The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-04-12
FORGED ORDERS.
Large Merchants the Dupes Of Vii
lainy.

who seemed to be on the make, entered into
q collision for the purpose Of enriching
their pockets and committing a most daring
fraud upon the public of New Orleans
They seized upon the name of Mr.. A
+. Hickman, respectable merchant or
Tchoupitoulas street. as the tool by which
they would work their iniquities.
One of the two forgers first drew an order
upon Messrs. A. Thompson & Co. for four
barrels Of sugar, with the signature of A
F. Hickman attached thereto, Of course, AS
the signature was almost a facsimile of the
original, and as Mr.. Hickman's orders had
been honored before the sugar was deliv.
cred, and the thieves went on their way Re.
joicing. Encouraged by their success, they
next repaired to the store of Mr.. John Hen
derson. wholesale liquor dealer on the cor.
ner Of Tchoupitoulas and Lafayette streets
and there presented an order with the
above signature for four barrels Of whisky
which was, of course, honOred, Mr.. Hender.
son not for one moment susEecting the
fraud which was being perpetrated upon
him.
Feeling from this success that thew were
perfectly free to carry on their operations
on large scale, they paid visit to the
flour store of Messrs. Gordon & Gomilla. on
Magazine street, where they obtained sew
eral barrels of flour upon the presentation
of another order, signed A. f. Hickman.
OF course, as bills are not presented until
the end Of the month, and their movements
not being suspected, nothing of the swindle
was discovered, and perhaps many more
would have been the victims of theil
frauds, had it not been for the fore
sight of Mr.. Lawler of the firm OF
Selby 4 Lawler, of No. II Peters street,
upon whom these fellows thought to play
the same trick; but Mr.. Lawler smet a
mouse, and though he delivered the eight
barrels of flour for which the order called
he caused the drayman to be delayed for
some time, thus Ell aiding him to make all
right to entrap the knaves. Going into his
office, Mr.. Lawler put his revolver in his
pocket, and going out on the sidewalk gave
a sign for the dray to start, but followed
close behind, and when the dray got to the
corner of Peters and Lafayette streets, Mr.
Lawler discovered the two scOundrels be-
were laughing heartily at the joke that they
imagined they had p:rpetrated upon Mr..
Lawler.
One Of them exclaimed, "Oh, it is all
on which Mr.. Lawler stepped forward, and,
presenting his pistol at the head of one
while he grasped the other villain by the
throat, called for the "police" for assistance,
who were in readiness according to agree
ment with Mr.. L., and Immediately took the
gentlemen in charge, as well as dray No. %,
on which the flour was hauled. The dray
mule was owned by Moses johnson and was
sent to the pound.
Upon further investigation the forgers
were found to be one Geo. +. Fry and Frank
O'Brien. The former is an old hand at the
business, having been sentenced to the Peni-
Tertiary in 1869 or 1870 on like charge
but owing to some informality in the pro-
ceedings, his lawyer, Mr.. J. J. Foley, OBJ
tanned new trial, and succeeded in having
the case eventually nolle prosequied with a
promise from Fry to mend his evil ways; but
since then, instead of improving, he has sunk
deeper into crime than ever. His first at
tempt at forgery was i'll 1869, when he forged
the name of M. J. O'Hara, and obtained a
load of paint.
From his past record, Fry has always been
known to employ an accomplice, who, by
the cunning of Fry, has been made an easy
tool with which to accomplish his crimes.
Frank O'Bren, who this time assisted him
in his fraud, is known to the police as a
common thief Fry being an educated young
man, and using his pen with great facility,
has for many years carried on this system Of
forgery, and it still remains a mystery why
he has been left at large for SO long time
20 swindle the people of New Orleans. But
it is to be hoped that Fry, as well as his &C
complete, may meet the retrbution they Sc
richly deserve.
THE TNVEETTn ATTAN