The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-05-04
SOME FAIR FRAUDS
Stories From the Rogues' Gallery
Of the Treasury.
THE NOTED ACKERMAN GIRLS
Women as Detectives, and how Counterfeit
Money is Treated When it Reaches
the Treasury.
WASHINGTON, April 30, Especial
CORRESPONDENCE of THE HERALD l.

WASHINGTON, April 80, $780, Special
correspondence of THE HERALD. l.
What mighty ills have not been done by
woman:
Who vast betrayed the capitolg A woman.
Who lost Mark Antony the world: womanl
Who was the cause of a long ten years war;
And laid at last old Troy in ashes: Wou'an.
Destructive damnable, deceitful woman"'
There are few crimes SO great that
women are not mixed up in them, and there
are none SO small that woman has not had
her share in their origin. This is true with
counterfeiting, and the Rogues' Gallery of
the treasury contains scores of female
faces. Old women and young girls look
out Of the frames surrounded by the most
NOTED counterfeiters of the world, and
Psyche or a Venus shows forth in a group
of women more horrible than the witch Of
Endor. Some of the women are mothers
and few have babies in their arms. Most
of them are intelligent women and a few
might pass for literary characters. The
majority, however, have a cunning de-
PRAYED look about their faces, and the ell
derly ones among them have crows feet at
The eyes and the wrinkles of fear and care
IN their foreheads. Nearly every gang of
counterfelters has one or more women con-
nected with it, They are much more sue
cessful than men in putting the stuff on the
market, and they can pass bad bill or
counterfeit coin ten times where men can
pass them once. Counterfeiting is of such
nature that it can only be carried on in
secret and as rule whole families are
mixed up in it. Colonel Brooks, the old
head of the secret service, once told me
that he found that counterfeiters ran in
families, and that the making of the''queer''
and passing 1t was done by father and son,
daughter and mother through generation
after generation.
THIRTY THOUSAND IN SKIRT.
The wives of counterfeiters are most fire.
qaently used as the passers of the money,
and there are few women who possess the
requisite skill to engrave counterfeit bill.
They are very cunning, however, in pass
ing them, and they are less suspected than
the men. 1t was on this account that
Russo, the great Italian counterfeiter who
is now awaiting trial, tried to force his
wife to put his counterfeit silver certifi
Gates on the market. He had 10000 of
these certificates which he made in Paris,
and he had been in prison number of
times before for counterfeiting. His wife
had helped him pass his counterfeit money,
and she was with him when they left this
country and started for London to get up
the stuff Tor new raid upon the public.
They left America in 1887, and gave their
friends to understand that they were going
TO California. In fact, however, they sailed
for London, and there found the Italian en-
graver, with whom they plotted to make
this money. Mrs. Russo could talk French
as well as she could Italian, and they made
oric fhsai,. .l-etan ~,
graved the plates and struck off $50, 600. they
started for America Mrs. Russo was
afraid to carry the money but Russo said
he would murder her if she did not. so she
made Bingham skirt, fitted pockets and in
this she stuffed away the money and car
ried it to London. She was badly fright
ened by meeting so many customs officers,
and when she got to London she refused to
go any further. The engraver then advised
Russo to kill her, but Russo cloroformed
her one night when she was asleep and
robbed her of all her money and jewelry.
he and the engraver then sailed for the
United States, leaving her a pauper in Lon
don. In some way or other Mrs Russo got
enough money to come to America She
looked up her husband and threatened to
expose him, unless she was taken into the
gang and given share of the proceeds. In
company with Russo, she then began to
put out the ''queer.n New York city was
soon flooded with it, and they passed bills
at thirteen stores in one day. They were
Swallowed, however, by the secret service
detectives, were followed home and were
arrested. A number of counterfeits were
found upon them, and upon trial they plead
guilty. Russo was given twelve years and
his wife four years, and an attempt is now
being made for new trial, on account OF
\ Russo's simplemindedness and poor health.
The detectives of the treasury say that this
is all sham and they state that Russo is
one of the SharpeSt counterfeiters in the
country, and that his wife is not far behind
him. Both Russo and his wife are Italians
and Italians are the most cunning counter
feiters among the foreigners who are en-
gagged in the business, in the United States
During the past year 165 foreigners were
arrested for counterfeiting, and OF these
seventy six were Italians. In all there
were 431 coCnterfeiters arrested, and 206 OF
not quite half of these were Of American
birth, twenty were Germans, eighteen ne
Groes, two were Greeks and one was
Chinaman.
NELSON briggs WIFE.
One of the most dangerous counterfeit
ers now under arrest is Nelson briggs. anC
his wife has been implicated in his crimes
He has altogether put about quarter of
million OF dollars into circulation and ht
has history which reads like romance
He began his work as far back 1916, wher
he had a little variety store in an Ohio vii
lage, and there put out bad bank note:
until he was forced to leave. In 1853 be
was arrested in Chicago, with $50, 600 worth
of state bank notes on his person, and was
sent to the penitentiary on sentence fol
ten years. He was pardoned after a time
and shortly after he got out he began Il
counterfeit again, and was sent to prison
for coanterfeiting in Minnesota and Iowa
He reduced his term by good behavior anG
as soon as he got out, began the old bust
ness and was caught in Illinois, AT the
time he was captured Sl00, 900 in counter
felt money We're found buried in the wood:
near the place where he was taken. and Ii.
wife was with him. She was arrested as
his accompEce, and it appears that the tw,
fell in love with each other when in Jail a
Cincinnati. They got married as soon a:
they were released, and she was a VALUABLE
assistant 10 her loving husband. She vii
probably go TO the penitentiary with hin
after the trial has come off.
THE KING OF coUNTERFEITERs AND HI
QUEEN.
In the annals of treasury crime there i
no more noted counterfeiter than Pete Nc
Cartney. and like briggs his wife has bee
his chief assistant. His last arrest was 70
raising one-dolar bills to fifties. He tool
the 500 figures from tobacco stamp AM
by FASTING those over the '.onesn was abl
to make them look for all the world Tx
fifty dollar bills. He passed number o
these, and he also raised two-dollar bills Z
twenties. He has been counterfeiter al
his life, and he has had career whicl
would make a dozen dime novels. He ha
reformed number of times, and his wife
who was engaged with him in counterfeit
ing for a long time plead with him TO OF &