Huntsville gazette., 1883-11-17
AN IMPORTANT SCOOP.

BrOckway, Over Whose Head a suspend
ed Th.fty Years. Sentence Hangs-A Fine
Piece of Detective Work.
NEW YORK. Nov. IL.
VIM. Z. Brockway, James Doyle and
Charles H. Smith, professional forgers and
counterfeiters, were arrested in Brooklyn
on October %, 1880, for forging $1,000 six
per cent. coupon bonds of the United
States. Doyle was sent to prison for
twelve years. Smith turned States evil
dence and Brockway was sentenced to
thirty years. Imprisonment. Sentence was
suspended on his undertaking to surrender
all the plates for forging United States
bonds which he had in his possession or the
whereabouts of which he knew, and other
counterfeiting apparatus, and to give what
Information he could in regard to the pro-
fession of forgery. He was told that II he
was ever rearrested in the United States Tor
practising forgery, the thirty years sem
tence which was suspended, would go into
effect. Brockway dug up lot OF plates
and turned them over to the Government,
as per contract, and disappeared. Two
months ago Detectives Mangin and Cos
grove discovered that he was making dally
visits to a boarding house at 2ol
Lexington Avenue, where he met
Nathaniel d. Foster and Louis
Martin, both counterfeiters and forgers.
Inspector Byrnes suspected that Brockway
was at his old trade and ordered Detectives
Mangin, Cosgrove and Head to watch him
and his two confederates. A room was
procured in the neighborhood of the Lex
ington avenue clearinghouse, and the de-
tectives took turns in watching the suspect
ed premises with an opera-glass. Brock
way, on leaving the house in Lexington av-
enue one day, was traced to a fat at 27O
West Eleventh. He went under the name
of Spencer, and passed as a boarder. The
woman, who passed as Mrs. Gilbert, the
landlady, proved to be Brockway's wife.
Inspector Byrnes hired room in West
Eleventh street, opposite the place where
Brockway lived and directed Detectives
Slevin, McClosky and Richard Field to
watch him. They learned that he spent
hours at the st. James hotel, where Martin
lived. About month ago they picked up a
letter which he tore to pieces after descend
ing the stairs with Martin, with whom he
had been consulting for long time. The
fragments of the letter on being put to-
gether showed that Brockway, Martin
and Foster were engaged in wholesale for
gerry. On Saturday Inspector Byrnes OBJ
tanned search warrants and arranged
simultaneous descent on the houses in
Eleventh street and Lexington avenue
Brockway, who had just left Lexington av-
enue when the descent was made, was
caught on the elevated railroad In the
Lexington avenue house the detectives
found plates, stamps, dies and every other
thing necessary for forging money and
Essex Railroad 81 600 seven per cent. con-
struction bonds, payable in 1901, and Gen.
tral Pacific Railroad Company $1,000 six
per cent. gold-bearing bonds, series B.
Stamps intended for both bonds, including
the London stamp of the last named, were
also found. A large number of the bonds
already printed were seized, and there
was also captured the set up type used to
print the certificates on the back of the
Central Pacific bonds. There were also
seized eighteen sets of type for each of the
eighteen coupons. Type set up for other
parts of the bonds, together with the fig
ures used for printing the scrolls, were
captured.
A genuine bond also was found and the
counterfeits were as genuine looking.
Chief Drummond, by means of micro
scope, discovered that the revenue stamps
on the bonds were a forgery. In the fiat on
West Eleventh street the detectives found
comparatively little to prove that forgery
had been attempted, but in room Sc in the
st. James Hotel, the room which Martin
has been occupying for nearly year past,
Sergeant Slevin found twenty-one counter
felt Morris and Essex Railroad Company
$1,000 per cent. mortgage construction
bonds. All these bonds wanted was the
signatures of the President and Treasurer
to be put upon the market. The signatures
would soon have been added. Sam Sloan,
President of the company, writes with a
quill and bundle of q ills, ready for use,
were wrapped up in the bundle of bonds.
Thirty-three more bonds not yet numbered
and also unsigned were also found in Mar
tins room. In Brockway's pockets were
found $1,000 per cent. construction bond
of the Morris & Essex Railroad and 81 ,0066
per cent. gold-bearing Central Pacific Rail-
road bond, series B, No. 326. The bonds
are believed to be genuine. The prisoner,
Lewis Martin, is believed to be the capital
ist of the gang just arrested. He is sixty
years old, and is a ine-looking man, whose
face is familiar to the freQuenters of race
tracks East and West. He had handsome
rooms at the st. James Hotel, and was ac
qualnted with wealthy and reputable
horsemen and spoyting men. He was
formerly, it is said, a member of
the Jockey club. In his possession were
found number of letters and papers
showing his connection with the counter
feiters' gang. Other letters showed his in
terest in horse racing and extensive ac-
quaintance with reputable horse owners
throughout the country. Other letters, if
they are genuine, indicate that he was a
business man of fair standing, some of them
being in the form of recommendations from
railroad presidents and other officials to
others in the same line of business, and
speaking of Martin as capable person and
one to be trusted. In 1879 he was indicted
in the United States Court ef the Western
District of Pennsylvania as an accomylice
of Henry Makil, alias Sweet, in passing
counterfeit 500 notes. He was never tried.
Previous to that time Inspector Byrnes says
he has been known as an engraver and
printer Of counterfeits under the name of
Martin Luther. Nathaniel B. Foster, the
third prisoner, is about forty years old, and
a native of Bradford, Ill. He was a pal of
Theodore Shotwell, alias Tom King, who
died recently in Greenland, Col. Since
the latter's death Foster has been passing
as the husband of Shotwell's sister, Mrs.
Blakely-
Brockway is native OF Connecticut,
sixty-one years of age. He is printer and
electrotyper by profession; studied chem
istry under Prof Silliman of Yale College.
In 1858 he obtained an impression on lead