A man from Rolla will spend a year-and-a-half in federal prison, for distributing counterfeit cash in several Missouri cities, including one city in the Westplex.

39-year-old Edward Zimbalist Griffin distributed nearly $7,900 of counterfeit cash to 58 businesses in Warrenton, St. Louis , Columbia , Jefferson City , Rolla, and other places in-between.

U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway says Griffin purchased $8,000 in counterfeit cash from a contact in California , and then began using the bogus cash at several department stores.   Then, Griffin would return many of the purchases for actual legitimate cash.   Hanaway adds that a cashier at a JC Penney location in Rolla became suspicious, regarding a purchase of a ring by Griffin .   Store security was alerted, the FBI reviewed the bills used by Griffin , and when Griffin came back to the store to try and return the ring for cash, he was arrested.

Griffin committed the crimes and pleaded guilty to them in July.