Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-01-19
TOUCHED BY LATOUCHE.
New York Ladies' SwindIed by Mrs.
Howe No. Two.

uoIlurS lew years ago, mas lOOlneu up
in New York, and like the Boston wo-
man has come to grief. She 10 Nine.
Marie Latouche, having at various pc
riOds been known rs Mrs. Dow and
Mrs. Ware. Before coming to this
city to victimize women OF slender
means but ambitious to get rich Mrs
Latouche had successfully piled her
swindling vocation in several other
cities and had also paid for her nefari-
Gus practices by doing penance behind
prison bars.
During the past fortnight upward of
a dozen ladies. all more or less promi-
nently connected in society, have COM
planned to Inspector Byrne that they
had been swindled out of large sums of
money by Mrs. Marie Latouche, who
carried on brokerage business at No.
165 West Twenty-third street The
woman operated with women only, and
by means of ilowery advertisements in
the newspapers she managed to lure
into her net victims who were promis-
cd or guaranteed profits of $50 per
month on an investment of $500. 1t
was precisely the same method that
had been adopted by the banking es-
Enlistment of Mrs. Howe in Boston,
the principal protesting to make the
Investment in such manner that large
returns were sure to follow.
Although large number of ladies
claimed to be victims it was difficult for
the Inspector to induce any of them to
come to the front and go TO court as
compliments, some of them fearing
publicity and others not wishing their
husbands to discover their speculative
procliv. ties. Mrs. Clara johnson, of
No. 156 East Eighty-fourth street, how
ever, was prevailed upon to accompany
the Inspector to Jefferson Market
Court yesterday when Judge German
issued warrant for the arrest OF tie
woman banker or broker. Detective Ser
geants McManus and Lyman succeeded
in arrestng the prisoner in her lair
last evening and brought her to Police
Headquarters. Mrs. Latouchc. who is
fine looking woman of about forty.
is tall and stately in appearance.
When brought into the Inspectors
private office she stood before him
with an air of defiance and refused TO
answer any and all questions as to her
name. age, residence, Sc.
A few moments later she was confront
eddy Mrs johnson and n dozen more of
her fair victims, two of the whom, on
gazing at the statue-likeligure Of the
woman broke down and wept hysteric-
ally as between their sobs they told how
! theyhad been robbed of all their money
| by the brazen-faced swindler. The latter
then also betrayed some womanly
feelings and asked to be taken away.
She was accordingly locked up in one
of the cells down stairs. but three
hours later she sent the following note
to the inspector:
a ain exceedingly sorry and regret
very much my action mt NV interview
W tn you. will be very glad now TO
/ be brought up stairs when / will answer
any question you may desire to ask
me. NINE. LAToUCHE.
Meanwhile, however, the inspector
had sent for and brought to her quar-
tiers her alleged husband. Royal
Latouche. who has an Office on Pine
street. and who it was ascertaned, had
been backing his alleged wife in her
heavily built man of about forty five
years, with Il heavy black mustache,
and has the appearance of u shrewd
business man. From him the inspec-
tor learned much of the woman S
history, which, summarized, is some
what as follows:
Her maiden name was Mary Grass,
her father, Jacob Grass. being an old
New Highlander who, though once an
honest farmer, has no more than one
occasion figured in swindling schemes
with his daughter. She first appeared
IN Boston in 1870, with man named
Warren whom she claimed to be hel
husband They carried on together
swindling schemes similar to that she
is now charged with, and were arrest
ed several times, but on each occasion
they managed to escape punishment
In 1875 Warren disappeared from Bos
ton, and it is said he died shortly after
ward. A few months later she mad,
her debut us the wife of Mr.. Dow,
prominent business man in Boston
who also died in that city year or 81
subsequently. About that time th,
woman purchased one share of capita
stock of the Michigan Central Railroad
Company, but she forged the certificate
to represent sixty shares, which sh,
deposited in one of tho banks. A few
days later she attempted to procure
loan from the bank on the forged Ger
tilicatc, but the forgery was detected
in tine. and the fair forger skipped
the town and went to ST. John, N. b
! A. thu lattor nloca clio xvoc eoan off