Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-01-14
Arrest cf the Nan Who Worked the City
Of Mexico Ticket SwIndIe.

ci heSlcO Ticket SWtndie.
fc2Ppig'. 1885, by tae California associated Press
New York, January 13th.-After eluding
the detective for year, the man who. rep
resenting himself as the brother of Marcus
Il. Mayer, sSindled residents Of the City
OF Mexico cut of nearly $50 coo by the
spurious advance sale OF tickets for a series
OF concerts by Nine. Patti. has been ar
rested and is now locked up at the police
headquarters. He is, as has been suspected
by Abbey & Scheeffel, Charles Bourbon,
who lived in this city for short time, and
claimed that he was q representative of the
London Referee and Gil Bias, of Paris
Abbey was informed of his arrest, saw and
identified the swindler, and Immediately
telegraphed Mayer at Boston to come and
identify him.
Abbey also telegrapbed to C. E. Ballos,
President of the State of Mexico, to ascer-
tain if BourtOn was wanted there TO answer
for the swindle. Inspector Byrnes refuses
to say how, when or where Bourton-who
is French Jew, about 40 years of age
was captured. 1t is known, however, that
he has been in the city for six weeks, and
the swindle in the City Of Mexico is not
the only crime for which he is wanted. He
is said to be one of the most successful and
dangerous of confidence men, and has op-
Grated successfully all over Europe. What
he is particularly wanted for, the police
will not say, but if the Mexican authorities
don't want him, or if his crime is not one
of an extraditional character, he will be
held TO answer for other offenses.
BoURroN's REMARKABLE RECORD.
The prisoner has a remarkable record.
When he was arrested he was entering the
office OF lawyer whom he had retained
TO defend him in a suit brought by several
fOrniCT hOnCnS W hn appuSaH hin, of hauiue,
swindled them out of large sums of money
in speculations concerning some patent
that has no existence. The man is known
to the European police as Morton Coster
and Montgomery in various places. He
declares he is of English birth and of good
family. He is highly educated and speaks
five languages. He graduated from an
English University, and almost immedi-
ateiy got into gambling scrape.
AS AN EDITOR AND PHILANTHRoPIsr.
He drifted to the continent, and at the
time of the Franco PIussian war was the
editor on a Partisan paper. He was one
OF the three editors who were permitted by
the Prussian authorities to leave Paris
through the intervention of United States
Minister Washburn. Then he conceived
the scheme of collecting money for suffer
ing Parisians.
He proceeded to London, showed forged
credentials to the Lord Mayor, and received
a check for Il coo from that official. Pres
emily the Queen and Prince of Wales in
augurated a subscription list. For this he
was imprisoned for a year. While in
prison he poured oil on his clothing and
set it on fire. He was badly burned, and
served the remainder of his term in the
prison hospital.
AN ACCOMPLISHED swINDLER.
On bis release he joined forces with one
Kerr who conducted swindling publica-
ton which pretended to give tips on sport
ing events. The pair began swindling
right and left. Finally the Countess de
Goucalt, of the French Provinces, who had
lost $4,000 through the rascals, secured
their exposure and sentence to Is years
imprisonment each. incidentally it was
shown that several Scotland yard de-
tectives were in with them, and the force
was reorganized as the result. Bourton
served half his time and got ont on a ticket
of leave.
In 1886 he escaped punishment for sell
ing fraudulent news in Brussels. Next he
worked the Patti scheme, and he was
here when arrested Tor the purpose of
suing bank because it refused to pay over
to him the proceeds of sales of fraudulent
bonds in Switzerland. He also threatened
libel suits against some of the newspapers
which published the story.
MEXICO WANTS HIM BADLY.
CITY OF MEXICO, January 13th-The
news that the fellow who worked the Patti
ticket swindle here so cleverly had been
arrested in New York, has set the capital
agog. The higher classes of society were
the ones most completely taken in. The
authorities hope to find some charge under
which he can be extradited. If that can't
be done, an officer will be sent to New York
to render any assistance in his power at the
trial there.