The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-03-13
Pension Frauds.

NhoiOh
The heretofore unaccountable practice
of the New York pension agency in
issuing more than one check to pay a
single instalment of pension was eX-
planned last week by the discovery of
thief in the office. Considerable COM
ment was created here last fall in the
Baker case in Berlin, where two checks
for $50 each were received at the same
time to pay $500 pension 1t is now
suspected that third check for few
dollars on account of child who had
reached the age of sixteen was issued
and appropriated by the clerk. The
| clerk who was arrested and lodged in
! jail last week is Robert Sigel, son of
pension agent at New York. The first
lows: Samuel knights of Port Henry,
n. Y, was entitled to a pension and
back pay amounting to 800. Young
Sigel prepared the papers and secured
the pension for him last August. He
made out four checks, August 25,-one
for 50 900, another for $4,000 and two
were forwarded to Justice Beers of
! IltuIN, WIN dClCu do hulSuJ
attorney. They were duly Endorsed by
knight and cashed in that town. The
two four-hundred- dollar checks were,
it is claimed, indorsed here by young
Sigel by making Knights mark and then
certified by Sigel. The same day the
checks were cashed. The money, it is
represented, was retained by Sigel, eX-
cept $3.50, which he claims to have paid
to Justice Beers as notary fees. Sigel
says that Knight instructed him to
draw the money as he did, and retain it
as present for his services in the case.
But knight denies this. Sigel admits
that he went to Port Henry few days
after obtaining the $500 to give Beers
the $50, and says he registered
at the hotel there as Smith. Sigel
was taken before the United States
commissioner and admitted having
accepted money but believed he had
done nothing wrong. He volunteered
the statement that he had received
fees of one dollar and upward for serv-
ices to pensioners in at least one hun
dred fifty cases, but supposed, as they
were voluntary gifts from the pension
ers themselves, that it was nobody's
business. Commissioner Shields char
acterized the case as a very serious one,
} and held the prisoner in $4,000 bail
for trial Mrs. Jennie Heineman, the
first witness, was widow who had
been entitled to back pension of
$4,000. Mr.. Rose produced three
!, checks for $3.50, S125.60 and 500 re-
! spectively, all of which had been drawn
November , last on the assistant
United States treasurer at New York to
, the order of Mrs. Heineman. The wit
ness testified that in October last she
received call at her home from Rob-
ert Sigel, who told her that her appli-
cation for back pension had been
granted, and that he had been put to
great trouble in learning her residence.
I He then presented three vouchers,
which were signed by the witness, who
told Sigel that she felt very grateful for
| the trouble he had taken and asked him
t to name his fee. Sigel mentioned $50,
which was satisfactory to the witness
l November 10, Mrs. Heineman received
a call from a young woman, who said
r she was the wife of Robert Sigel, who
e had sent her with the pension money.
+ Mrs. Sgel then delivered letter, writ
ten by her husband, enclosing two
5 checks, one for $50 and one for S125.60,
e together with $50 in cash. On the fol-
lowing day the witness called at the
5 pension agency, got young Sigel to in
/ dorse the checks, after first putting her
: own name on the back of the docu-
= ments, and then cashed them at the
Y sub-treasury in Wall street. Mrs.
Heineman, upon returning home,
r counted her money, and found that she
, was So short of the amount allowed by
the government, and that Mrs. Sigel
q had left but S75 in cash instead of $50,
. which, with the $40 retained by Sigel
as his fee, would make the fixed amount
of S375.60. She wrote to Sigel, who
E sent her another check for IS. Mrs.
t Heineman was surprised when, Feb
a ruary %, Pension Detectives Jacobs and
: Shannon called upon her and showed
= a check to her order for 500, also is
q sued November 2 and cashed on the
following day, which showed her name
Z and her mark on the back. She told
the officers that she had never seen
that check or authorized anybody to
attest her mark to any document, as she
was capable of signing her own name
. The one-hundred dollar check, which
= had been Endorsed by Sigel and cashed
by him at the Peoples Bank, was paid
November 3, while the others, which
he had sent to Mrs. Heineman by his
T.. wife, were not presented for payment
u until November 90 Thomas j. Shan
{ non, special pension examiner, testi-
{ fed that when Sigel was asked 20 ex-
I plain the mark he said that Mrs. Heine-
man had probably come to the office
e with her check, and, not caring to re-
o move her glove, had asked him to sign
u her name.
s BUCKLIN's ARNICA SALVE.-The
e best salve in the world for cuts, bruises,
e sores, ulcers, salt rheum, fever sores,
n tetter channed hands chilhlains corns