Daily Republican., 1879-08-06
THIRD EDITION.
CHARLES FISHER CONVICTED.

Ohn AhAAD FhbnCD
An Ex United states Assistant DIS.
srict.Attornsy Found Gail'y Of
PASSING Forged Check-The
Prisoners Defence.
The trial OF Charles Fisher, ex Uni.
ted States Assistant Dis 'ict Attorney
at WASHINGTON, on al indictment
charging him with obtaining money
under false pretences, attracted con-
siderable attention in the Court of Gen
eral Sessions, New York, yesterday.
Counsellor Price was assigned 10 assist
the prisoner in his defence.
The prosecution put on the witness
stand tieorge s. Adams, manager OF tn.
Metropolitan Hotel, who testified to re-
csiving the check signed -Entwistle q
Co., and giving thu change for it. Ed
ward Entwistle was called, and testiti-
cd that the check was forgery. The
spelling of the singature was incorrect.
The firm has Teen out OF existence for
over : year. George W. Davis, book
keeper OF the West Side Bank, on
which the check vas drawn swor. that
Eutwistle l. Co. had no account in the
institution. Otis N. Keith, the cashier
OF the M~,I opoIitan Hotel, testified TO
The aashing of Tho check. This was all
The - idence for the prosecution.
Couu.. llor Price asked that III. case
BE- Withdrawn from the jury as no evil
demos had cen produced to show that
the prisoner was aware that the check
WAS bad when he passed it. The mo-
tion was denied.
Fisher Was then put on the stand in
his own defence. He identified the
check as the one he had passed at the
Metropolitan Hotel. He obtained it in
payment Of an old account from Col
onel 4. s. L. Boyd. While at the
hotel he had received letter from Boy d
asking him to meet him at the Astor
House on April Is, at 23O p. L. He
went down to the Astor House and met
Boyd. They walked across the road to
the "Herald' Office, and while on the
stops of that Office he was handed the
check by Boyd.
On cross examination by Assistant
District Attorney Bell he stated that he
was at one time lieutenant of Battery
I. of the Artillery. From 1869 to 1873
aud during part Of 1875 he was United
States Assistant District Attorney at
Washington; his father was the Dis
trict Attorney; his father was still alive
but ho had not been to see him; he (the
prisoner) had no desire to See him
while he occupied his present position.
Or April IL, prisoner with his mother
cam to this city; his mother went to
a friends house and he put up al the
Metropolitan Hotel.
On meeting Boyd the latter sald he
expected settlement with Entwistle &
Co., for whom he had written certain
pamphlets for circulation among fruit
growers, and that if he got it he would
repay Fisher what he had borrowed
from him in 1877. Subsequently Boyd
handed him the check, and he hen
noticed that it was made payable to his
order. Boyd explained this by saying
that as it was after banking hours he
had had it so drawn in order that he
might hand it over to him without de-
lay. The check was for $40 more than
'he debt, and this amount Fisher gave
t. Boyd. After getting the check be
rode up to the Metropolitan Hotel in q
Broadway stage and paid it out in set
tl-n ent for his board bill.
He had known Boyd for several
years he published a directory 10
Washington in 1889 he saw him at
the Centenialin 1876, and in Novem-
Der of the same year he met him with
two friends in Delaware where he was
shooting: at that time he called on him
at his house. In 1877 he met him and
lent him money to assist him In pre-
pairing an article for 1.-THE Herald" On
the Delaware peach crop. Since the
meeting in April at the Astor House he
had not seen Boyd and did not know
where was. Sylvester S. Wilson testi-
fled that the letter which Fisher had
received at the Metropolitan Hotel was
in the handwriting Of Boyd.
Ou cross-examlnation he said that
he was publisher, and that recently
he was manager of the Ladies Athletic
Association of this city. He had diff
Guilty with some of the members of the
association. He had been arrested III
Cincinnati for publishing a paper in
the interest of the laboring classes.
Counsel then summed up and Judge
dildrrsleeve gave the case to the jury.
The jury, after half an hours absence,
returned verdict guilty.
The prisoners counsel asked that
sentence be deferred until Friday in
ornrr that he might move for new
trial. lie expressed his intention of
dong 50 on the ground that the YER
diet was not in accordance with the
weight"f evidence. The prisoner was
emanded until Friday.