The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-03-30
A PORTLAND BIGAMIST
Who Has Been Arrested No Less Than
Sixty-tWo Times.
SENTENCED IN MONTREAL FOR
CONSPIRACY AND FRAUD.
He aud His Two Accomplices Let Off
With Light Fine ON Condition That
They Leave Canada-A Great Travesty
on Canadian Justice.


They Leave Canada-A Great Travesty
on Canadian Justice.
Especial to the Press.l
MONTREAL, March 29.-One of the
greatest travesties on Canadian justice
ever known took place here today, in the
Court of Queens Bench. 1t is the talk
of the city tonight, and denounced on all
sides, some even going as far as to say
that it puts premium on crime.
The parties who were on trial were w.
A, Shepard, ST., w. A. Shepard, Jr., and
a man calling himself Charles Hamilton.
Some two years ago they came here and
opened an ostensible employment agency
Then branches were opened, and they
began to advertise for partners. The re-
suit was that in little over ten months
they had raked in over $40, 900 in amounts
running from So to $400. This was done
by means of the partnership racket. not
by promises of obtaining employment.
The people swindled, as rule, were too
poor to prosecute.
At last, the Canadian secret service re-
ceived so many complaints that the mat
ter was taken up, and the most astound-
ing revelations were made. 1t was dis
covered that Shepard senior, besides be-
sides being swindler, is bigamist, and
has been arrested in number OF cltles
in Canada and the United States for the
same practices, while Hamilton, who
speaks seven languages and was the prin-
cipal confidence man of the gang, is a
graduate of Oxford, and is wanted in the
Old Country for swindling.
The evidence was brought before the
grand jury who at once returned three
indictments against each of the trio, two
for conspiracy and one for obtaining
money under false pretenses. They
were at once arrested and bail refused,
and on Tuesday last brought UP for trial,
which went on until this afternoon,
when a sensation was caused by their
pleading guilty in all the indictments.
They were at once sentenced by Judge
Taschereau to pay fine of 500 each or
six months in Jail, in one case, while
sentence was suspended in the others.
To say this created a sensation puts it
mildly, for every one was astonished; as
the sentence could have been seven
years. What it meant none could say,
but as the Shepards at once paid their
fines they We're released, while Hamilton
was taken to Jail.
Only two minutes after they left the
court room, Detective Grose came in
with another warrant for all three ON a
charge of conspiracy and robbery, the
action this time being brought by a
yeung farmer of Montcalm named A..
Ryan. But the prisoners had flown, ex-
I,n OF arpacfoH
on the new charge. Ehe detectives at
once had every outlet from the city
aroused and expect to capture their
men before morning.
The career of Shepard, ST., is one of
crime for twenty years, and although
often in the hands of the law, he has
managed to escape easily. The first of
Shepard, ST., that is known here is in
1872. At that time he was running fake
agency in Winnipeg and while there he
was married to Miss Elizabeth Fleet by
Bev. G.. J. Young. He remained in VIM
nipeg quite while, but at last was ar
rested and after being fined left with his
wife and five children for Toronto. There
he ran another agency, but, instead of
the police driving him away, he ran away
with one of his female managers of a
branch office. deserting his wife and all
except the oldest boy, who is the one
now in trouble with him. His next move
was to New York, operating in Sixth ave-
nue. Capt. Williams drove him out of
there and at last he had to leave the city.
He then went to Halifax, but after a
while again fell foul of the police and
was arrested again. He managed to get
off on account of the slick way in which
his fake partnership papers were drawn
up.
From there he went to Concord, N. H..
and again got in trouble. His next
move was to Baltimore, from which he
had to leave in hurry, and there is now
a warrant against him. From there he
went to Portland where he was married
for the second time, thus committing
bigamy, as his first wife is still alive at
Winnepeg, having returned to her home
after be deserted her and her children.
The next move of the fellows was to go
to Montreal, and as they pretended to be
government agents the money came in
fast until the secret service broke up the
game. 1t is understood that the trio
agreed to leave Canada and never return
if they were fined, the court having no
power to Danish them officially. Detec-
tive Grose, chief of the Canadian secret
service, reported at II o'clock tonight
that the Shepards had not been recap
tured. In speaking of the sentence he
said: "With all due respect to the court
it was an outrage of the worst kind, He
said that no efforts would be spared to
recapture them. An officer has left for
Portland by the night train to try and Sc
cure evidence for the charge of bigamy.
A story is told here tonight that the
reason why the case was settled so quick
was that it would last over good Friday,
when the court does not sit and the
judge wanted to bring it to close. Ham
ilton said after his arrest that Shepard
had been arrested no less than 62 times,
and in most cases had got off, often with
out even fine.