The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-07-21
A SHARP TRANSACTION.
Geo. r. Turner, of Amboy, Claims
to Have Been SWindled
out of $4,000.
Four Minneapolis Business Men
Are Indicted on the
Charge.
Three of Them Are Arraigned and
Plead Not Guilty--Their
Statements.

An important case or alleged SWIM
ding, in which an Amboy merchant
was the victim and loser, was made
public this morning for the first time.
although it occurred last March. The
alleged swindlers, or rather three of
them, were arrested in MINNEAPOLIS
yesterday afternoon by Sheriff Glynn
and Deputy Bowen and were brought
to this city last night to answer an
indictment found by the grand jury
last May. The county attorney has
been busy looking up evidence ever
since, and it was not until yesterday
that he was ready to have them
brought before the court.
The man who claims to have been
swindled is Geo. B. Turner, who has
for some years back been engaged in
the general merchandise business at
Amboy, but who for the past two or
three months has resided at Easton.
During the early spring he concluded
to dispose of his stock of goods, and
inserted an advertisement to that eff
feet in a paper. Archibald McDer-
mid, Minneapolis real estate dealer,
saw the notice and correspondent with
Mr.. Turner, and informed him that
he had purchaser. An agreement
was finally made whereby Mr. Turner
was to dispose of his stock to J. R..
Lewis, civil engineer of Minneapo-
lis. The goods were invoiced at
S., 200, but by the time Mr.. McDer-
mid went to Amboy 5000 worth of the
goods had been sold. The contract
was then closed, March 14th, and Mr.
Turner received $1,000 in cash and,a
mortgage of 81, 900 upon fourteen lots
in Sandy Lake addition to New Bos-
ton, which is two or three miles from
Anoka. Mr.. Turner claims that the
lots were represented to him as being
worth $500 each, but when he went to
see them two days after the deal had
been closed he found that they were
worthless Sand nils.
John R. Lewis sold the stock
to L. D. Kilbourne,a man whose bust
ness it is to buy and sell stocks of
goods, and formerly wholesale mer-
chant, and also of Minneapolis. This
man sold the stock to Rastus Cross,
Of Amboy, for $1,000.
1t is claimed that Geo. L. Harrison.
of Minneapolis, money loaner, and
formerly proprietor of notion store
on lower Nicollet avenue, helped the
deal along by offering to take the
mortgage from Mr.. Turner at small
discount. After the transaction he
refused to do this, claiming that he
thought that the property was in
Sandy Lake addition to Minneapolis,
where the lots are worth from $500 to
$500.
McDermid, Kilbourne and Harrison
were arraigned this forenoon on an
Indictment charging them, together
with John r. Lewis, with grand lar
ceny in the first degree, committed
at Amboy. March 18th. The indict-
ment charges the parties with con-
spring to obtain possession of the
SIS 900 stock Of goods of Mr.. Turner,
and giving therefor 81 200 in cash and
a promissory note for 81 900, signed by
John r. and Annie Lewis, and
mortgage on the lots above mentioned
due in one year. The lots are num-
bered from IL to %, block 5, and 20 and
30, block 26. The mortgage was dated
March 18th. The four parties repre-
sented, it is charged that the real
estate was worth $500 lot, while as
a matter of fact it is utterly worth
less, which was known to the defend
ants. 1t is charged that they stole
$4,000. Mr.. Turner was the only wit
ness examined in finding the indict-
ment, which is dated May 10th.