The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-03
AN INGENIOUS sWINDLE.
Discovery and Failure of a Well-Deyised Steal
on the Manhattan Elevated Railway.

New YoRK, July 2-Colonel Hahn manager
of the Manhattan Elevated Railway Company,
some weeks ago reported to Inspector Byrnes
that apparently counterfeit tickets were passed
on the road in large numbers, but that, strange
to say, the receipts were notsensibly diminished.
Detectives were put on the case, and they found
that William Fl. Pindar, ticket agent on the
Sixth-aYenue road was in frequent communica-
ton with John B. Cole, former employe of the
company who had been caught robbing it and
been discharged. Detectives arrested Pindar,
and in his possession found bundle of counter
felt tickets and another of real ones On lnves-
tigation, the number of good tickets was found
to correspond with the number of counterfeit
ones dropped in the gate-man's box on the
previous evening at Pindar's station Pindar
has been selling bad tickets for good but had
turned all money in to the company The
police were greatly nonplussed by this action.
Coles address was got in Pindar's possession
1t was at Woodside, N. J. He was coaxed over
to this city by spurious dispatch which be
thought to be from Pindar and was arrested.
Then his house was searched and in it we're
found 18 600 counterfeit tickets and 200 genuine
issue. In Coles house was got the address of
August q. Speth, photographer Of this city.
who printed the forged tickets A bogus dis
he was also taken into custody. In his house in
Brooklyn detectives found apparatus for forging
tickets and any quantity of red and blue tickets.
Speth said Cole had got him to enlist in the job.
Cole, when acting as ticket agent, had man
aged to rob the company of about $l4 600 by alb
stracting Cancelled tickets from the ticket
boxes, removing the cancelled stamps and selling
them over again for genuine tickets. Coles
plan was to hire score or more of agents to
print counterfeit tickets get his men to sell these
and for each one sold pocket a genuine ticket
Those delivered to him would be filed away until
hundred thousand dollars worth had accumu
lated on his hands, when he would destroy the
counterfeiting plant aud hire men to peddle the
rest of the tickets near the chief stations of the
road at a reduction.
This plan would have succeeded admirably had
not accident led to discovery. The scheme had
first been started, and Cole had succeeded in
getting fifteen or twenty agents into his pay OF
to the agents, 10000 in a lot to Mr. Speth, and
the remainder to Cole In the meantime, the
latter paid Speth $40 a week, and bore all ex-
penses, investing $4, 600 of his previous steal in
the new enterprise. Cole gave the police
the names of twenty or more agents
employed by Cole, and these will
shortly be arrested. He also told
them where to look for false
latch-keys that are now being used by thieves on
the road. Cole said he could, with his knowl-
edge of the stealing going on on the road, save
the company $4,000 year Rings within
rings, organized for robbery Cole said, had ex-
listed on the road for years. No two of the men
employed by. Cole in his schemes knew of each
others connection with it. The prisoners are
now locked up at police headquarters.