Ex-Treasury Worker Admits Cash Theft

(CBS/AP)  A former Treasury Department employee admitted Wednesday that he stole more than $67,000 in uncut sheets of $100 bills and tried to launder the money through casino slot machines.

David C. Faison was caught after casinos in Atlantic City, West Virginia and Delaware noticed $100 bills that did not contain government seals or serial numbers.

Surveillance video showed him feeding bills into slot machines, playing for a while, then cashing out for new bills. A Treasury official says the surveillance cameras in one casino were so sharp they could see the 100-dollar bills did not have serial numbers, CBS News producers Beverley Lumpkin and Stephanie Lambidakis report. Several casinos had cameras so good that they noticed both no serial numbers and lack of the official seal.

Faison, who distributed currency paper within the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, admitted stealing 21 sheets of 32 bills each and hiding them in a roll of Christmas wrapping paper at his house.

Faison, of Largo, Md., pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing counterfeiting materials. He faces up to a year in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 12.

Investigators recovered $14,500 in stolen bills from the casinos and found nine complete sheets and most of a 10th sheet at Faison's house.

The Treasury Dept has launched an internal review to tighten up security, Lumpkin and Lambidakis say, and of course, Faison will have to explain how he did it.