Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-04
A SLICK ONE.
An All Over the Country Forger
and Confidence Man.
HIS NUMEROUS ALIASES.
His Principal Pastime Obtaining Money From
Banks on 0yerdrafts.
His Pockets Full of Forfeit Drafts From the
Texas state FAIR Association of
Dallas-Forfeits Against
HOrsemen.
HIS NUMEROUS ALIASES.
Evidently "A Professional.
Special 10 the Gazette.

| opCCIdt 10 lne GaLeltt
| New YORK, June 3.-Detectives Nc
| Naught, Sheldon and Lyman of Inspector
| Byrne'S staff this morning arrested in front
OF the Morton house +. \. Cameron, alias
4. Allain, alias Ernest Allan Chirritou, as
forger and confidence man wanted III
Tampa, Fla. Los Angeles. San Diego and
San Francisco and Jamaica, West Indies.
The prisoner was taken before Judge Me
Alahon and remauded until tomorrow
His swindling operations extend over II
period OF twelve months and he may
be wanted IN many places not yet heard
from. His method of operation was 4
Shrewd one and according to els own state
ments after his arrest, the banks i'll most of
the towns which he visited were glad to
cash his bogus drafts.
About the middle of May Inspector
Byrnes received letter from the chief of
police of Tampa, Fla, asking him
to arrest +. Allaiu, wanted there
for obtaining $500 from the First
national bank of Tampa on forged
drafts. On May 26 the inspector received
leuter from c. f. Knollie, inspector gen
eral of she constabularv of jamaica asking
him To arrest +. y. Cameron for obtaining
500 from the Colonial bank of Jamaica on
forged drafts. Both letters gave accurate
descriptions of the man wanted and both
DESCRIBED THE SAME INDIVIDUAL.
The case was given to Detectives Me
Naught, Sheldon and Lyman with instruc
tons to watch coastwise steamships This
morning they found their man standing in
front of the Morton house. He had arrived
in this city only a few hours before his
arrest. When searched his pockets
We're found to be filed with
blank checks, forged letters of
credit. business cards, circulars and d
batch of forfeit drafts from the Texas
state fair association of Dallas, Tex These
bOIs=s,,Dpn
horses had failed to star. They seemed to
bemade out and approved in correct manner.
When arrested he gave the name of Ernest
Allain Chirriton. stated that he was
NATIVE or NORWICH, ENGLAND,
and thirty years old. He had printed cards
with the name of E. Allan on them, and
they set forth that he was the authorized
correspondent of score of leading papers
throughout the United States. He also
had d number of cards of the Southwest
crn Press syndicate of Louisville.
Ky, which authorized him I'M
der the name of f: A Cameron,
to act rs agent and correspondent to the
syndicate in celtiou territory in the West.
He also had an alleged letter of credit from
the cashier OF the Anglo Mexican bank of
Juraz, Mexico. The letter set forth that
his father in England had made
him yearly allowance of 5000,
and authorized him 10 draw on
leLIVliie, Evans " 20. 80 LON Oalu street,
London, for that amount. The letter was
written on a printed letter head. There is
no such bank There is no Southwestern
press syndicate at Louisville. and most of
the printed drafts and checks found on the
prisoner were from banks that do not exist
The prisoner made confession and
EXPLAINED HIS METHODS.
Eighteen months ago he left this city.
went to Philadelphia and there had all his
tod
St. Paul and then to Fort Worth and Dal-
las, Tex. He commenced his swindiiug
operations in the latter city From there
he went to Los Angeles, Fresno. San Diego
and San Francisco. Then he Went to
Tampa, Fla, and from there 10
Jamaica. In the latter place he
met some old schoolmates from
England, was elected an honorary member
of the Jamaica club and had no trouble in
getting bogus drafts for 800 cashed. His
method was to represent himself as news
paper man, writing az article for a syndi-
cate on methods of banking in ali countries
He would present one of his bogus bank
drafts to the cashier and ask him
TO fill it out for some small amount
and sign his name to it. telling him fac
simile Of it would appear in his article. In
this way he obtained signatures and names
which he would forge in the next town.
Another plan was to present his bogus let
ter of credit for 5000, deposit for collection
Il draft for the amount ana get an allowance
of Il few hundred dollars GU it. He said
that the only bank that ever refused to
cash his drafts was the Bank of Havana,
Cuba.