Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-12-29
DIVORCE SECRETS.
LAWYER BUrTNER Is ARRESTED AND MAKES
FULL CONFESSION.
The Prisoner Claims That BE Has Not Been Guilty
Of Forgery, bat Is Willing to Plead %
Charge Of Lsrcsny-A List Of Dupes
and How They We're Deceived.


law partner of William Duryea Hughes
the latter having implicated his former
associate by his statement made OF
Christmas eve. Inspector Byrnes' de
tectives had been looking for him fo
several days past, and while they 10
Gated him at his house, No. 2l6 Yves
Seventeenth street, ii was impossible t,
reach him. Captain Mclaughlin, De
tcctive Riley, Won Gerichten, lleidel
berg and Golden had been hunting hin
about town for two days, and finall!
compelled him to surrender in his owl
house.
lie knew the 1illccrs were waiting fol
him, so he remained in hiding. On
Christmas night the detectives played
trick on him and called him to KoSte
& Bial's, to see "a very dear friend" a
Inspector Byrnes described the rus,
that was adopted. As soon as Buttne
reached that establishment it was yer!
easy for the officers to take him int,
custody, and they lost no time in doinl
so. lie was in full evening dress, anC
was very indignant over his arrest
When he was taken before Inspector
ByrneS he asked that official ifhe wa:
aware that his prisoner was an Office
of the Superior Court of the State o.
New York. The Inspector said he knew
it very well, and it was the malfeaSancC
in that Office which caused his arrest.
:" \ short time spent below stairs,
said the Inspector, with a signiiicant
smile, "madc him more submissive, and
he expressed desire to see me.
Il had him brought to my Office, and
before four of my officers he made q
full confession OF his connection with
the bogus divorce mill, which contains
some interesting revelations that
Hughes failed to reveal when he un
boSomed himself. He also duplicates Z
Brooklyn lawyer named Flanagan il
an irregular divorce transaction, which
if true, does not rebound to the credi'
of the counselor from the City OF
Churches
The confession was reduced to writing
and began in the usual way: 81, VIII
lam A. Buttner. make this statement o
my own free will, ETC., aud continues
William d. Huges on June IA, 1888, anC
dissolved on September 26 of the sam'
year. While partners we issued pamph
| let abstracts of the latest divorce law
OF all States, and this brought us
number OF clients from all over thu
country. The records of all our case
are in 4 book, which ! have not seer
since we dissolved"
The confession then goes on in i
rambling way 10 give the cases of somC
of his clients. lie seemed to lay mucl
stress on the case OF 4 colored JerSe,
City clergyman, named Simon {. Har
per. who, he said "cursed him up ant
down." because there was such 4 Ion:
delay in getting his decree. Charlie
f. Finkell and Casper Borgia, OF thi
city, were given bogus DEGREES; Susal
Miller, OF Brooklyn; Thomas Mcdonald
OF Washington, and ex-Mayor Pendle
ton, of Texas, aIso got pieces OF pape
with red seals on them. Pendleton, h
said, sis a lawyer, and knew when b.
received the decree that it was not gen
uine." He was particularly bite
against Pendlcton for having turne'
informer.
The divorce granted to Mrs. Susan i
Miller was Thoroughly explained, and
was in relation to this case that Lawye
Martin Flanagan, of No. 81 Cour
street, Brooklyn, figured. After tn
bogus decree had been furnished, tn
woman had some occasion to visit Elan
nigan. and she told him incidentally o
the divorce. Lawyer Flanagan though
it little suspicious, and began an in
vcstigation. A correspondence betweeI
him and the divorce mill concluded II
his going TO their Office and demanding
the return Of the money paid by Mrs
Miller and some pay for his trouble
Rather than be exposed in their nefar
ious traffic, they conceded 10 his de
mandS and received back the bogus de
cree.
In doing this Inspector ByrneS say
he compounded felony. and is liabl
to be punished for it. In the cOnfes
sion Buttner admits his guilt, but pray
to be allowed to plead to larceny in ac
cepting money from people to whom h
made false representations. He says h
did not commit forgery, although III
was cognizant of the fact that he ac
cepted money for documents lie knew t
have been forged.
IL realize" runs the confession, ''tha
have committed an olfenSe against thu
laws of the STATE, for which | should be
punished. / am willing, so far as in M!
power, to make whatever preparation
can. | do not consider that | an
guilty of forgery, but am of larceny.
In conclusion he very wisely remarks
II do not desire to put the people Of
this county to any expense, but | an
willing to 20 before the Grand Jury
tell them what know OF this scheme
and take my punishment like man.
Buttner said he was married, and has
one child, five years old, and came TO
this city in 1857. The partnership with
Hughes lasted only short time at NO
322 Broadway. Since then, although
not in partnership as lawyers, they ran
the divorce mill at No. 243 Broadway,
Room ;. Itwas in this place that Pat
rick A. Campbell, the other man spoken
of in Hughes confession, had desk
room.
According TO Inspector Byrnes, Butt
ner had semi-criminal career before
he left Chicago. 1t was there, after an
early life spent Oh the sea, that nc
studied law and was admitted TO the
bar. He was arrested twice for assault
in that place and once for conspiracy.
An old Norwegian had assaulted child
and Buttner was engaged as his coun-
sci. He. with Matt Pinkerton and one
of his detectives, called on the Norweg-
ian's wife and upon false representa-
tions induced her to pay them $1,000.
They were arrested, but escaped con-
viction. 1t was then that Chicago be-
came an unpleasant place to reside in
for him. and he came to New York.
In his informal talks with Inspector
Bvrnes he said that when an ignorant
client paid his retainer he was usually
put off with some excuse, and did not
come back. and if he did they would de-
ceive him with typewriter document
without the usual big red seel OF Cook.
county, H.. but when an intelligent
client insisted they supple him with a
handsomely printed document and the
seal
Upon information given by Hughes
before he was released on bail on
Christmas Day, Inspector Byrnes
learned that all OF the eliminating evil
dence in the case was in Z trunk in the
cellar Of the Hotel Monopole. Captain
Mclaughlin and Detective Heidelberg,
together with Hughes, searched the
cellar and found the trunk, which
Hughes opened for them. In II
was found about two hundred
divorce blanks similar to those issued
by the Superior Court OF Chicago, and
n ...i.tnd "a hnNn n nd