The herald., 1896-05-05
CONSPIRACY 70 DEFRAUD
Those Now in the Tolls Are but
Agents
PRINCIPALS ARE AT LARGE
In Using Dupes They Have Considered
First Their Safety
Remained Hidden In the Background While
Others Have Done the Dirty Work.
Full Confession Of One Of Them

Behlnd the bars OF the city jail are
three men, and with them will shortly
be more, as the result of the exposure
of a conspiracy to defraud, the like Of
which has not been heard of here before.
The ones now in the tolls are but the
agents of the transaction of the work;
the principals are known, but are still at
large. Whether or not the detectives
can work UP sufficient proof on which
to arrest and convict them is a problem
as they have evidently taken care to
look out for their own safety by using
their dupes to transact the dirty work
while they have remained in the back
ground.
Messrs. Newell and Cannon have late
ly erected a large block on Broadway,
between First and Second streets. OF
this E. p. Carnicle, whose Office is at
Third and Broadway, was the architect.
and Fred w. Strange the contractor. In
the city jail are Judge" A. NJ. Carpen-
ter, pseudo lawyer, who, it is said, is
not altogether unfamiliar with the in
side of penitentiary, and who has been
occupying deslToem in Carnicle's Of
flee; Frank Hamm, young man who
made Carnicle's Office his headquarters,
and George Mitchell employed as jan
itor of Mr.. Newells buildings.
These last three men are accused of
various offenses such as forgery, OBJ
tanning money under false pretenses
etc, and with their names are connected
Carnicle and Strange. The story of the
swindle and how it was worked is as
follows:
Some two or three weeks ago Messrs.
Newell and Cannon became suspicious
of a number of time checks which were
presented for payment, and which pur-
ported to have been drawn for labor per-
formed upon the new block. These
checks were all signed by the contractor,
F. w. Strange. Payment on them was
refused and hence the expose.
1t appears that Hamm is the maker
of the instruments, which are type
written, and in the following style:
This certifies that there is due to E.
Brent the sum of $12 for six days labor
at 50 per day on the Newell and Cannon
block, on lot 21s of block 2, Ords sur
vey. F. w. STRANGE,
Contractor.
' E. BRENT.
In the hands of the district attorney
are eleven of these instruments, each
made out to different party. all signed
by Strange and which were pronounced
| good by Carnicle. Hamm made out the
| checks inserting whatever fictitious
| name he pleased. Stranges name was
signed and the paper discounted where
| ever a purchaser could be found. S.
Carter Smith, money lender. accept
| ed about $400 worth of this stuff. and
when 1t was presented payment was re-
| fused. Smith took the notes to Hanfn,
! who protested that they were all right,
| which statement was Substantiated BY
| Strange and Carnicle.
Still he could not get his money, and
applied to Deputy District Attorney
Willis for aid. He was told that as the
three men all said the paper was good
the only way to recover was to place
mechanics lien on the property. To do
this Smith would have to secure the
signatures and affidavits of each of the
| men mentioned in the checks, and them
he could not find. In his dilemma he ar-
piled to Carnicle, offering $40 if he would
secure the names and oaths of the miss
| ing creditors.
| Carnicle. replied that he would if the
! $40 was paid upon the assumption of the
| job, but this was refused. Smith had
| meanwhile put the matter into the hands
of Earl A. Rogers. an attorney, with Of
| fees in the Nolan and Smith block at
Second and Broadway. A day or two
after the correspondence between Car
nicle and Smith. Judge" Carpenter
showed up with the architects letter
and offered to take the job of collect
ing the signatures for the $40 to be paid
upon the completion of the job. This
would not toh i'm. prove hard job. as
Hamm had signed the most of then,
and Mitchell the rest and the false and
fictitious signatures they had created
|
| Attorney Rogers saw through Carpen-
ters little game. but gave him the job.
! The latter prepared a mechanics lien
| for each of the eleven checks and de-
parted for the signatures. Yesterday
he returned with all the papers duly
signed, but had neglected to have them
sworn to before notary. Rogers re-
fused to dig up until they had been duly
attested.. This little thing did not worry
| Carpenter, and he departed on that jol,
| With him he took Mitchell who had
signed four of the checks, Hamm having
| Before eleven different notaries the
precious pair went yesterday after
noon and Mitchell to each and
every place represented himself as the
interested party and swore to the liens
and different signatures as his own
| Then they headed for Rogers Office and
on the way picked up Hamm.
Having become convinced of the per-
fidy of Carpenter and Hamm, Rogers
notified DistrictAttorneyWil who sent
for Detectives Hawley and Bradish. The
officers took positions in a side room
where they could see without being seen
and awaited events. At the proper time
in walked the trio, Carpenter, Hamm
and Mitchell and the Judge" planked
| down the sworn papers and demanded
his $40. A check for this amount was
made out, handed to him-and then the
gang was taken in.
All were ushered over to the station
and placed in separate cells. 1t was not
long before one of them wanted to talk
and he was given an opportunity. In
the presence of Mr.. Willis. the detectives
and a shorthand reporter the weak
kneed individual made full confession
of the whole plot. We signed the checks
expecting to get his "divvy," but has
as he claims, never received cent. II
was in hopes of getting part of the sac
that he perjured himself by swearing tc
the eleven different liens.
There has been between $4,000 and $300t
of this bogus paper floated, and the
eleven checks are but small portion o
the great whole. Now that the scheme
has been exposed 1t is probable that 8
flood of theirs will turn up, as it ts>knowi
that Hamm and his associates have
been issuing them for the past two Of
three months. 1t seems impossible fol
Strange and Carnicle not to have knowr
OF the matter as every check bore Mr.
Strange's signature. and he has severa
times attested to their genuineness whe,
questioned. Carnicle has also repeated
ly assured Smith that the checks wer,
all right and in no other way can the fac
be accounted for that Carpenter shove,
~, x.yitb tho 1after offorinU - ~