The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-12-17
A Novel Steamboat SWindle.
THE ACCIDENTAL DELIVERY OF FRAUDULENT
BILL-HEADs LEADS TO THE CONvIC-
TION OF STEWARD.

One Of the most singular cases of syste
matte robbery was unearthed yesterday b,
Detectives King and Fields, OF the Polio,
Central Office. Joseph De Villars is Frencl
baker at No. 81 Carmine street. He supplies
the steamers of the Peoples Line to Albany
the Dean Richmond and the st. John, will
bread daily. The st. John has been with
drawn, but the Richmond is still running
De Villars is successor to NJ Bourbon, and
his regular bill-heads read:
"Joseph DeVillars, successor to NJ Bour.
don, No. 81 Carmine street. Some time
about the middle of November last q boy
came to the bakery and said that he had 300
bi!l-heads for him. Mr.. DeVillars looked a.
the bill-heads and saw that they read Joseph
DeVelears, instead of Joseph DeVillars. He
told the boy that he had ordered no bills, and
that he should not pay for them. The boy
left the store, and Mr.. DeVillars at once went
to the Central Police Office and related the
circumstances to Superintendent Walling.
The police believed that some fraud
was intended, The case was placed
in the hands Of Detectives King and Fields
Edward J. Brady of No. 124 Third Avenue,
who had printed the bill-heads, said that a
man had called for them two days after the
boy had taken them to Mr.. De Villar's He
had been very abusive because the bill-heads
had not been kept until he called for them,
but at length had paid for the printing and
taken away the property.
On Tuesday Detective Fields and King took
the steward OF the Dean Richmond, Patrick J.
Mulaney, and his son, James p Mulaney, to
Mr. Brady and he at once identified the son
as the man who had taken the bill heads
away, and the father was the man who ordered
them. 1t is the custom OF the steamship COM
pany for the steward to make all the pur-
chases of articles in his department. He pays
the money and receives the bills
He then hands over the bills to the captain
with his veritication, and then they are sent
to the agent of the company. Daniel Drew
Capt Christopher and Russell P. Clapp, the
agent OF the company, were seen by the de-
tectives, and the vouchers of the company
were looked over. 1t was ascertained that for
the past four years the steward, Mulaney, had
purchased bread Of Mr.. De Villars each day.
and had received his receipt bills Each
morning he would take one of the other bill
heads and make out fraudulent bill for 50
or 81 more than the genuine account of bread
purchased. This fraudulent bill the steward
handed to the captain, who paid him the
amount without any suspicion that all was not
right. The detectives believe that Mulaney
thus made 500 q month clear profit out OF
the company.
The detectives were asked to examine other
purchases by the same steward. 1t was then
discovered that AIulaney was working at both
ends Of the route. In Albany there is a
butcher John Frederick. of No. $50 Broad
way, who supplies the Peoples Line with
meat. Mulaney altered the bills for provi-
sions from the butcher as he had in the case
of the baker. 1t was calculated that in the
three months past Mulaney had taken $500
by his fraudulent bills for meat. These bills
have been altered by Mulaney for four years
past. The steward was taken before Justice
Murray of the Tombs Police Court, and held
in default of $1,000 bail.