Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-06-13
" BIG BERTHA
The Confidence Queen in
Court.
OF HER CRooKEDNEss.
How She Worked the Susceptible.
Bailed Out of Limbo by Mu-
scum Men.

Associated Press Dispatches to the HsRA1pJ
SAN FRANcIso, June 12.-The principal
witness to-day in the trial of Bertha
Hanley, known as the Confidence Queen,
was Tom Gruhn, who testified he had
met the defendant at Rev. DIR. Messing's
house, and fell in love with her. She
represented herself to be wealthy, saying
she had $4,000 in the Anglo California
Bank, and the finest house and horses in
La Sale, Illinois. As he was looking
forward to the future, this was certainly
an inducement to him, but he was really
in love with her. When they became
engaged he gave her adamond ring worth
200. She gave him ring, which she
told him she purchased from Parsons, a
jeweler, for $685., but when she left for
Los Angeles she took the ring from him,
telling him it was not in keeping with
her wealth, and that she would send him
a costlier one. They were to be married
when she settled her business in the
East and returned here.
The charge OF grand larceny against
Willie Stanley, "Big Bertha's" son, was
taken up. Parsons, the jeweler said
that Stanley in March obtained from him
a diamond pin and earrings, valued at
81 ,050, for his mother, promising to pay
Tor them in ten days, or as soon as he re-
ceived the money he had drawn from the
La Sale bank. Afterward witness saw the
diamonds in Big Bertha's" ears. When
he went with the couple to Los Angeles,
he was given power OF attorney to collect
his money on his return to this city, but
the draft was worthless. The diamonds
INV r,a1 hx, :.
Angeles for $3.50, and the pawn ticket was
sent to witness, who paid the money and
recovered the jewels.
Gruhn was recalled, and testified that
Bertha told him the diamonds were a
present from a rich uncle in New York.
Mrs. Stanley was then placed on the
stand and asked several questions, among
others, if her true name was not Bertha
Aerman, all of which she answered eva
sively or declined to reply, and the pros
ecution rested.
The false pretense charges brought by
Gruhn, who alleges that the pair bor-
rowed $500 from him, and that Willie is
not the son, but the husband of the de-
fendant, were next disposed OF.
Gruhn again took the stand, and testi-
fed to the circumstances of meeting the
parties and the tales they told him. The
two claimed to be worth six or seven
hundred thousand dollars, and were on
intimate terms with Jay Gould and the
Vanderbilts. When Willie asked him
for $500, witness consulted with Bertha,
who said Willie probably had been gam
bling but asked witness to let him have
the money and she would repay him,
which she never did. When thev
became engaged, she gave him a $50 900
draft in order that he might become a
big merchant here, and that she might
introduce him as such among her New
York friends, but as she managed to
evade going to the bank with him, he
couldn't avail himself OF the draft.
Witness was then asked number of
questions relative to his ouitship, which
provoked much laughter from those pres
ent in court, and was then excused.
]. Lesser, dealer in shoes, and Cor
don Taylor, told OF several unpaid bills
they held against Mrs. Stanley.
The courtrefused to admit the evidence
OF Policeman Parrote, who said that the
attorneys for the couple stated in the
court room at San Antonio, Texas, that
defendants names were not Stanley, and
they never had been in California.
Parsons, the jeweler, testified that
Oi6 i'Ci una tOio ilill III Oh
the morning following her engagement,
that she didn't know what she was
about; that she had found herself en-
gaged before she knew it.
When the court resumed this after
noon, the counsel for the defense said he
would make no argument, and Judge
Murphy accordingly rendered his deci-
sions Mrs. Stanley and her son were
held on the charges Of obtaining money
from Grain under false pretenses, but
the evidence did not warrant a.committsl
on the charges of grand larceny, brought
by Parsons. the jeweler, but was sufi-
cient to show fraud, and the charge was
reduced to obtaining goods on false pre-
lenses, and the defendants were held to
answer in $4,000 bail, each, on the two
charges.
Huffman & Foster say they will at
once furnish the bail and place "Big
Bertha" on exhibition.
LArER.-"Big Bertha" the confidence
operator, was released tonight on bail,
her securities being Hallinan & Foster,
theatre managers, and w. o. Hubbard.