The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-09-10

PITTsBURo, Sept. GA sensational
arrest has been made by Superintend.
ent G.. B. Perkins of the Perkins Union
Detective ageny, and Constable Morris.
They took into custody William Breez,
young civil engineer and clerk of
Greentree borough, who was later
lodged in Jail in default of $1,000 bail
on charges of forgery.
Breez is supposed to be the man who
has made life wearisome for large
number of local attorneys during the
last two years, through stealing letters
from their offices and obtaining there
from checks, whose signatures he after
wards initiated. Detective Perkins
thinks he may have cleared $40, 900 in
his operations.
It is possible he had accomplices and
other arrests may follow.
For months there have been a nun.
Der of mysterious thefts of letters in
law offices on Diomond and Grant
streets, Fourth avenue and other points
where the legal colony is most closely
grouped. The thefts were annoying
and embarrassing, as many of them
contained checks of great value, some
ranging up to nearly $400. The puz-
zhng manner in which they disappeared
in nowise helped to assuage the annoy
ance.
The police, who were notified of the
losses, thought that the solution of the
trouble lay in the postoffice, their
thory being that dishonest employees
were responsible fer the losses. United
States government detectives, who
were put on the case, believed that
street mail boxes were entered. Many
complaints were made from time to
time to Postmaster O'Donnell and In
spector Hooten, but it was impossible
for long time to get at the bottom OF
the mystery.
One of the most sensational thefts
was that of some mail from ex-Judge
Bredin's office some months ago, when,
among other letters taken, was one con.
tanning a draft for $1,000, which was
subsequently returned to Judge Bredin,
the purloiner evidently being of the
opinion that the attempt to realize ON it
would involve too much risk, and
further that it was of such an amount
as would justify keen search for the
thief.
A large number of letters, as devel-
opmentS demonstrated, were slOlen
from lawyers offices, which seems to
have been almost exclusively the chosen
field of operations of the slick operator
A number Of banks became involved in
the operation through cashing the ex.
tremely cleverly forged checks which
were foisted on them. About seven
months ago bold attempt was made tc
secure from the Commercial National
bank the money. on check for ovei
500.
The check was indorsed by Attorney
r. b. Petty, whose signature followed
that of the person to whom it was made
payable. The check was intended by
Attorney Petty to pay lumber bill in
an eastern town. This check was pre-
sented at the bank, but payment on il
was refused until Mr.. Petty could bt
communicated with, as there was obvi
ously something wrong about it, Later
one of the bank officers was called tc
the telephone and informed that the
check was all right and that the mar
who was talking TO him was Mr.. Petty
The official was familiar with Mr.
Petty's voice, and unthinkingly called
back that the voice was not Mr.. Petty's
whereupon the man at the other end 0.
the line left the phone and made hi;
escape.