The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-12-29
THE NEW YORK DIVORCE MILL
The Confession of the Man Who Man.
aged it.

The Confession of the Man Who Man
aged it.
NEW YoRK. Jan. 27.-The papers have
been been publishing full accounts Of the
bogus divorce lawyers and their methods of
doing business. A day or two ago William
/ d. Hughes, well known in New York and
jacksonville, Fla, was arrested for selling
| fraudulent divorces, and he made a full
confession of his part in the business, and
! now other of the gang, William II. But
1 ner, who was at one time d partner OF
/ Hughes, has made a confession. BY ais
I confession Butner threw additional light on
| the way the successful bogus cdivore mill
was run, aud also implicated others in tie
/ crooked work.
! Butner and Hughes entered into copart-
nersnip on Jan. ii, 1888, and opened an
Office at No. S22 Broadway. They adver-
/ tised extensively that they were able to
secure dive ces without publicity" and
were soon Overrun with clients. They also
| circulated a pamphlet entitled an abstract
of The Latest of All the States" 1t said:
New York permits polygamy and polyan-
dry in certain cases. Desertion for five
years, without knowledge that the
deserLer Is living, permits the one deserted
| to marry again; and the second marriage
is valid, though the deserter returns.
THE second marriage may be declared
| VOlu, OUT only IEOn une Qdte VI Tue OecTee,
| by court of competent jurisdiction upoi
| proper petition, but if no such petition is
made and all parties are satisfied one
| husband may live in lawful wedlock with
two or more wives or one wife with two or
more husbands. The children will inherit,
AID both wives will be entitled to dover.
| Ia New York no residence is required, and
the party aggrieved may commence suit at
any time. In Illinois no residence is re-
OffAASa
one of the parties was a resident of the
state or when botI agree to the separation"
All the callers at the Broadway Office
were interviewed by Butner, who also set
the price and collected the money Hughes
share in the running of the fraudulent es-
Establishment was TO manufacture the bogus
DEGREES and use the forged court stamp.
Butner remained In the partnership until
Dec 20, 1888, when they dissolved, buJ
aflerward continued 10 transact business
at the Office of Patrick a. Campbell
The pair did not devote all their time to
divorce cases. but also presented civil suits,
and by deceit and forgery robbed their poor
clients. A case come to light in which
they were engaged by two injured laborers
to sue q TX & OBrien for $4,000 illustrates
their duplicity. The lawyers were hard
pressed for ready money one day and de-
cided to settle the suit against Clark &
OBrien for $500 without the consent of
their poor clients. They arranged matters
satisfactorily with the lawyers representing
the contractors, and the laborers who had
begun the suit for damages are still expect
ing it to come up in the courts. Butner &
Hughes forged the names of their clients to
the settlement papers.
Butner told Inspector Byrnes that he
kept the books and that Hughes took
charge of the hand stamp with seal and the
blank divorce decree form, In some in
oil
gave him simply typewriter copy. All
their clients they bled from 500 to $500 for
their bogus divorce papers. He remem-
bered that Charles E. Finkel, Cesar Bogie,
Thomas Mcdonald, Susan Miller and Simon
o. Harper, a colored clergyman Of Jersey
City, were some Of his clients, besides ex-
Mayor Pendleton.
AS to the Rev. Mr.. Harper, Butner
alleges that the clergyman was very anxious
| to get rid of his wife, and as he was profit
able clieit they kept him on their books for
long time, bleeding him all the while
One day, however, Butner declares that
Harper came to their office and swore at
the lawyer sharpers like a verItable trooper.
Then they gave him the paper and he went
his way rejoicing.
In connection with Mrs. Susan Miller's
case of Brooklyn, Butner and Hughes claim
| that they were out OF pocket. They say
| that the woman referred the matter to
another lawyer named Martin Flanagan, of
| No. 20 Court street. Brooklyn, to invesJi-
| gate. He discovered that the divorce paper
was worthless aud forgery. He called
| upon Butner and Hughes, and by COM
| pounding a felony, the men aver secured
| the woman's fee and fee for himself, by
| turning over the false papers. These are at
present in the hands of the police.
After making his confession Butner said,
| in the presence of Inspector Byrnes: 81
| realize that | have committed a crime
| against the laws of New York for which /
| should be punished. l am willing to make
what PREPARATION [ can, but do not think
that | am guilty Of forgery, but larceny,
| because | obtained money by false repre-
sentatioD. j do not desire to put the people
to trouble, and will 60 before the grand
| jury and tell all l know. | am also willing
| to take my punishment like man, and hope
1t will be as light as possible"
Butner is "a years old, and Is married,
and resides at No. $3.50 West Seventeenth
street. He followed the sea for years, and
after ward studied law at the Office of a
United States judge Of Cook county, Illi-
nois. He afterward vent to Chicago, where
he was arrested for conspiracy with two
| detectives in the case of an old Norwegian,
who was under arrest for assaulting a
| child. He escaped convic ion, and later on
was arrested for assault. In 1887 he came
| to this city.
The stamp Of the clerk of the court of
| Cook county, Illinois, which Hughes had
made, and which ne had hidden, was found
| in a trunk IN the basement of the Hotel
Monopole, together with 200 blank bogus
| DEGREES.