Omaha daily bee., 1896-01-23
MINDEN'S SCHOOL Fund GONE
Treasurer Altmannsperger Added that t.
His Other Peculations.
AMOUNT OF HIS SHORTAGE INCREASING
Took All the Farmers Cash, Added
the school Money and spent II
in Riotous Livins-wnivcd
Preliminary Examination.

general manager Of the Siefert G. Weise
Lumber company's branch at Minden,
whose extensive forgeries have stirred up
the farming community in half Of Pot
tawattamie county, was arraigned for a
preliminary examination at Avoca yester-
day morning The information upon which
he was arrested contained two counts, each
alleging forgery and embszzlement to the
amount of $1,000 He telegraphed yester-
day morning to an attorney in Council
Bluffs to go out and defend him. A quick
inquiry into the facts alleged and the
statements made by Altmannsperger in
his own defense led the attorney to advise
his client to waive a preliminary hear
ing. This was done, and the court fixed
the bond at $4,000.
Altmannsperger was very popular in
Avoca and had many wealthy friends
there, but none OF them were willing to
60 upon his big bond, and after wander
ing around in charge of the sheriff until
after o'clock he gave up the attempt
| to get bail and went into confinement
temporarily in the Avcca jail, with the
| probability that he would be brought to
the county Jail in this city.
The Investigations made yesterday show
that Altmannsperger's peculatons will APP
proximate larger figure than was named
| in The Bees reports yesterday morning.
Fifteen thousand dollars is now the figure
| required to cover the sums that the lum-
| Der company and the farmers have lost
through his dishonest dealings. Altman
| sperger was also treasurer of the Minden
Independent school district, and check
| ing Of his accounts yesterday showed that
he was short s2,915 Henry Weise, the
chief stockholder of the lumber company,
is the principal surety on his school bend
and this will increase his personal loss.
Mr.. Weise says it will require several
days, and perhaps much longer, before
the full amount of the losses can be dis
covered. The heaviest loss will fall upon
| the lumber company, but many of the
farmers will also suffer, for he has OBJ
tained their genuine signatures to papers
that he afterward skillfuly transformed
| into promissory notes. Thssa notes he
disposed of and many of them are now in
| the hands Of innocent purchasers, who can
! enforce payment.
Altmannsperger yesterday made some eff
| fort toward restitution. Warranty deeds
from himself and wife were fled for record
| in the county recorders Office conveying
| to the lumber company a number of lots
| in the town of Mnden valued at $4,000 and
bill of sale covering nine head of horses
| worth $400.
The causes of the mans downfall are
laid to his extravagant habits and his de-
sire to enjoy all the good things there are
in this world. He built a $4,000 residence
in the l.ttle village and filled 1t with all
the comforts that money could buy. He
also travelled in fast class of bloods
whenever he went away from home. One
of his expensive fances was a dog palace
which he erected on his premises 1t is
said to be good enough for a governor S
| mansion. For the last three years he has
had this palace inhabited by an average
OF forty dogs. These dogs were blue
booded fellows. and like Atmannsperger
himself, nothing was too good for them.
Fer three years past he has kept a special
cook to prepare the daily menu for them.
He loved fast horses, too, and had a
stable that was conducted on a scale cor
responding to the magnificence of his dog
kennels. 1t was generally known that his
salary as manager Of the country lumber
yard was rdicnlously inadequate to his
personal expenses, and he posed as bril-
liant and successful operator on stock and
mining exchanges. His intimate friends
and the members of the lumber company,
however, deny this and say that he never
speculated. They now are compelled to
admit that all the money he so lavishly
wasted came from his sales and collections
for the lumber company and embezzlement
of the school funds. He was well known
in Council Bluffs Whenever he visited the
city he lost none of the enjoyments that
high living can give and his dinners at
some OF the high priced restaurants often
required a $40 b,ll In payment