St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-04-17
CAUGHT IN A CRIME.
Copeland G. Snapp, a North
ern Pacific Clerk, Under
Arrest.
He Confesses Having EmbeZ-
zled $4,000 by Means OF
Raised Checks.
Uost Of This Sum Was Squan-
dered on Women and Fast
Living.
Court Records Show This Is
Not the First Crime Com
mitted.

"Mr Snapp. you are my prisoner"
said Sheriff Bean a. o'clock yesterday
afternoon. as be placed his hand on the
shoulder Of Copeland &. Snapp, who for
four years has been The trIsted commits
SION clerk Of the Northern Pacific rail
way company at their general office in
this city.
II was CHASTITY white face that the
man turned toward the sheriff. and a
startled exclamation fell from his lips,
and then, without another word, he
drew on his oyercoat, cast parting
glance at his surroundings and accom-
panied the officer to the Jail. 1t viii be
rude shock TO his hundreds Of
friends in this city 80 read this morn
lHg that Cope j. Snapp is behind the
bars accused Of cmpezzIln2 "a, rs from
The Northern Pacific Railway company
and that he stands convicted by
his own confessions This cOnieo-
sion was made short time after
his arrest 10 Charles =. Fee. general
passenger agent, and John G. Bullitt,
attorney for the Northern Pacific. The
period Of Snaps embczzlement eX-
sends over wear. and
Has StcaIln@s
have been carried Oh IA a way that
prove hun TO be one OF the cleycrest Of
criminals. The prominent position
which he las occupied in social circles
Of the city and his CONNECTIONS both here
and elsewhere lend the affair
more on less OF sensational
character. The system used by
him n delrauding the company
was TO raise checks after they had been
signcd and returned 10 him TO send to
the parties for whom thcy were drawn.
Ills business was TO look after the com
missions which are paid by
the company to agents all over
the United States for selling tickets
over its lines. me list Of names mum
'bcred about ., 600 monthly, and this was
given to Snapp, who drew mp checks for
1hc amounts due. These were signed
and returned to Him. He would then
raise the amounts, cash the checks and
retain the difference between the true
and forged amounts. He would then
enter fictitious names on his list and fill
Out the same, so that the amount paid
out balanced with the figures upon his
list, aud, as he
Had Exclusive Control
Of THAT department he was able to avoid
Diet, ZION for a long time.
At 80 Nina avenue he has Il happy
home, but. it reports be true, the prls-
Oucr expended but reasonable amount
on his household The rest was Law
ished ON women and wine in the down
town resorts, aud he has squandered all
OF his ill-gOtten gains in this
way. His experience in matters
OF the nature THAT has now placed
him i'm jail is not new. In 1850 Snapp
was employed in the tax collectors OF
fcc at Louisville. KY. There was an
investigation of the affairs of the Office.
and il was discovered that be
tween $3.50 900 and lO0J0O0 had
been embczLled therefrom. Ferguson,
the tax collector, Levi and Snapp, his
chief assistants, were arrested, tried
and Convicted The two former were
sentenced to the pemtentiary. Snapp
appealed his sentence to the court Of
appeals Of the state, which set
aside the judgment Of the lower
court on mere technlCallJy
in The trial and he left Louisville, where
he was born and raised, a free man, but
guilty one in the eyes of the citizens.
Nothing was known of his whereabouts
until four years, when he came to st.
Paul, and being a man OF good address,
brilliant aud capable. was gwen the po-
sitiOn already referred to.
A GLOBE reporter called at the jail
last night, but Snapp had requested
that only three persons, whom he
named, be allowed to see him, and his
request was complied with. During his
confession at the Jail he broke down
several times and said that the stealing
had become a mania with him He had
tired to stop it several times, but with
owl avail