The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-08-07
ROPED In BY ROPER
The SWindling Mutual Loan
and Building Manager
Under Arrest.
MR.. JOHN ]. RENsHAWseoMPLAINT
-
As Us6al, the Loan That Never
ame-Exposed By "The Jer-
sey City News"
R. JOHN RENSHAWSCOMPLAINT

Osner w. Roper, the Pooh Bah of the
Swindling Mutual Loan and Building Syndi-
cate, of No. AZ Montgomery street, whose
peculiar methods of doing business, and
people at one and the same time were first
exposed by the JERSEY CITY NEWS was ar
rested last night by Detective McNally for
obtaining money under false pretenses. The
complainant is John j.. Renshaw, who
swears that on April 2 he applied to the syn
dictate for a loan of $1,000. He met Mr..
Roper, who told him tina the syndicate had
| S40,0 coo to loan. Renshaw, who lives in
Pennsylvania, said there were thirty-four
friends of his who desired to secure a loan,
and Mr.. Roper agreed to accommodate all or
them. He told Mr.. Renshaw that the pre-
liminary expenses in each case1would be $So,
and at the end of thirty days the loans
would be made. Mr.. Renshaw paid him the
SSS. When the thirty days expired he
called at the office of the syndicate to get
the 81, 900, but MI. Roper said that the con-
Germ had no money then to loan.
Mr.. Renshaw has called on Mr.. Roper
several times since, but on each occasion he
was told by Mr.. Roper that the syndicate
had no ready cash on hand. Mr.. Renshaw
finally concluded that something was wrong
and determined to nave Mr.. Roper arrested.
Roper was detained about an hour. and was
then released ON bail, for examination before
Justice Potts tomorrow morning.
A DELUGE OF
When THE JERSEY CITY NEWS some
months ago started in to expose the systema-
tic fraud Of the syndicate upon the COM
plant of a poor. ignorant Italian family, the
syndicate's officials complained through the
Eueniag Journal that the attack was wanton
and unfounded. TIL s'Back Number" de-
Tended the syndicate and carefully
ox1oi1ad naonfioOinn anu Of tho pOnlploInfS
which came tumbling in after THE NEWS
drew public attention to the leprous bust
ness. For months Judge Puster has had a
lively time hearing suits for ecovery of
money f~raudently demanded by Roper and
his gang, and in every case the Court gave
Judgment against the syndicate.
THEIR LITTLE GAME.
The plan of the gang was simple. They
advertised in out Of town papers in Italian,
German and French papers. -1mpecuniouS
people read the purposely misleading adyer-
tisements and caught at the bait SO tempt
ingly dangled before. their eyes. They
wrote to Mr.. Roper, who responded by
sending one or more representatives who
wear badges and make whatever promises
the occasion warrants. The company then
denies the receipt of the money and fepu-
dates the agent when the victim begins to
kick. If the deluded creature is willing to
make further advances the company will
SC1GIOdol1 dSCCPu uiiO 1'OAOJ csL0 u ~ IN
amount. 1t is then q simple matter to put
off the victim from month to month until
his patience and money are both exhausted.
Finally he is told he must wait twenty
years for a loan or at the end of three years
receive back 70 per cent. of his payments
and be kicked out.
THE NEWS has written of at least a score
Of cases, and ex-Judge Skinner of Hoboken
has a score more where in each case the
same course was followed.
Prosecutor Winfield, hearing of Mr..
Roper's performances, hauled him before
the Grand Jury and set an expert to examine
the books of the syndicate.
NICE KIND OF BOOKKEEPING.
This expert is Mr.. Richard G. F~essenden,
| one of the most able accountants in the
| State. He went through the books and found
that the syndicate coolly placed among their
assets amounts which belonged to liabilities.
| Not a loan could Mr.. Fessender find and
| indicted Mr.. Roper. He will be tried in
September.
This is not the first time Raper has been
accused of obtaining money under false
preteuces. Before he honored this city with
his presence he was living by his wits in
Massachusetts,. In company with others he
! was indicted n convicted of attempting to
swindle a person out of $4,000. For this he
served three years in the Commonwealth
P~enitentiarY.
After his release he moved from place to
place, organizing one bubble company after
another, of a confidence game, bunco steer
ing nature. They did not thrive. At last
energies the mutual syndicate, the operation
of which bids fair to rid Jersey City of a
most undesirable citizen.
A year or two ago he was proposed by ex-
Judge Roderick b. Seymour, counsel OF the
syndicate and one of its trustees another
trustee, Cochran, was sentenced last week to
Gra -ao-t .A, n~tr anrn,apf in EnlnroHn for
fraud, as a member of a masonic lodge in
the city.
Mr.. Robert A. Simpson, district deputy,
learned of this and blocked Mr.. Roper's pro-
position. Such a membership was deemed
too much of an honor for the Jersey City
Moconc