Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-16
CAPTURED IN THE ACT.
Two COunterfeiters Found Making Sill
YER Dollars.

From the Philadelphia Press. Today.
Two notorious counterfeiters-Andrew j.
Squibbs and Thomas Van Fossett alias Tom
Foster"-were captured at work yesterday
afternoon by two of the secret service officers
OF the national government, assisted by Deputy
United States Marshal James Marshall, and
were locked up. The room occupied by the
counterfeiters is on the third floor Of the house
on the northeast corner Of Duponceau and
Locust streets and is scarce a fit breathing
place for any person during the heated spell.
The raid was made after a careful survey
that showed that the men we're at work. The
counterfeiters were located in the third-story
front room. Men were posted front and back
and ut a signal the three officers, with Marshal
Marshall in the lead, darted upstairs, broke
into the room, and captured the two criminals
rsd-handed and in the midst of their work.
They threw down their tools, accepted the stu
alton, and quietly submitted to arrest They
were escorted to the nineteenth district sta
ton house at 9Th and Lombard streets. where
they were locked up for a hearing this morn
ing. The prisoners are nationally known as
expert counterfelters and showers of the
queer"
CAUGHT AT WORK.
When the officers burst open the doors, both
men were found at work at a bench, but Van
Fossett sprang to the bed in a corner of the
room and sat down on one corner, as though in
terror. His captors knew his methods too
WELL however, to be deceived by such a ruse,
and after taking him from the bed made a
search OF the mattress and found fifty counter
felt silver dollars under the spot where Van
Fossett had thrown himself. When the men
were secured search was made of the room
In addition to the fifty bogus dollars
found in the bed WAS full outfit of
counterfeiter's tools. In the closet was a
battery for plating the spurious coin. In one
corner OF the room was "a stove in which was a
iadie filled with molten metal. used in making
the coins. Scattered around the floor we're
several bars of loose metal. which is an ANAL
gamation of block tin and antimony. There
were also casts OF L)aster OF Paris, and reading
and milling tools for putting the edge on the
coins. Marshal Marshall declares that the
coins found were as good specimens of the
cOunterfeiters' art as he had ever seen. The
outfit included several molds. which were for
81 and ten-cent pieces. They had evidently
not begun the manufacture of the small coins,
but everything was ready for their operations
In that line.
OLD CRIMINALS.
Both OF the men have long criminal records.
according to the secret service men, as follows
SquIbbs was arrested in 1877 for passing bogus
money; again in 1880, when, in company with
bill WOLF he was sentenced to four years
imprisonment for manufacturing coin; in 1885
he was once more ca Itured for passing bogus
quarters at the circus on Broad street. and re-
ceived sentence OF two years; then in 1877 he
was arrested with Van Fossett for having in his
possession counterfeit coin, and still again he
was caught in 1888 for passing counterfeit
money and was jailed for two and half years.
He WAS liberated in the latter part Of July of
the present year.
Van FosSett was arrested in 1877 for manu-
featuring counterfeit coin and WAS sentenced
to two and half years Imprisonment. In 1880
he was detected in passing bogus coin in com.
pany with a notorious shower" Of the queer
named Little Roxe." now dead, and received
one and half years in Jail therefor. In
August. 1882, for receiving goods stolen by
Perry Howe, porter for Rudolph Blankenburg
Co., he was once more brought to the bar OF
justice. Harry Rogers was also implicated in
this affair and each Of them got three years in
limbo for it. He has been arrested twice since
his liberation from prison for the last offense
for having in his possession and passing bogus
money, but was acquitted each time.