The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1877-08-24
A BIG SENSATION.

Members Of the Most Remarkable Gang OF For
:. gers and Swindlers in Existence Irrested-Nen
of Standing and Wealth Implicated Millions
OF dollars Made by them.
CHICAGO, ILL.,, Aug. ia report
was published here yesterday, by one
OF the morning papers, relative to the
arrest of certain parties aupposed to
belong to gang of forgers. who had
been operating extensively in this city,
New York and other places. Inquiry
of the officials here failed TO elicit any
definite facts, and the story was gen.
orally discredited. Ii is now known
that, yesterday morning, Constable
Hartmann arrested in this city two
men named Weston and Gesner on a
charge of forgery. 1t appears that
these men, working in connection
with a man named Stevens and other
accomplices throughout the country,
have for some time been carrying on
system of forgeries, from which they
have realized
VERY LARGE SUMS OF MONEY.
In January last. the Third National
Bank of New York was defrauded out
of S27, 900, by means of checks pur-
porting to have been dra Sn by Wins
ioM, Lanier & Co. About the same
time, a check for $40, 600. purporting
to have been drawn by the New York
Life Insurance Company on the Union
Trust Company, of New York, was pre-
sented and paid. There had been
other simular operations known, but
never made public. Representatives,
of New York houses employed to inves
tigatigate ,hese forgeries have been
following up suspected parties for
several months, and have found that
the leader of the gang is
MAN OF WEALTH AND REsPECTA
BILITY,
named Stevens, alias Henderson,, who
has beenknown as speculator in grain
and stocks. Next to him comes Nelson
A. Gesner, a wealthy man of Minneso
to and formerly member of the Legis-
lature of the State. Associated with
them was one f. b. Weston, of this
city, formerly real estate agent. Upon
examining GesneI's trunk after bis
arrest, it was found to contain large
assortment of implements necessary to
bis profession including ink. micros
copes, acids, brushes, pens, tracing
implements, &c. In Weston's posses
sion were found
NUMBER OF WASHED DRAFTS,
on which everything had been obliteI
ated by acid except the cashiers sigma
ture. When dealing in drafts, it was
the custom to buy them for small
amount, and then obliterate with acid
all the ink marks except the cashiers
name. Bef Dre this was done, however.
a careful tracing was taken Then,
when larger amounts were written in
ON the face of the draft, they had Oh
the tracing q fac smile of the number,
of the letters, and of the figures, which
we're used in the greater amounts. In
dealing in checks, they would learn
from some one in bank or the Office
of firm depositing in a particular
bank, Just how the deposite account
stood, in order not to overdraw the
account. 1t is said that some forged
checks have been drawn for
SUNS AS HIGH AS S75, 900.
The development SO far indicate that
those men are part organized gang of
the most dangerous forgers that have
operated for years. 1t is estimated
that they have swindled various banks
out of millions of dollars. Stevens
was arrested near Grand Haven, yes
terday, and is now on his way to New
York. The officers having in charge
Weston and Gesner left for New York
with their prisoners yesterday evening.