The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-11 00:00:00

CONTINENTAL SWINDLERS AND

FORGERS.

PARIS, SUNDAY, JAN. 9.—1 am enabled to transmit you
some details of the discovery of a most extraordinary
system of forgeries and of swindling carried on by a
gang whose' operations were destined to extend over
Europe. The banking and mercantile interests of the
Continent hate just escaped another great peril which
menaced to render all commercial operations of a most
precarious and uncertain nature. It appears that Mr.
Massey, a money-changer, of 116, Leadenhall-street,
was recently defrauded of 1,300/. The particulars were
thus given in the following advertisement in yesterday's
Galignani, which, fur reasons which will appear below,
it is necessary to repeat here :
" FIVE- THOUSAND FRANCS REWARD—
FRAUD.
" Whereas the undermentioned bank-notes were frau-
dulently obtained from a house in the City on Wednes-
day, lst December, 1841, by a foreigner, by means of
forged checks upon a Belgian bank, known by the title
of Societe Generale pour favoriserl'lndustrie Nationale,'
supposed to be a Frenchman or Belgian, of gentlemanly
address, using the name of Ranyier, Kanyier, or Randin,
age from thirty-five to forty, about five feet five or six
inches high, stiff made, head bald, reddish hair and
whiskers, forehead high and full, face rather marked
with the smallpox, or strongly freckled, speaks English
with a foreign accent, and sometimes wears a false beard,
corresponding in colour with his hair and whiskers, viz.:—
" The Irish notes have Massey, London,' stamped on
them.

1 for 300/. No. 47,312 dated 31 February, 1841.
6 for 1001. each 79,366 to 79,371 sth February, 1841
5 for 50/. 13,353 to 13,367 6th October, 1841.
2 for 40/. 40,575 & 43,961 7th June, 1841.

5 for 10/.

70,010 to 70,014 10th Sept. 1841.

10 for M. 74,837 to 75,846 10th October, 1841.
" Also, the following Irish Bank notes:—
No.
67,678, June 2, 1841, Bank of Ireland, Dublin 1 0
38,386, Jan. 1, 1839, ditto do. Dublin and Cork 1 0

X s,

86,870, Sept. 2, 1840, ditto de. do 1 0
71,763, ditto, ditto Dublin and Limerick 1 0
1,581, Dec. 2, 1840, ditto Dublin
30,278, Sept. 2, 1839, Provincial Bk. of Ireland, Cork 1 0
27,747, Feb. 1, 1840, ditto do. Limerick 1 0
83,935, Oct. 7, 1840, Bank of Ireland, Dublin
35,032, April 1,1840, Provincial Bk. of Ireland, Cork 1 0
38,298, Aug. 3, 1841, Bank of Ireland, Dublin
3',299, ditto ditto do.
38,300, ditto ditto do. ..... 1 0
84,889, June 2, 1841, ditto do.
A warrant has been issued for the apprehension of
the party in England, France, Belgium, and America.
The sum of 1,300 francs, part of the above reward, will
be paid to any person who shall cause the individual de-
signated to be apprehended, and the further sum of 1501.
will be paid on the conviction of the party and recovery
of the notes so obtained, or in proportion to the quantity
of property which may be recovered. And the public
are particularly cautioned against taking the said notes,
or any of them, payment of the same having been stopped.
at the Bank of England. All information to be addressed
to Mr. T. Bryon, at the little Park of Monceaux, No. 15,
Rue du Valois du Roule, Paris."
It seems that Mr. Massey spared no expense in
tracing the individuals, and employed for that pur-
pose the able officer of the Mansion-house, Daniel
Forester, who repaired to Paris, accompanied by
Mr. Rutter, the cashier of Mr. Massey's firm, who
changed the notes. At Boulogne, two individuals
were traced, one named Ranyiers, and the other named
Carolus Danello. The former, upon inquiry, it was
found got down at St. Denis, near Paris, but all trace of
the latter was lost sight of, although the books of the
police at the Prefecture were searched. At length Mr.
Bryon, who is an agent here for the protection of the
British commercial interests in France against fraud, and
who superintended the arrest at Marseilles of Gavin
Scott, the Glasgow cashier of the house of Macgregor, in
conjunction with John Forester, the Mansion-house
officer, having been left here with full authority from
Daniel Forester,was examining some days since the pass-
ports at the Prefecture, when he was struck by the
name of Carolus Danello. It should here be mentioned
that the persons who defrauded Mr. Massey were a Pole
named Romanzow, another Pole named Peressel, and a
Madame Danell, also a native of Poland. Mr. Bryon
suggested to the authorities that it was possible that the
name of Carolus Danello might be really the name of a
woman, and that Caroline might be altered to Carolus,
and Danell to Danello, as it appeared from the police re-
gister at Boulogne that the passport of Danello had evi-
dently been given at the Prefecture on the 28th of March.
'rho books were referred to, and Mr. Bryon's suspicions
completely confirmed, for the woman's name was found.
A police agent was immediately sent to the address
she gave, but at this address she had not been heard of
since the month of June last. Mr. Bryon, by the instruc-
tions of Daniel Forester, had a number of bills printed,
a copy of the above advertisement in Galignani. The
day following the appearance of these bills (Wednes-
day last,) Madame Danell went to the Prefecture, ac-
companied by a man named Peressel, and Romanzow,
alias Danello, alias Ranyiers. Madame Danell and
Peressel were immediately taken into custody. She
has black hair, is sun-burnt, and is of the middle sta-
ture. She seems to be about thirty-five years of age,
very plain, with a gypsy-like expression. Romanzow,
who was was waiting in the yard of the Prefecture,
finding that his two accomplices did not come out, and
fearing that something was wrong, returned to their
lodgings, and not having the key, broke the door open,
and took away as much property as he could carry,
particularly of the plates and Belgian forged notes, be-
sides Prussian dollar notes and moneys. When the police
arrived Romanzow had decamped. The authorities set all
the telegraphic lines in France at work, and agents
were despatched in every direction. It is not supposed,
however, that he has quitted Paris, and his arrest in
the course of this day was confidently expected. The Mi-
nister of the Interior, the Prefect of Police, and the French
authorities have made the most indefatigable exertions.
M. Allard, Chief of the Police of Surete, has lent every
assistance to discover the traces of the extensive forgeries
committed by the gang on different Governments of
Europe, to the prejudice and injury of every commer-
cial interest. The woman Danell has a son about eight
years of age. She has confessed everything. She states
that in London they resided at Mr. Brown's, wine and
spirit merchant, Blue Anchor Tavern, St. Mary-hill,
Lower Thames-street. It also appears that there is a
company existing in Belgium to forge passports,
which are to be obtained at 100 francs each, for any
country and in any language. A number of Prussian
dollar forged bills were found at the lodgings, in an un-
finished state. The way the water-mark was fabricated
is curious. The letters are stamped out of the paper, by
a cutter out of the centre of the note, and then pasted,
two together, and thus the water-mark becomes visible
by holding it up to the light. The following money-
changers, who have been defrauded by the Prussian
dollar notes, have been to the Prefecture to be con-
fronted with the prisoners :—ln October, 1838, M. Cuche,
changer of the Rue Coq, St. Ilonore, to the =fount of
2,663 francs, about 107/. ; Boulanger, of the Rue Castig-
lione, 1,500 f. (HO ; M. Loire, of 32, Galerie Vivienne,
on the 28th of April last, of 5,800 f. (232/.) The
greatest sensation has been created by these dis-
coveries, and the woman is still under examina-
tion at the moment lam writing. I will send you addi-
tional information on this subject in my next communica-
tion. General Lehon, the Belgian Ambassador, has
afforded every assistance to Mr. Bryon. There is rea-
son to believe that the notes of every country in Europe
have been forged by this gang. At all events, Russian,
Prussian, Austrian, and Belgian forged notes have been,
and are certainly, in circulation. I had omitted to state
that a memorandum of a Si. Bank of England note, traced
to the prisoners, bearing date the 12th of October, 1841,
paid in by Mr. Heath, of the Old Jewry, who received it
from M. Fould, banker in Paris, on the 25th December
last, to the Bank of England, was founds at the lodgings
of Romanzow, as the last note paid away by them, writ-
ten on a scrap of paper.—Morning Post.