The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-04-15
Bank OF England FOrgeries,

SOMETHING OF THE PAST HISTORY OF GEoRGl
MCDoNALD-TnE OPERATIONS OF HIS
GANG IN HARTFORD, WORCESTER AMI
PoRTLAND-oNE OF HIS GIGANTIC
SCHEMES.
Mcdonald under the assumed name oi
George w. Bradford, operated in cat
tie swindlc in Portland, Me-, few years
ago, and while under arrest there was
delivered up to detective Coyle of New
York, who had the papers for him on q
swindling operation at Tiffany & Co. $,
the Broadway jewellers, and he was SEN
fenced to Sing Sing for two years. In
the summer of 1868, he and his brother
Michael, protesting to be commission mer-
chants, attempted to get $4,000 out OF
the Hide and Leather Bank, Boston, on
bogus check drawn by Chicago house
but the bank officers were too smart for
them and they made off to escape arrest.
Michael, in October of the same year,
having in his company young man
named Hills, appeared in Worcester, and
by forging a certified check got $4,000
and wagon to and thdm ih"e,stqlG-a horse
Donald in that scrape gave the name OF
Hiram Tucker, and Hills the name of II
b. Conklng. Hills was subsequently ar
rested in New Jersey, for a forgery per.
petratcd in connection with Mcdonald ~
the Sturtcvant Bank, and got seven years
in State prison, but was pardoncd out last
fall. Since his release he has settled with
the Worcester bank officers. George
Mcdonald was one Of the gang at the
time of these iorgcrios but did not ap
pear as principal.
Michael, taking the name of Andrew
Stanley, went to Hartford after Hills ar
rest, and committed successful iorger,
upon the Trust Company getting Si,500
His confederate escaped to California, ,bu
he was arrested in Canada, and is nov
serving ,ime i" tho State prison a
WcathersGcd, in Massachusetts. Befor,
he went to prison, and after his sentence
he said that the gang with which he wa:
conncctcd-Gcorge, the Bank of England
forgcr, being the inventive head OF or
ganization--had planned gigantic sys
TEN of torgerics in the United States
Deposits in small amounts were to b.
made in different BANKS, and certified
check obtained thereon, which were to b
altered, and by simultaneous action tn
forgers expected to make a haul amount
ing in the aggregate to hundreds Of thou
sands Of dollars. In all the forgeries com
mitted the certified check-plan was adopt
ed The Sturtevant Bank fraud was sue
cessful on an alteration Of two checks TO
SGT and Sil, which amounts were in
creased by the addition Of two cipher:
making the sums drawn $1,000 and S4
100.
After Michael had been in prison owe
year George tried to get him release
when the legislature was in session, bu
met with no encouragement. Micha(
then tried to bribe the son of the lat
Warden Willard to aid him in securin
outside assistance, gave him letter
w. w. Bidwell in New York, which wa
never delivered. This Bidwell it no.
appears was one of the confederates {
George Mcdonald in the English rot
berry These facts 80 to show that tn
gang il an old one, and the New Yor
detectives in concealing the fact eviden
ly have some motive for it.
The father and mother of George an
, Michael Mcdonald 1.-Two in Lachine, Cal
ada, and are in good circumstances. Mr.
Mcdonald was in Hartford for some tin
before Michael's trial, endeavoring
make settlement and get him off. III
/, fathers name is Michael, and is reporte
to be a large holder of real estate in Mo-
. treal, where himself and family resid
every winter. Michael's term in Il
State prison will expire next fall, and |
will 90 free now that the Worcester ma
ter has been settled.