The herald., 1894-11-03
A SKIIILFUL SHARPER
THE MAN WHO FOR THIRTY YEARS
DUPED THE PAWNBROkERS.


Who Preyed Only on tho shrewd Money
Lenders-MakiDg High Priced Stones For
a Few Dollars-The Watch SwindIe.
From brief dispatch dated San Fran
cisco, received in this city, the police and
others learned Of tho suicide of famous
character in criminal circles known as
Diamond Bob. His proper name was Rob-
ert Ashmead, and he spent oil but 90 years
Of his lifo swindling pawnbrokers In the
big cities of this country and Europe. So
successful was he, strange as 1t may seem
TO those who have he'd dealings with tho
willy money lenders, that at one time he
was reputed to be worth 100000 Dur
Ing the 30 years he was engaged in his
operations he was arrested but once, and
then he was in custody only few hours
In this city. The pawnbroker who had
been swindled failed to prosecute Diamond
Bob, for he believed 1t would injure him
II 1t became known he had been success
fully imposed upon in lending money on
diamonds.
In searching about for some one who
knew Diamond Bob we'll found the very
man who caused his arrest for the only
time at the Vanderbilt hotel.
80 Diamond Bob is dead, you say"
the detective said when 1 broached the
subject. well, Of oil the queer and pecul-
lar criminals this land ever gave birth to,
that fellow Ashmcad was the queerest
and slickest. Peculiar cuss he was too
Had a heart as big as an OK. What do you
think? The man could never get it
through his head that he was committing
crime by swindling pawnbrokers. No,
sirl And he was honest In his belief too
don't believe he ever willfully wronged
or stole from any one but money lender.
No, there was no sentiment connected with
his selecting and pursuing pawnbrokers
He was a smart crook and believed he
was smarter than nine-tenths Of the money
lenders, and he proved 1t. There isn't q
pawnbrokcr in this country or in any Of
the big cities Of Europe who doesn't know
Diamond Bob. He has been q sort OF
Nemesis to the money lenders for quar-
ter of century at least. Pawnbrokers
associations have been after him for years,
but thoy never caught him, and his name
used to be rung into the prayers of every
good pawnbroker's family every night In
the year.
"And the poor follow committed sui
eide; chr Well, welll How some people
will rejoico''
''How did he get the name Diamond
Bob'" I asked.
'Well, it was just like this: Some years
ago he put up one Of the most artistic
swindlcs imaginable on all the money
lenders Of the eastern cities. He met a
poor diamond cutter one day who was in
tho hardest kind of luck, through nobody's
fault but his own. Diamond Bob saw a
fortune in this fellow if he could only get
him to do as he wished, and there was lit
tie difficulty encountered, assure you.
Tho diamond cutter had got SO far down
he was ready to commit almost any crime
to get rum. So, when he was we'll paid for
filling diamond shells with opal in an ar
tistic manner, he didn't ask any questions
as to whether they wero to be used in
swindling.
'By taking the shells of diamonds left
by tho cutters in the big jewelry establish
ments and dcftly placing opal in the mid
do of them and scaling the cavity with
paste diamonds Diamond Bob had q
gem apparently of the first water that
shono with wonderful brilliancy. He
pawned this 'fake' diamond at night, when
it was in its highest state Of brilliancy.
Tho money lender could apply all Of tho
tests, as the shell was the genuine article.
1t would cut glass the Same as good dia-
mond. Well, Diamond Bob turned out
hundreds Of these bogus gems and pawned
them in all the pawnshops Of the eastern
cities for sums ranging from $25 to $3.50
before the swindlc was detected. AS the
stones cost him only few dollars apiece
it can be readily seen how great was his
profit. 1t is no exaggeration to say he
swindled tho money lenders out of q cool
$780, ON his novel game, and when the
al -
christened Ashmead Diamond Bob.
''It was Diamond Bob who took about
$50, 900 from the pawnbrokers Of this
country a few years ago on what the po-
lice knew as tho watch swindle 1t was
an exceedingly ingenious scheme to beat
the money lender. 1t is pretty we'll known
that man can secure loan of at least
$3.50, and oftentimes as high as 5000, on O
certain make Of watches. A pawnbrokcr
will take tho watch of such make as
quickly as he will take diamonds, the
name that is on the works of the watch be-
ing the guarantee Of its genuineness. Ono
of these firms places its name on tho in
side Of the cover in letters that are cut into
the case and enameled over inswhite. Dia-
mond Bob secured the services Of skill
full matchmaker and set him to work
First they bought q number Of the watches
Of genuine make. These can't DO had for
less than $400 apiece. They then took out
the movements, which can be sold back to
tho manufacturer for three-fourths of the
value Of the watch or about $500. They
returned the works, only retaining ono of
them to copy from. Next they bought
lot Of ordinary watch works that cost them
about $25 apiece, which were fitted into
tho genuine cases. The namo of tho man
ufacturer was forged on the movements, SO
that it couldn't be told from the original.
After this was done the doctored watches
were circulated among the money lenders,
who took the bait without the least sus-
picion. Hundreds Of these watches were
pawned almost simultaneously in all the
big cities east and west, Diamond Bob
and his companion, whom ho had taken
into copartnership, visiting ono money
lender after the other as fast as they could
travel. New York Herald.