St. Paul daily globe., 1891-05-13
A MAGICIAN'S SECRET
Mr.. Pinter, a Slick Buneo
Worker, Takes in Some
Foreign Moguls.
His Philosophers Stone Said
to Have Caught Rothschild
and Barring.
Capt. Verney Is Formally Ex-
PEELED From the British
Commons.
A Panieky Feeling Was
Abroad in European Trade
Centers.

LONDON, May 15.--Edward Pinter,
alias ''Sheeny AL" also said to be
known in New York under the name of
Sondheim, the American swindler who
has been reaping gold in Europe by pre-
tending to be possessed of the mythical
philosophers stone, was again under
examination to-day at the Marlborough
street police court, charged with at
tempting to obtain $40 900 by false pre-
lenses from Edwin Streeter, the well
known Bond street jeweler. Pinter,
who was arrested on May 4, had previ-
ously induced Streeter to go to his pin
ter's), bed room at StOrey's hotel where,
so as to test the Americans claim.
Streeter handed Pinter a soye reign.
which the latter thre w into a crucible.
covered it with some kind of powder
and, after appearing to melt it, pulled
out lump of gold equal in weight
to about three sovereigns. "Shee-
ny AL" as Pinter is known
to Inspector Byrnes, of New
York then suggested that Streeter
should furnish him with 5000 sover-
eigns. which he would transform by the
use of the philosophers stone into gold
weighing $4,000 soverigns, or equal to a
sum of Sl20,000. Streeter appeared to
agree to this, and asked that Pinter
should go to his (Streeter'sj iewelry
works in order to further test the
power of the wonderful philosophers
stone. Pinter consented and appeared
there on May 4, placed 90 sovereigns
in crucible, covered them with the
powder, and placed the crucihle aud
Its contents i'll heated furnace.
Streeter, however, had become suspi-
clOus, and as the gold was simmering he
gave signal which brought two Scot
land Yard detectives from their places
of concealment in the work shop, and
Pinter was placed under arrest. At
the Marlborough police court the next
morning the presiding magistrate said
that it was Just possible that Pinter
might have discovered some method of
increasing the weight of gold. To
this Sheeter replied that he had been
informed that Pinter had been
SVindling People
by the process referred to in the United
States, where his game" was said to
be familiar to the police. Pinter.
cheered by the magistrates remark, in
sisted that he could increase the weight
should be compelled to divulge his
secret in court. Streeter thereupon
called attention to the fact that Pinter,
while claiming to be able to increase
the weight of gold, refused to make an
attempt to increase the weight of gold
bars and kept everybody away from the
crucible while the experiment. was
being conducted, claiming that the
fumes of the acids he used would kill
anybody who approached it without
being thoroughly prepared for and
guarded against the said fumes. In the
police court to-day Mr.. Avery, for the
prosecution, stated that the trick the
prisoner played was one of the
most simple nature possible. He
made it condition of his expert
ments" that the sovereigns were
to remain in the acid or composition
which he used for a certain time. The
prisoner, Mr.. Avery said. would then
use materials which produced such
horrible stencil that everybody present
at the experiment" was glad to rush
away. When they returned to ascer-
taiu the result of the Americans work
they found the prisoner and the sover-
elgns gone. Seven years ago, Mr.. Av-
cry added, Pinter played this trick with
success in Liverpool. He then managed
to get hold of 500 sOyereignS and van
ished. Pinter, it seems, has also per-
formed his trick in other countries.
The hearing was then again adjourned.
Among the people who are said to have
been victims of Pinter's philosophers
stone, the names OF member of the
RothSchlld family and member of the
firm of Barring Brothers have been III en-
toned.