The New York herald., 1872-10-03
A SWINDLER'S CAREER.
Arrest Of the Confidence Operator
Lagrave in France.
The Story Of His Crimes, from Brushmaker to q
Dry Goods Prince-His Wall Street Expe-
riences-His Career as Receiver
Of Stolen Goods-A Mon
umental Fraud.

The cable brought the information yesterday that
"a man named Lagrave, who Is said to have de-
fraudcd various New York merchants out OF sums
Of money amounting In the aggregate to 100000,
had been arrested at Bagneres de Luchon, in the
Department of Garonne.,
Both the name and the man are perfectly familiar
TO New Workers. Lagrave, during career OF about
twenty years in this city, has been the most perfect
confidence operator known In the annals OF crime.
Lagrave is an American but belongs to French
family, which came to this country before
the birth OF this accomplished swindler.
At present Lagrave Is man OF ap-
parently thrty-hve years OF age, and always
dresses elegantly in the latest styles. He has
rather pleasant ana youthful face, ana wears "a
long mustache mixed with gray. His hair is quito
gray, though so young man, and his manners are
courteous and suave to a degree. Indeed he pos
sessed all the requisites Of an accomplished swim
der and, wtnal, an air of such gentlenanly inter.
est that our most prominent merchants, generally
pretty shrewd and sharp men, were completely
gulled by his pretenelons and his elegance though
already bis crimes had been manifold when he
began the opera tons which have lea to his cap
ture.
His family life Is q curious epitomc of the cold
calculating villain who sacrifices all to sclfinter-
est. He has been married three tines and dis
carded his first wife because he fell in love with o
second, who was supposed to have money Ina
short time he exhausted all
HIS SECOND wIFE's DowRY
and then turned his attention to getting a third
He cOurted for some time the wife OF another and
succeeded 1nally in making her leave her husband
and fly away with him, the husband consenting to
u divorce. His own wife was left in misery behind
and still resides in this city. While he was carry,
ing on his intrgucs In this direction he was at the
same time operating In all manner of confidence
"a II al ltnnn nifrl,l
only when he hau rot quite rea ly that he took the
other MANS wife and ned to canada. The dctec-
tlveS at the time went after Ill.,. in hot pursuit but
as Is usual with these gentlemen found not the
slightest trace )f him. Lagrave In the meantime
ocean IN one of the Allen line Of steamers to Eng
land. He then made his way across the Channel
into France, and was, no doubt,
SPENDING HIS TLL-EARNED MONEY
in all the delights OF the watering place OF Bag
neIes, when az length the officers OF the law
Eugene Lagrave began to be known in this city
about fifteen years ago, when he had business as
brushmaker in Pearl street. He continued in this
FOR some five years or so after, and succeeded IN
getting together neat little sum OF moncy-it is
said about $4,000 When he obtained this by lcgt-
innate business transactions the brdslmaking De-
came too insigniic mt a calling for one or his
lofty pretensions His ambition was to shine in u
tion In view he realized upon his business anu with
what money ne got together, some S35, coo, he en-
tered Wall street To him the operations OF the
street were 80 many steps in an unknown land.
In theory he was an accomplished inancicr,
and set out to put his theories in practice.
AS usual with people who have an invcterate faith
in theirown ideas and spurn the more experienced
ideas of others, Lagrave soon began to learn that
ms lmiaginngs were not all q them based on fact
was speedily crumblng away In the uniath0mable
depths OF puts and calls" anu the mutterings Of
smart, but he then made the fatal mistake which
ruins nine gamblers out Of ten-that OF running
after his money-and this, no doubt IL was that
proved the keynote OF
his AFTER TRtUMpHs
in pursuits Which were illegitimatc and ways that
were vain. He, OF course, lost the remainder Of
his money as he had lost the first Of it, and found
himself stranded one evening on the shoals of Wall
street, just as fair financial wreck as 4, could be
possible to imagine. This made him. no doubt, think
Ii was impossible to go back to the brush business
and the result OF his thoughts was that ne lorcsaw
there were ten ways OF making money dishonesty
to one or making IL in the lawful way or business.
AS after events proved however, he required an
extensive practice before he became right up and
down swinder lie valued appearances and he
managed TO keep them up until the day he left this
city, when the record OF his transactions burst like
his uNsusPgcTiHl VICTIMS.
While looking about as to what he should lo next
he came in contact with one Eli Grogan, who pro-
posed to him to so into the loan business with him.
The profits OF the business, as shown by mr. Bill Gro
gan, seemed to Lagrave lair means o. again reach
Ing competence, and he associated himself
with the gentle William They established
an Office on Broadway and announced ',hat
loans would be made on all kinds OF coateralsr
The principle OF the business was to loan money on
valuable articles. suci as diamonds watches, &c.,
the case might be, Il certain time being specified
for the redemption OF the articles sixty days being
generally the time the loans were TO run, after
which, IL not renewed or redeemed the articles
would be forfeited. In fact 1t was KIND OF steam
engine pawnbrokcr's ofllcc, the advantage pcing
that the amount OF money loaned was somewhat
higher than pawnbrokers gave, and the firm were
not very particular i'll always fading out where the
valuables which they lent money upon came FROM
The profit of these things is in the fact, is found
by experience, that only about one article in dozen
Is ever redeemed For time matters went on
mir .-i n nd no ri m nu n
forget the severe losses OF his Wall street ventures
But
ILL FORTUNE PURSUED HIM.
for one day Detective Elder called ilto the Onlce
aud carried or Mr.. Bl Grogan with him. The charge
goods aud the case was clearly proved at the time.
How Mr. Lagrave got out of this Is still mystery
but he was never arrested. Grogan shortly after
reappearcd on the streets and went to work again
with will, Lagfave still being his partner In the
business. Again they were prosperous; again
Grogan was arrested and Lagraye, who protested
his innocence, was let go on promising to quit the
business, which ne did. Mr.. Grogan continued In
The next heard of Lagravc was that he had ncgo-
tlatcd large loan with an assurance company on
some bonds Some little time after these bonds were
called, from his previous knowledge OF the gentle.
man, and was put upon his track. Elder found
him. and It would have gone very hard with him
pIsaoRGED THE MONEY
he had borrowed. Thus the affair was hushed up.
Shortly after Lagrave was arrested by the same
detective for having stolen bonds In his posses
sion trying to negotiate them. Hereupon 1t
seemed inevitable that things would 90 hard with
him, but he got out OF the scrape by telling q story
that he had picked them up IN water closet in
the Astor House, which, singularly enough, the
Justice took as sufficient explanation Of the case,
ana Lagrave was discharged.
But these matters sink into insignlncance COM
pared with Lagrave's last achievement, and indeed
which only could have suggested itself to gentle
man OF Lagrayes peculiarly ingenious mind and
bold daring.
lie hired a large store in Broadway and fitted 1t
up In gorgeous manner. lie then went to Stew
large Western trade and would buy quantities ol
goods. For these he paid cash. His address, nus
perfect confidence and serene impudencc, ana the
TACT that the goods not going out oi the city,
INSPIRED CoSFIDENCE,
and when he entered the store q rev days aIter-
wards no found he could get all the goods he