front designed to associate the Framers with the more bumbling image of the Gnomes. Those who have crossed paths with Gnomes don't view the Gnomes so lightly.
The Gnomes are said to have rewarded the Framers with generous financial arrangements and furthered many a political career. According to Mathes (1955): "Although many denizens of the underworld dabble in monetary counterfeiting, the Framers were an ignoble group of intellectuals trained in Hegelalian usurpury who eradicated the fortified dissidents of their golden papyrus in order to establish the discordant atmosphere ripe for subterfuge and treason that all pay poobian homage unto." They found refuge in Third World countries and many of the authors of the International Fund for Social Relief were, in fact, Framers. Posing as an NGO provided them with the perfect cover, and they concluded many an operation from within the deceptively lily-white walls of this sanctuary.
Five Finger Pocket or The Comfy Undoing
The Gnomes' Framers, called a "Counterfeit Unseen Hand" by Guileless Maccabee, mimicked the acts of rival gangs. As such they were one of the most brilliant groups in existence. They brought several men and women to ruin through slander, frame-jobs, incriminating photos and blackmail.
Although the original Gang disbanded long ago, many Framer stalwarts still carry on the disinfo game. Their name has become synonymous with the kind of free-lance skullduggery used to infiltrate Choco Cults. Many Conspiratorialists agree that the unusual Ritual Murder of Ryan O'Donnely may somehow involve the Framers. Some scholars go as far as proposing the theory that the Framers and the Gnomes colluded in this gruesome murder to send a message to their rivals. By demonstrating that they were willing to kill one of their own in order to further their Pooban agenda, the gang hoped to strike terror in even their coolest adversaries. Blaming it on the Gloved ones was a standard dirty trick.
See Also
Note
