Thursday, March 6, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The man's wife and daughter were acquitted by the federal jury, which deliberated two days following a seven-week trial.
About 25 people have been arrested in Atlantic City and Las Vegas in connection with passing about $1.2 million of bogus $100 and $50 bills made by a store-bought laser printer, authorities said.
Many have already pleaded guilty, and two testified at the trial, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard S. Wiener, who prosecuted the case.
Although the funny money does not look real to the eye, it was sufficient to fool the electric scanners used by slot machines bill changers. The changers give credit on slot machines or allow the user to redeem the credits for cash.
The bills came to official notice on Memorial Day weekend 1995, when a prostitute complained to Atlantic City police about three counterfeit $100 bills she got from a man staying at a hotel.
The tip led to seven arrests of people authorities believe passed $20,000 in fake bills at five casinos.
By November 1995, as more arrests were made, the numbers grew: Atlantic City casinos were taken for more than $750,000, while Las Vegas parlors found themselves with about $500,000 of the worthless bills, a ranking U.S. Secret Service agent said Wednesday.
The same counterfeits would no longer work in many slot machines, said Thomas Spurlock, acting special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Philadelphia office.
"They (casinos) have gone to the manufacturer and upgraded the chip that is in there," Spurlock said.
The November 1995 arrests included the defendants in the recent trial: Bardul Taftsiou, 54, and his wife, Nazmije Taftsiou, 57, their daughter, Julie, 31. Bogus $50 notes were found in the machines they had played, and $4,500 in the fake currency was found in Julie's car, authorities said.
Also arrested was Bardul's mother, 80-year-old Arzija Taftsiou, but charges were later dropped, and Julie's brother-in-law, Ilim Asimi, 42, who is a fugitive.
Bardul Taftsiou's son, James, 32, was arrested later and convicted Wednesday with his father.
All are of Albanian descent and live in Brooklyn. They were arrested after authorities watched them play slot machines at TropWorld Casino and Entertainment Resort for about one hour.
Taftsiou had been under surveillance after federal agents analyzed the bills, identified the make of laser printer used to manufacture them, and contacted the manufacturer and got the telephone numbers and names of six businesses in Brooklyn and Queens that had requested service for that model, according to an affidavit filed by the Secret Service.
One of the numbers belonged to Taftsiou's home; the others appeared to be legitimate businesses. A suspect arrested previously in the case also identified a Taftsiou as his supplier.
A Secret Service scientist who testified at the trial that all the bills she examined were printed by a Tektronix Model 540 color laser printer.
It was on the market only a few months before James Taftsiou bought it for $7,000 in April 1995, according to testimony. He also bought a $6,000 computer and $600 paper cutter.
Bardul and James Taftsiou were convicted on charges of conspiracy and delivering counterfeit notes. They remain free on $50,000 bond, pending a bail hearing next week.
At sentencing May 30 before U.S. District Judge Mary Little Parell, Bardul faces up to 45 years in prison, while James faces up to 15 years; both could be fined up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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