ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609130020
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BEDFORD
The case of the Bedford County man who said he has created and cashed thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit payroll checks over the past few years was sent to the Bedford County grand jury Wednesday.
John Joseph "Jack" Swint, who police say cashed about $1,000 worth of counterfeit payroll checks at six Bedford County stores, was charged in late July with seven counts of obtaining money under false pretenses.
The Bedford County grand jury will next meet Oct. 4, but Swint's case may not be taken up until November, said Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Krantz.
Judge James Updike on Wednesday set bond for Swint at $10,000. Swint had been held without bond for a month and a half. Though he has not held a job for several years and has no assets, his ex-wife, Kathy Swint, who lives in Montvale, said she would put up her house for bond.
Swint has been indicted on three similar counts in Botetourt County, where he is accused of cashing counterfeit payroll checks worth $779.73 at grocery and convenience stores. No bond has been set for those charges.
Swint also is being investigated by police in Campbell, Rockbridge, Franklin and Roanoke counties and Roanoke City and by federal investigators. Swint said he has been notified that he is under investigation by the federal grand jury, which meets in Roanoke.
Krantz said he plans to pursue the Bedford County charges whether or not federal investigators take the case.
In April, Swint contacted The Roanoke Times and asked that a story be written exposing his life of crime. Swint, 42, said he has been obsessed with forging checks since he was 11. Family members and records of his previous run-ins with the law confirm this.
Over the last several years, he said, he has created his own payroll checks using company logos clipped from books and signatures taken from insurance policies and cashiers' checks. At quick-copy shops, he turned the bits and pieces into realistic-looking checks printed on security check paper. He said he has cashed checks in at least 17 states and in more than 30 company names, including many prominent Roanoke Valley businesses, such as Grand Piano and Furniture Co., Appalachian Power Co., Papa John's, USAir and UPS.
The few times he was caught, Swint said, the punishment didn't make him stop his habit, which he said is a sickness. He attempted to get counseling several times, he said, but would have had to write more checks to pay for the sessions. Swint turned himself in to the Bedford County Sheriff's Department after the newspaper story ran in late July, saying he wanted to get help.
"What I'd like to see happen, honestly, is some exhaustive therapy or rehabilitation," Swint said.
Louis Harrison, the court-appointed attorney representing Swint in Bedford County, said treatment may be a possibility.
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