Mobster Joe Adonis' brother-in-law was among the lynchpins of a crime network that counterfeited American Express traveler's checks and distributed fake stamps used by postal officials. The big operation ran nationwide from New York to Los Angeles. It was tied to engravers who made phony plates for fake checks. Part of the operation was based in Jersey City, New Jersey. Adonis' brother-in-law, George Gilette, had been in trouble with the law since he was a teenager.