New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-02-28
CRIME AND DETECTION.

Oao evening in last October four persons met
% downtown hotel 10 pefect arrangements for obtain
| i'm, a very large sum Of money by forgery. Two OF
these persons now In PRISON. one bioke cover anu
| ood ON Saturday afternoon, hut will be found when
anted and the fourth snaps his fingers in the faces
NJ the officers, defyng them to fasten upon him any
nroof of guilt These four could not their
crime without taking into their confidence, to certain
extent number OF other persons the greater the prize
in view the greater the number of conederates required
The ones who in prison. and he who ran away, and
the other accompces ALL whether in prison or out,
far enemies 10 the peace OF rich men than
the fourth who remains about his usual haunts and
dehes the law. With camel's-har pencil and an ordn
AIRY pen he is better provided for robbery than are those
who use the best implements OF burglars He a. In fact,
tie fOrGe Other negotiate, play parts, minge among
moneyed men, win the confidence Of intended victims
and then, when all is ready, come to the forger
and bid him apply his skul workmanship upon slip Of
paper The forger allows no person him at work
II the order is to raise" check from small to large
amount over genuine signature, his work Is COM
paravely easy. with cancels hair brush. dipped In
solutions scientifically prepared he traces moist pain
over the words following the course of each letter quite
rapidly and the writing is almost instantly oberated.
The facility with which such Job" il accomplished Is
shown by the surprisingly large number OF raised "
checks which have been detected from Wc 10 time par
tculary during the present Winter. But high art
to execute such forgery that in the recent case OF
check S77,5CO. In the name OF German balklng
firm and the certificate OF the Park Bank all coun
tcrfeited and sknly that consultation between an
the members Of the firm was necessary DeiOre II cou c
| pronounced "A forgery. ,
II was this check which to be delivered by the
fnrcer, at the meeting referred Ia. He knew htc or
their preauranged scheme for obtaining properly pl
of the check he was concerned about rccriying
the price Of his work $50 In hand with an agreement
that in the event Of success the conedeiates sho9a
pay him $500 more Ahouhn tlr o,'oh wa, so 6 nv.
cash, that being the sum which had been aereea 10 m
paid quantity Of railroad bonds to be boSht WIN
| he flr al \.
lows Tie chief Lewis NJ. Van Ecten, TO receive SoW;
the fir-t assistan George W. Chadwick, $1,000; the
second assistant whose l.. for prudential reasons
withheld. t. receive also $1,000 Van Eecn to pay the
forsor first SO and aterward 500 The forger receives
his first instameut OF ply and goes his ways com,
| parSou OF "a large number ~ raised or IoiEei
checks shows that comparatlyey FEW wi, pelS Trs
checks NAV be classified by the pecuari9s 9i te manu-
writing. Two-thrds OF them are naniicsty te Worh ol
foregners-the general characteristic oi German pen
mansp unisakable IN some, while In others there
l. certain style Whlch tAVtIS pruio,c' ,,. IA
fine skill in the use of chemicals ana the deloacy ana
accuracy Of touch required IN making neat crsur'S,
such a. are exhibited. qualifications rarely possessed
! by any but experienced workmcn. The filling Of the
hand. Within few days the firm name Trevor Col
gate" inserted above genuine signature IN check
$1,000 and the payment Of the check was refused
solely account OF the unbusincssllk appearance OF
the handwriting. And the investigation iully Jusheu
The forgcrs are however usually men, who from
gambling, ntempcrancc, OF other causes, have lost g00d
situations skilled workmcn. They exc ont miserable
existence bv furnishing other the means OF oh
tanning mOney-mcans which, rom lack oil hhow3age
OF business, want OF plausible address, nerve am We
cool efronttry with fertility OF resources chaIasefin
tic Of noted criminals, they are themselves unable 10
Therefore they must be content WI'n An"i E%'t,
and the safer game Inc, are .dl'y HnLc TO 81 n 20, 49,
in flight being too poor for that 20 they take me gre
est caro- in their operations Ihc tAeFto hno" ucl
the detectives usually know all nat the thieves 10
Convicted criminals confess, hui thcy are never
able and rarely disposed 10 give evidence sufficient 20
convict the actual iorcCis -they may iucae dctI"'S
all their former pals hut the lnnhlc workman WI"
has simply written at their dictaton is, with some
degree Of m8gnammitl' uNuhiy protector ~ e,H,
Besides. accusations OF bad faith are common bcl"'th
confederaed criminals. and one ail> INTO prison ne
is often able 10 trace mshGp the rachory Of some
associate. "Giving one away" they can H. but .hnel
all know that the orger never gives mem away my
his customers Therefore they leave MN III 'auo"'
in all their revelations.
that certain combination OF acids, when applied upon
writing deyour the ink and leaves no san upon Tue
parent flud with small camel hair brush, or simply
a quill pen ana with a magnfying glass he is careful
that the check to be altered shall he brought 10 nm
while the writing is stiil fresh only an hour or Two oid
the may then he more neatly ehecth, III the
OF the paper Is OF course desI3y1u ,mo az All II
a sachG OF peculiar powder. and hy frequent Hell-
cate touches, rcpTOducCs the smooth: MN wiring
surface in such manner that powerful miscrOscopc Is
needed TO detect the patch. Thus in few minutes he
| any desired numerals may he inserted. Very likely
certified check is desired he las such stamps IA are
face OF The check the needed signature Of which he
has speclmen Is written H. 20 ihat ths e Cb
ier) Bank" Lat the check then be hHed up Tor any
some person to introduce and identify him at some bank
! in order, usually, TO obtain the money.
STOLEN BONDS.
Some OF the L. s. Registered bonds stolen from Senior
Castillo last year, afford curious evidence Of the cum
ming art of forgcrs. The amount Of the bonds stolen
WAS over 600 and included three four $4,000 bonds
Part Of these bonds, well of those stolen from
| the Ocean Bank. found in possession OF Antonio
Pelleter. one, for $1,000 was at one nc IN possession
of Chadwick. IN prison with Van Eeten, ana was
r. ~ ot Known tba there was any intercourse however
| l,ftp Van ~ ]
claimed that Pclleter obtained The bonds. There appear
to exist beneath the surface many channels for trade in
stolen bonds and. In the of those which are regis
tered forgery becomes necessary az every transfer
one Of the $4,000 bonds when stolen, bore upon the
| middlc-facc Of il the name, Carlos del Castillo Y
LOyzaga." when it was found practicable to sell The
bond to Earle, who seemed To De ignorant or hll-
ferent TO necessary precautions III snch matters
Castllos was neatly erased, and that Of Geo W
Chadwick, the seller Inserted Fare pad SiOVoI of u,
but aterward recovered his money by agreeing not 70
prosecute Chadwick The bond then passed out OF sight
FOR a while. and was next forwarded from san Francisco
to the Sub-Ireasury here with the name of Augustus
C. Tasse 1.-THE alias ~ Van Eetenl substituted for
that Of Chadwick, and the bond st bears mat name
without the slightest trace or evidence OF previous alter
| atoms ,,.,
for this bond and the attending circumstances develops
another phase OF forgery and Is III Itself curious chap
ter in the history OF crime ana detection Mhen ne az
peared in the Bank Of California, room after his Night
from NewYork TO escape the consequences OF me Hal
garten forgery, he was introduced ~ Mr. nakey, 10
whom he had brought letter OF Introduction rom
merchant Of this city The letter had been obtained by
the woman Mrs Werner VINO passed as ms WE az san
Francisco and elsewhere. Ia The bank he produced
! what appeared 10 ne ron Vi uohus' uuu, HiHhS
! the cashier the 10000 bond said that he desired
! TO have Il sent ~ NeW-YOrk to he cashed NJ
! The sub Treasury, and proposed TO send one
every week, until he had reached about 100000 The
bond was received and forwarded Two or three days
aferWard prOesSed to have sudden need Of money,
and obtained from the bank the amount OF the bond
very slight ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS suspcOusly uneasy
i'm his manner apparently mOmentary loss OF scpOs
sessOnwas noted at the time, and after little rehec
ton the bank Officers sent for Capt Lees, Chief
of Detectives nsan Francisco, and gave him the
Lees obtained and instantly teegraphed 10 New-fork
minute account Of the pretended Col Van Hssell and
wife The detective account nclueda description OF the