New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-11-15
THE ORA " BACK FRAUDS.
EXAMINATION OF ROMEYN MULLIGAN-INTER-
FSTING EVIDENCE.

t,op nv Pierrep0nt furnish theme for
much speculation and many rumors and stories OF very
doubtful authenticity In circulation concerning the
and the parties who are alleged to have been implicated
in their perpetraon The first public attempt to unrave
this Goran knot of rascality made last Saturday
afternoon before Commissioner Osborn In the united
States District Court room on ChamDersst' DistrlcE
Attorney PerrepOnt and Assistant DlsrictAuorhey
Purdy appeared on behalf OF the United States ana
Judge ouackeuboss for the prisoner Romeyn Mullgan
In his opening remarks Judge Pierrepon SAID that "heh
the certificate this case was obtained INC
firm OF r. b. Caldwell Co. were Custom-House brokers'
The certificate was correct and not altered but he would
show the that all the other papers necessary
under the law rules to be presented TO the Gus
House were forged and written in the Office OF Cad
well were sworn before himself, signed by pretendeu
exporter. fictitious person, and aerward attesteu ny
nuTed oath or TO acknowledge the signature. These
PAPERS were then the Drawback Bureau OF the
% eord iSr is had 70 There
necessary that the head OF that Bureau should certy
that the goods actually shipped ana are
entered on outwardbound manifest OF the vessel
named which manifest Is on ME IN the statsteai
OF the House The clerk processes 10 conpaie
the statements IN the application a d1e Of MINI
with the manifest as 10 The n Sace of destnSon and
then the Chief OF the Drawback Bureau puts upon
of one S he STAMPS in red ink the words ION out
ward manifest" which serves for his certificate Inc
40 cents paid certificate As evidence OF pay
cashier writes his initials on the lace OF the
document which then into the hands OF the Col
WHO with ali the above evidences OF correctness
before him, does not scrnpe to add his Signature when
is generally that OF deputy. When he Judge Pierre
pon first began TO examine into these cases was per
feetly apparent to him that II tpeso mtd
with the fraud and that IL must have either been the
He'd To- their correctness the Drawback Bureau. But
thorough search soon convinced hip ana male u clear
whether The other person referred TO MIR g. T. Batch
ford ia connected with 1t his Honor the COmnlssloner
will now have to investigate and decide After tie
papers have ia this way passed through the Custom
House they are sent to Washington to the
transferred from there the Fifth Auditors Office.
dergo another inspection, when finally the warrant
indorsed aud presented. paid As there were great
number Of these false claims IL was necessary 10 scatter
not have done in the name OF one firm, for that
would have raised suspicion at once Hence there we're
large number OF persons III the conspiracy an VI WHO'LL
are known Warrants have been Issued for their appre
henson and most OF them have been arrested. The
main question In the case was whether the papers
which the drawback money was obtained were correct
The Custom House and from Washington, and the evil
dence will show that they were absolutely false as no
such goods described In them had been exported.
The District Attorney then exhibited the warrant ahd
the draft which was paid on the Enforcement Oh H. Mu
hgan This draft Endorsed by b. NJ Johnson Co.,
trm believed TO be fictitious AS wei AS by X Muulgal.
both Endorsements being IN the same handWrlhg Inc
then Exhibited the certificate OF the Internal Revenue
Collector OF the Sixth District Of Kentucky, which, he
the mark put on after had passed OF the Collectors
hands aud had been received at the oce OF r. b. Cald
*
signed by one Wv. Richards" although there
Tke Signature Cc Of g. Johnson Co. is also Simulated
and this feature through the whole OF these cases
There skill shown Ia the preparation Of these
papers and IA getting the names Of vessels the date OF
custom House certificates were antedatcd that by
law Of Congress goods shipped after 1864 no draw
back was allowed. The ship named sailed TO the port
designated II had small quantity OF tobacco on BOARD
and the real shipper probably obtained the drawback on
| aud
lent -
George NJ Wright, Custom. House emplOye, testified
that he had compared the official outward bonnd mani
fest Of the bark Jennie Charles H. smith, master, dated
cate from the House the outward manifest OF
the same bark that he had found that the latter did
NOT correspond The official manifest showed that the
vessel had cleared for Melbourne. Australia; 1t did not
show however. that she carried cargo OF 400 boxes OF
manufactured tobacco N35sy9 ponnds as was specified
on the fraudulent drawback papers. The fraudulent
Custom House certificate contained tho initials; "s T.
B"-sanuel r. Batchord-by which the Collector or one
OF his deputies was guided in signing his name
George A. Mercer. clerk In the Treasury Department.
depOsed that no brought the fraudulent claim papers
which had been introduced In evidence from the Regis
ters office at Washington; among them was an affidavit
purporting TO have been made before notary public
by S. Kinyon and by W Richards IN which u was stated
lectOr Hudnull Of the With District OF Kentucky on tho
18th OF August 1862 on the tobacco claimed to have been
affidavit aside from the fact that 10 was acknowledged
by the notary public without any person appearing
before him; the name OF Roberts was alleged
TO be fictitious by the prosecuting olicsr IN me
Is. NJ johnson a. Co. named In the aiuhYlJ
being entitled 70 the drawback; the SsS IS men
toned In the affidavit was the amount Of drawback
certificate from the Commissioner Of Internal Revenue
produced by Mr. Mercer In which 1t was certified
they were entitled to the claim The certificate was
dorsed with tho initials IF. A. H." Witness testified
that he believed the initials TO be those Of FranosA
william O. Kon tesllned that 1856 he was clerk for
mesa internal revenue drawback brokers' on May !,
1885, they moved 10 No. 2s4 Pearst first employed
them TIL the spring 1857 his salary stopped in the
FALL 1865, but he had something better he was familiar
with their business they talked freely with him. (The
Kentucky collectors certificate was shown the
the paper this ,S was NOT s Sn IT,
asPut on afterwards; II appears to be Csldwers
Of Joseph Wildwood witness is familiar with the stamp
II; saw IL out Of the Custom House, nj the Office OF
il there: witness Knows Mr. Batchfords initials; saw
them more than hundred times those on tho paper are
in in the handwriting Of r. Muisaa, who had an office
at No. 1870 , peart the BODY q '9s ,6 sdaV was
1t then taken into the private Office by X b. Cald
well and K Mnlligan the paper went in without any
take the affidavit 10 the notary nobody went with MN
Richards was there witness e familiar with the hand
lIgans The Endorsement the draft being shown the
witness he said that Mpigan was the company OF NJ
writing OF the first Endorsement e. NJ johnson COZ
Is Mugan's; so Is also the second e. X Mulllgan y.
Crosse examined by Judge Quackenboss-Is II years
old was then about II years the something better"
was an Interest In the drawback money collected knew
that the claims fraudulent had one-thrd Of the
profits and got between - 900 and 5000 In commissions
ON back claims he brought 10 X. Il. Caldwell Co;
he arrested IN January 1862 and indicted for these
frauds and Is now under Indictment stated oil the facts
he knew TO Mr.. Perrepont about month six weeks
ago; did under advice OF his COUNSEL Inducements
were held out to him TO reveal all he knew his only
when dozen more who made much more money
should 90 free; Joseph T. Wildwood was book.
keeper FOR Il. II. Caldwell & Co.; the notary's
office was at No. "a Wallst; has been In the