Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-12-06
CHECKS ARE RAISED
BELIEVED TO HAVE ooSFnDER-
ArEs IN THE rosrorFIcE.
The Work Done Was siicE-st That
Has rver Come TO Notice of tho
". Louis Police.

st. Louis, Dec. 6--Thc gang OF mall
box robbers and check raisers that
worked In this city Is believed to have
had eonfederates In the ST. LoulB post
office. Inspectors are now believed ia
be conducting an investigation aionH
this line. although Mt the office OF
Chief Postal Inspector johnson, no In.
formation is given out for the press.
Following the robbery OF three mail
boxes. II will be remembered. checks
were extracted from number OF let
tiers. raised to any safe amount and
cashcd at several 81. Louis banks
through the medium OF forged endorse,
ments. The exact amount for which
thcse banks were vietimixed In NOT
known, but 10 In the nelghborhood OF
si0OO--a pretty good haul for ths
crooks, who turned tho trick In about
two days.
The manner in which the malls were
robbed Is as yet only matter Of con.
lecture None OF the three boxes int
which letters that wers tempered with
were dropped were broken open. This
leaves only three ways In which this
crooks could have stolen thu letters.
Either they were pulled out OF full
boxes with wire, the locks were
picked or opened with a duplicate key.
or they were stolen by some ono ems
ployed In the postoiiice department aud
turned over TO confedorates who raised
the checks. forged the signatures OF
the makers and cashed them.
TrHpector Williams, In discussing this
mystery with several government ems
plvS ~. eald this morning that tha
crooks certainly had assistance from
some employe OF the pogtoffice departs
mcnt. A reporter overheard the statc-
ment, but when the inspector was
questioned he refused to discuss ths
matter or commit himself further. HI
SAID no Is not working on the case and
knows nothing about II.
Since the banks were 30 neatly
worked on the raised checks extra pre-,
cautions are being taken. and 1t IL safs
to say that II Will be Ions time be.
fore an unknown man can cash chocl
at ~. Louis bank. no matter who II
| In drawn upon. The game OF thu
check-ralsers is up nnd II Is not be,
iieved that any more crooked WORK
will be done here by them. One theory
Is that they are New York ana Chicas
20 crooks. who dropped In hcre Iona
enough TO turn trick and left. Thoy
are believed to be high-claBssd fellows
who have only men enough to carry
out their schemes.
Hcnceforth the banks viii urge theip
patrons TO punch the amount of their
| checks In tho paper 10 that they nan-
not be raised. Peter Wolffe. two OF
whose checks were raised, has already
bought punch.
THIS prccRution VIII not avail. how.
| ever, where such smooth men as have
| Just worked tho st. Louis banks are
to be commended with. All they require
IL copy Of a signature, and they cnn
arrange the rest. A. was shown by the
work they did here. The Wolfe checks
were completely changed Nearly
every word on the face OF the check
was changed and new wording substi-
tuted. and then the signature was 90
skillfuliy forged that Mr.. Wolfe, hims
self. ut nrst pronounced II genuine.
| II was not n simple trick Of raising q
- check to $500. They paid no atten.
tion 70 the reading OF the check and
made ernaures wherever they saw nj,
even substituting different names a.
| the pnyee, apparently without trouble.
And the acid did not in1ure the paper
or leave any stain or other clsw By
which the fraud could be detected.
Altogether II IL the smoothest gang
that ever operated In ST. Louis and
their trick In entirely new. The au-
thorittes have no Glow Whatevur. ~