Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-06-28
A THIEVING CLERK.
swISpLEs ais FORMER EarLu,ENs
Ths clever sohemo by whion a Nov Nott
firm Was nopDed-rhe Tbid De
tectcd by an Accident

tttm was hopbeu-khe Ihtb De
tected by an Accident
AtncId n Constable. Of Now York, dls
covered ON Tuesday last that they were
being made to pay for goods that they
never received. 4 former clerk, Cornelius
O'Leary, was tho head aud front of tho
swindle.
lie was a receiving clerk in the ladiss'
department. 1t was his business to
receive the goods for his depart
ment, examine them, and endorse the
bill that accompanied them. His sig
nature was in effect a oertiticatiOu that tho
goods were received, and were all right.
Three other clerks were supposed to cheek
ihe bill with their names aud To know
that the goods were thero. But these
| other clerks got to atliNiug their names rs
| a matter of form 20 whatever bills came to
their hands duly signed by the receiving
clerk.
This suggested to O'Leary scheme for
running bills through and collecting the
money without any goods to show for 1t.
So ho prepared billhcad and had 1t
printed. Bought of Il Burke, manu-.
iacturcr OF ladies' and children's under
wear" On one Of the blanks he charged
a bill of goods amounting to sew
eral hundred dollars. To this he
signed his namo as though the
goods bad been received, aud let it so
with lot of genuine bills up to the
cashier. II received on its way tho per.
fuuctory signature OF the other clerks.
OLeaty, without exciting suspicion, also
arranged to have tho check for the amount
of the bill scut by mail icstcad Of by mos
senGcr.
The check was duly sent, and O'Lcary
induced Mrs. Belinda +. Burke of 400 Eas,
Seventeenth street, a mddlo-aged married
woman of his acquaintance to go down tC
the bank aud draw tho money. AS hei
Identification was requisite this schcm,
failed, aud O'Lcary took the check, will
Mrs. Burko's endorsement on the back ~
1t, Ia Nicholson n Lenahan, saloon keeper
at Twenty fifth street and Lexington
! avenue. They did not have tho money
but with the firms endorsement O'Lear
was enabled to get tho check cashod b.
John korscy, a Pearl street wholesale liquO
dealer.
The representations by which this an
other checks were thus turned into mone
were made jointly by Mrs. Burke an
| O'Leary, aud were to the effec. she was
+ manufacturer OF underclothing, doiu
business with Arnold & Cous.ab Mrs
Burke's son Joseph, "A young man IN tn
. milk business assisted once or twice j
r getting the checks cashed.
q In 1888 O'Lcary lost his place with At
mold Il Constable, but determined tina
!, his uususpected and profitable dealings j
mythical uuderclOthing should not be il
terfered with by that circumstances.
] porter and elevator man named william
Q | Devliu, who had been in the house tnelv
years, owed O'Leary some money, an
y O'Leary took advantage of this fact I
X make use Of him. At his request Devil
absiractCd some papers bearing th
n name of Lynn, the man who took the /,
q ceiving clerks place. After perleCting a
imitation OF Lynu's signature, O'Lear
. prepared bogus bill for S3,O62 81, an
}, forged Lyun's name to it. Then whe
10 visiting former companions he manage
to slip it in among some genuine sigue
bills on Lynn's desk. In due time he 7,
+, ceived tho money. Afterward he relied {
:, Devlin to plant the bills after he had pr
pared them.
Ie On Tuesday check for s9G04O, ma,
's out to pay Que of the bogus bills, was SCI
n by messenger instead of by mail. II
" messenger found no factory and no Mr.
Burke, but learned that man name
} O'Lcary, who had a room there. sOmetim
/. received letters there for Mrs. Burke. Tb
seemed suspicious, aud the books wei
q examined and the nature OF the fraud W.
:, discovered. O'Leary, Mrs. Burke and b,
son were arrested on Wednesday, au
G Deylln was arrested at the store.
II The firms losses 50 far discovered amour
+ to over -, 600, aud the examination of u
A books now iu progress is expected 70 Iai
= tho amount possibly to $4,000.