The record-union., 1893-06-30

interest dealer, Fred Albrecht, cleverly
planned the scheme. Albrecht has
kspl in he ba kground, but one of his
looS, Charles Smitt, has figured most
prominently in the attempted swindle.
For several weeks past there have been
many deeds to valuable outside city
property belonging to wealthy men re-
corded in the City and County Recorders
once, apparently signed by the real own
ers and decided to mythical purchasers.
The intent of the swindlers was to
sell the properties to persons mex
perlenced in the matters of law, who
would not look further for a title than
the one deed, and who would not 90 to
the expense of having an abstract Of title
MADE. AS so great an amount of land
was thus apparently transferred the her
vest OF the swindlers would have been
1 hlgh IN the thousands of dollars if this
expose of their work had not taken
place. The confidence operators would
have thus been enabled to do m ore busi-
ness than all of the real estate dealers in
| this city com bined.
" The matter came to light through the
recording Of a deed to two blocks of
Adolph Sutro's property adjoining Sutro
lights The property is worth at the
present time about $4,000. The Deputy
! Recorders thought it strange that Sutro
should desire to sell the property, and as
the circumstances surrounding the offer
/ OF the deed were peculiar they determined
to inv estigate the matter. on Friday a
messenger boy appeared at the Record
er's Office with a deed for blocks 2l6 and
III OF Sutro's addition. The deed was
signed by \. Sutro and purported TO con-
vey to {. Eckhard of Alameda the entire
two blocks of fifty lots each. The mes
senger boy paid the necessary fees and
departed.
- AS Adolph Sutro is constantly dis
posing of property the signature was
compared with those on other deeds. 1t
was then discovered that the name was
always signed full, Adolph Sutro. and
never y. SutrO. Word was Immediately
sent to Mr.. Sutr0's Secretary, who pro-
nounced the signature forgery. Captain
Lees was then notified of the transaction.
and he has had Detective Chris Cox and
other officers on the trail of the Would-b be
swlndlers. The deed offered for filing
was sworn to before Notary Public John
L. Lyons. Mr.. Lyons says that the deed
was brought to him by Charles Smitt, a
man whom he had known n few months.
Smltt was accompanied by stranger
who said he was a. Sutro. Mr.. Lyons
sad: This is not Adolph SutrO.' Smltt
replied: oh, no; not at all; but he owns
property near his namesake.' Mr.. Lyons
stated that as he did not know a. Sutro
he would desire a subscribing witness to
4. SutrO's signature, which was already
on the deed. Smitt, who has been before
Mr.. Lyons several times in similar trans
actions, willingly affixed his name as
subscribing witness. The Notary Public
IS positive of this, but on the deed now in
! the Recorders office there is the name of
no subscribing witness. There is, how
ever, apparent evidence of a name having
| been taken out by the use of acids. There
are also several interlineations in the
| deed which the Notary Public states were
not there1when he acknowledged it. The
deed bears the date of April lst, but it
was not brought before Mr.. Lyons until
the 9th of May, and not offered for re-
cOrding until June I'd.
This goes to show that the swindlers
have gone about their business in most
deliberate way, and other facts tend to
prove that Albrecht and Smitt have been
carrying out their plans on a very extern
Sive scale. Since Smitt and the man pre-
tending to be A. SutrO called on Notary
Public Lyons, John IL. Grady, the real es-
tate dealer, has come to Mr.. Lyons and
informed him that Smitt has been record
ing deeds to customers of Mr.. Grady
without their having any knowledge OF
| the transfers. These were all to unim-
proved land in the Mission, and to which
the recording Of deed would hardly be
noticed.
In all it is supposed that Albrecht.
Smitt q Co. have had illegally recorded
deeds to property worth several hundred
thousand dollars. They expected that
the recording of the deeds would pass un-
noticed and that they would reap a rich
harvest from the sale of them to pur-
chasers who would unbeedingly jump at
the low prices they offered.
"Albrechts connection with the deals is
not prominent, but he is supposed to be
the ringleader of the gang. Smitt and
! others are supposed to be simply his tools.
AIbrecht frequently accompanied Smitt
on his trips to Notary Public Lyons. AL
brecht vouched for Smitt, and as Lyons
has known Albrecht for over ten years he
supposed that there was nothing wrong
about their deeds. Smitt is said to be a
relative by marriage to Mrs. Worthing-
ton, who shot and killed Henry Badde-
lew