The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1877-08-25
BeId and Successful Forgeries-Ar.
lil rest Of the Perpetrators.


the following particulars concerning the
forgeries of Weston, Gesner and
Stevens who were arrested in that city:
/ In the Times of yesterday were pub
lished an outline and some details OF
vast forgery scheme, together with the
fact of the arrest in this city of several
of the parties connected Herewith. On
Yesterday additional light was thrown
ON the subject, and there is now re-
vealed to the country the most stupen-
dous and successful series of forgeries
that have ever startled the business
community. The scale on which ope
ratiOns have been conducted is simply
enormous, and those who know whereof
they speak estimate the total losses sus-
tanned by various financial institutions
and corporations at no less than &c.,
600, 600, and all on account of single
gang, the principals of which are now
safely in custody. ....
That these operations, carried on for
o year or more, have not been brought
to the notice of the general public
through the medium Of the press, is due
to the fact that they have been con-
Quoted on such gigantic scale-the
sums of money realized being so stu
pendous-that the losses in many in
stances threatened to wreck the
institutions which sustained them,
and. hence it was considered the part of
wisdom to say nothing about them, ex-
cept in quarters from which aid might
be expected. Bank after bank in the
East has been thus despOiled, two cor
porations in New York losing respect
lively SIG, 900 and SGT, 600, while another
yearns for the recovery of matter of
$26, 1856. The East finally getting too
warm for the operators, they bent their
steps Westward, and in due time arriv-
ed in Chicago. This was about six
months ago, and ever since they have
been drawing in the shekels at a lively
rate, fleeing several of our local banks
and quite a number round about in the
country, their operations extending far
up into Minnesota and Westward into
Iow1. sfHa s---r.D-.4J ..-1a SD p. ,D
The modHs operandi of the gang was
as follows: The work was Systematically
divided SO that the hand of no single
operator could be traced beyond limit
ed sphere of action, and thus, in work
ing up the case, the detectives would no
sooner get in possession of a clue
than it was lost in a
labyrinth of mystery. Some of the
parties assumed the role of heavy bust
ness men, and in some instances really
did a large business, one individual in
this city dealing to the extent of $780,
900 in provisions-in fact, it is asserted
that a single deal of his involved fully
that sum. All this was legitimate as far
as it went, but this business, after all,
was merely q blind, and even though
they lost 4 matter of $1,000 or SIC, 900
in deal, they could well afford to do
so, seeing that they were making hun
dreds of thousands in other directions.
But, on the other hand, their chances
were Just as good for making rifle at
these deals, and it is believed that this
operators losses and gains exhibit about
an even balance. Others of the gang,
in the meantime, familiarized themselves
with the personnel of the banks of the
city, and worked up points of vantage,
while the forger or fOrgers proper, the
man or men who were adopts with the
pen, and expert in the art of erasing
and " filling in, "were kept in the back
ground, and they performed their work
in the seclusion of their room at a hotel,
or at some private residence. Having
decided on their method of operation,
and carefully selected their victims, they
would then go to work and purchase
drafts for various small amounts,
drawn in favor of various parties
Thus one would be drawn in favor of
John Smith, another in favor of Archi-
bald Robinson, third in favor of Ezekiel
! Webster, etc land in each case the amount
would differ, one being for IS, another
for $50, and SO forth. By this means
they would get the handwriting of the
bank employee or official as to all mat
tiers intended for use. In one draft they
would have an entire word ready to
hand, in another perhaps only single
letter, but by grouping all the handwrit-
ing in their possession-and they would
not desist until they had what they
wanted or needed-they could make out
| draft to any amount to suit their fancy,
and payable to any body they saw fit,
and all in the handwriting of the bank
employee or official. 1t was no doubt a
nice piece of business to put all these
odds and ends of names, letters, and
/ figures, scattered over half a dozen
checks, together in one check that would
suit the purpose, but they had man in
the gang who was equal to the task-it
was done by means of tracing paper
and draft fresh from his hands was
calculated to deceive even the party who
was supposed to have filled it out, ex-
cept that he would know he had filled
out no check for such an inordinatc
amount. From one of the checks, rep
resenting but small amount, purchased
at a bank, all would be deity erased ex-
cept the name of the cashier, which was
retained to do duty as an original. The
| erasure of the other matter was so thor
oughly performed that not the slightest
trace remained, either of original writ
ing, or acid, to "give away the vii
lainy. -s@"H &. tao
Having thus perfected draft it would
be sent, say to New York, to be cashed.
As has been remarked, there were
"solid" men in the scheme. 1t is even
mOOted that when the whole plot is laid
bare certain bank officials will be uncov-
cred. However, be that as it may, s'big
Ones'' were in it, and to one of these the
draft would be forwarded. This party,
on receiving it, would then proceed to
his own bank-that is, to one with which
he had been doing business, and where
he was known-and deposit it for col
lection. The draft coming thus to the
bank to be victimized, from a regular
business source, would scarcely be scru-
tinized as if presented by an unknown
party, and, two to one, being in the
well known handwriting of the Cashier
of the bank which has large standing
account with them, would be paid with
out . suspicion arising in the mind of
| the teller that there was any fhinn