The herald., 1894-11-20
THE P|IzEL INSURANCE SW|NDLE.
True Bills Found Against the
COnspirat0rs.
Lawyer Howe of st. Louis Taken in
Custody.
Pitze1 Believed to Be Living in South
Amsrica-Trsin Robbsr Hedg-
peth Exposed the
Plot.
By the Associated Press.

jury lbte THIS hIt6ruOOn lounu true Ulll
against Herman Mudgel, alias Fl. II.
Holmes, now a prisoner in Boston !;
Jephtha B. Howe. the st. Louis lawyer
who collected the insurance money
on B. F. Pitzsl's policy for the latter's
widow, and the widow herself. The in
dictment reads for conspiracy to cheat
and defrsud.
Alexander Mcknight, vice-president
of the Fidelity Mutual company, made
the following statement this afternoon :
while suspicion has grown until we
are nearly positive that B. f. Pitzel was
murdered, the only charge made before
tine grand jury was that OF conspiracy to
defraud."
II am positive that the body found on
September 4th at No. 1916 Callowhill
street, on which an inquest was held the
next day as that of B. f. Perry, is none
other than that of B. f. Pitzel." said
Coroner Axbridge today. II am not at
liberty at present to disclose my reasons
for this assertion, but if l were and
pointed them out you would be con-
vinced."
1t was stated this afternoon that Mrs.
Pitzsl had been arrested in Burlington,
VT, and made a confession.
The detectives have practically aban-
doned the murder theory and now think
they are on the track Of Pitzel in the
person Of q man calling himself B. +.
Lyman, whose whereabouts they refuse
to divulgs. They stated tonight that
Mrs. Pitzsl had made confession subs
stantially the same as that oi Holmes.
except that she believes her husband to
be in South America. She has not seen
him since the alleged crime was cons
mitted.
The insurance officiala profess also to
have received word that Holmes and
Mrs. Pitzel were en- route to this city,
having left Boston together. Mrs.. Pitzel,
it is said, was decoyed from Burlington.
VT, to Boston, by q communication
ST.. LOUIS, Nov. 19. -Jephtha d. Howe.
an attorney having an Office with the
law firm OF Mcdonald & Howe, of this
city, was arrested today on the charge of
conspiring with one H. II. Holmes to
defraud the Fidelity Mutual Life Insur-
anes company OF Philadelphia, out Of
$4,000.
Holmes. or H. II. Howard. as he was
known in this city. got into trouble here
last summer by selling q stock OF drugs
on which there was a shortage.
Late tonight Chief Harrigan decided
to talk concerning Howe's arrest and
the part he had in unearthing the plot
to deiraud tho Philadelphia concern.
Said he: marion G. Hsdgpeth, the
famous Glendale. Mo-, trainrobber, now
prisoner in the city Jail. has told me
OF Howe's efforts to smuggle him keys
and tools on various occasions to aid
him in his attempts to escape. Howe
is brother OF McDonald's partner and
Mcdonald ia He6gpeth's attorney.
"The first information l had was
from Hedgpeth. His letter to me and
the statement that followed, written by
him al my request, tell the story of the
discovery of the plot. They are as fol-
lowe:
October 10, 1894.
Major Lawrence Harrigan, Chief of Police.
DEAR SIR There has been 10000
swindle worked upon Philadelphia life
insurance company and possibly mur-
der committed III working 1t.
Seventy-fve hundred dollars OF
the money has already been paid
and $500 is yet in bank. owing to a
eQuabble over the fee that Howe ia
wanting for his part in it. | can give
some interesting information regarding
it, and perhaps cave the insurance conn
pany something il they are notified at
once.
[Signed.] MARION G. HEDGPRTH.
j. O. Armstrong, Jail guard, In q
statement, also in possession of Chief of
Police Harrigan, deposed that he was
approached by j. D. Howe for the pur-
pose of getting hiss assistance in secur-
ing Hedgpeth's escape. The statement
of Hedgpeth, before mentioned by Chief
Harrigan, is as follows:
"W hen IL. NJ. Howard wes here some
two months ago, be told me he would
like to talk to me. After we got ac-
quainted he told me he had scheme
by which he could make $4,000 and
that he needed some lawyer who could
be trusted and said if could introduce
him to one be would give me $500 for SO
doing. He told that Pitzsi's life was
insured for $4,000; that Pitzel and
he were going to work the insurance
company for that sum. He told me
how thev were going to do it. lie said
he was an expert at it and that he had
worked it before. and that, being a
druggist, he could easily de-
ceive the insurance company by
having Pitzel fix himself up
according to his direction and make it
appear that he was mortally wounded
by an explosion. and then put corpse
in the place of Pitzel's body and have it
identified as that of Pitzsl. In q few
days Mr. Howe came to me and told me
that Howard had been to him an /
introduced himself, saying l fecom-
mended him and that he (Howard) had
laid the whole plot open to him. Howe
told me that he would see that | got my
$500 if it worked, and that Howard was
going on east at once to attend to it.
"Howe told me it was the Fidelity
Mutual OF Philadelphia. When notices
appeared in the newspapers OF PitzePs
death, Howe came down at once and
told me it was only matter OF few
days until we got the money. Later
Howe and little girl think it was
Pitzels daughter-succeeded in having
the body recognized and identified as
that of B. 4. Pitzsl.
Howe told me that PitzePs wife Yves
privy to the whole thing. He says now
that Howard would not let Mrs. Pitzel
60 to Philadelphia TO identify the body
of her husband, and that he (Howe)
feels almost certain that Howard de-
ceived Pitzel, and that Pitzel, in
following Howard's instructions, was
killed, and that it was really
the body of Pitzel; that the policy was
made out to the wife, and when the
mt mi fn IN