The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-03-20
CARvALHO's EXPLOIT.
Remarkable Work Done by An Expert
of the Pease- Burr0weS Case.


with Microscope-Te1ltale Lines of
the Human Thumb.
Readers of the PRESS will remember
that Mr.. David N Carvalho, of New
York. figured prominently as an expert
in handwriting in the famous Pease-
Brurrowes case. His readiness and
brilliancy impressed forcibiy many spec
tators at that trial. who will be inter
ested in the following story told by the
New York World of an interesting piece
of work done by Mr.. Carvalho:
On the morning of Oct.15, s22, 800 was
found to be missing from safe contain
ing $50, 600, sent from the Bank OF COM
merce, of this city, to the "hloneS
National Bank, of New Orleans.
The loss was discovered in the office at
New Orleans of the American Express
Company, and there was no clue
to the thief, except false one, which
led the detectives fruitless search.
Then an expert in handwriting was
called in. H 9 began work upon the ex-
press envelope containing the key of the
safe, which it accompanied, and discov-
cred certain marvellous condolences,
one of which was apparently designed
to cast suspicion on the guilty man SO
as to enable him to prove his Innocence
But he was identified by the expert
through faint impression of his thumb
left in the wax of broken seal and
compared with subsequent impression
of his thumb. Finally from three other
points in the envelope his guilt was es-
ia blished.
T The money safe and the key therefor
which was in separate envelope, ar
rived at the New ..Orleans office OF the
on Oct. IA, 1888. Quincy, in his official
capacity, tore open the envelope In the
presence of another officer OF the COM
pany, opened the safe, glanced at the
contents andsremarked: Thisspackage is
in - bad order"
He threw the torn envelope in the
waste basket, and remarked that the
money ought to be counted. Ihen ne re-
marked that it might be unsafe to count
SO large sum late at night, in which
the other employee agreed, and, recover
ing the envelope locked it in the Office
safe. He was left alone in the office,
arrived there late the following morning
and when the money was counted the
loss was discovered The trial began at
New Orleans on Wednesday. before jury
of six men, in accordance with the Code
Napoleon, which prevails in louisiana.
The officers of the company and the
detectives first directed their attention
to the mysterious breaking of theemetal
seals on the safe containing the $50. 600.
Tt is an unusual thing for the metal
seals on money safe. of this kind, care
fully guarded all the way by trusted ex-
press messengers and constantly in their
view. to be broken while in transit.
There appeared to be no doubt that the
metal seals were missing when the safe
| reached ST, Louis. But the envelope
which accompanied the safe and con-
tanned the key had not been tempered
with, according to the testimony OF the
express messengers. Thus it was that,
while the safe and the envelope were
turned over along the route from one ex-
press messenger to another and carefully
receipted for at each transfer, when a
statement was also made by the messen-
gers as to the condition in which each
was received, yet no suspicious were en-
tortained that
Money Had been Taken from the Safe,
which all knew to contain a large
amount of money.
So large was this amount known to be
and so careful were the messengers of
the express company to guard the prop
erty which had been placed in their
charge, that on several of the runs" be-
tween Buffalo and New Orleans the safe
was concealed under piles Of mail pouch
es and ordinary express packages. in
case band of train robbers should
| /" hold up"the train. 1t is now believed
that in some of these changes, when
bags and boxes were being piled on top
of the safe or taken ,thereform, the metal
seals were accidentally detached and
broken. Nevertheless, the absence of
these seals when the loss of the money
was discovered at New Orleans was
naturally the first suspicious circunl-
stance which attracted the attention of
the company officials and detectives.
But this as it was afterwards, learned,
at once threw them on the wrong track.
| The investigation concentrated on the
"run"after the safe had left Cleveland
| mill the absence of the seals had been
| first noticed. Every man who had come
| in contact with the safe during that
| time was brought before the detectives
| of the company and examined. The
most minute facts were gone into. The
suspicious fact that brakeman got into
| the car at Cleveland and got out at
Toledo was Carefully investigated, GHo
brakeman was hunted up, his anteced-
epts were taken and movements previ-
ously and for some weeks following were
carefully noted.
| A horde of detectives worked upon the
case In his Office on Broadway in this
city, looking down upon the City Hall
Park and removed thousands of miles
from the scene of the crime, the theft OF
the money was fastened upon the prison
er by Mr.. Carvalho, the modern Sherlock
Holmes, who had already proved his
| genius as an expert in handwriting IN
many disputed will cases. But 1T was
not until after all the other detectives
had exhausted their ingenuity IN eX-
| planning the mystery of The broken seals
that Mr.. Carvalho was called In. He went
| to work on a new line OF investigation
the envelope containing the key to The
safe-and followed it to a brilliant sue
cess.
in fact all he said regarding his part il
the receipt of the money. was perfectly
satisfactory to the officers OF the com.
nany and the detectives. He had opened
The envelope in the presence of another
employee of the company, as required
by the rules. he said. and when the
money was counted, also in the presence
|