Evening journal., 1896-06-04
Is CAPTURED AT LAST.
Qaeen Of the Counterfeiters Is
Arrested In Brooklyn.
OPERATIONS IN SPURIOUS COIN

The Was Clever Enough to Evade secret
Service Detectives For a Long Time.
Made Hard struggle For Liberty.
Well Supplied with Capital and Brains.
NEW YORK. June Mrs Candslera
Bett.ni, queen OF the Italian band OF coun.
i5rfeiters. whose extensive operations were
stopped IN January by William p. Hazen.
chief Of the secret service as told IN these
dispatches at the time has been arrested
10 Brooklyn by Detective Frank EsQuirel.
The capture Is a most important one.
For ~ months the woman has evaded
the secret service detectives. She was with
her husband In a house they used In
Pomeroy street, Steinway, l.. l.. when
Chief Hazen's men raided 1t on Jan. l6
last and found Si6, coo Of counterfeit mon
ey there. Bettini and his confederatos
tried 20 escape, but could not. The
woman darted away from Chief Hazen' 3
men, disappeared through a door at the
rear of the house and was not again seen
by the detectives until Tuesday night.
Although 10 other Numbers OF the band
were captured. tried sentenced and are
now serving long terms In state prison,
Mrs. Bettini, who, IL WAS said furnished
the capital and most OF the brains for the
counterieitlng operations, escaped arrest
Mrs Bettini who Is 3S years old, is the
mother Of four children. The oldest is a
girl of ls years. the youngest girl Of G.
and the boys are and 10 years old re-
spectively. It was the woman's love of
her children that led TO her detection and
arrest. All four OF the children were in
the Steinwny house on the night OF the
~.
days, in the belief that the mother or some
Of her friends would ccSie for them.
detective was placed on guard to watch for
any visitors whose movements might fur
nish a clew 60 Mrs Bettin's whereabouts.
But she was too crafty to be caught In
that trap. She neither returned TO the
house nor sent any of her friends.
children Turned over to a Society.
Finally the children were turned over
to Brooklyn society, which cared Tor
thom until March. Early In the month
Mrs. Mary Purpurasth woman's mother.
asked to be allowed to take charge of
them. Her request was granted, and she
took them to her home In the tenement
house at IS Union street, Brooklyn.
This was the real home Of the Bettinis,
their Steinway place being used mainly
as a depot for the distribution Of counter
felt money. The woman did not want her
neighbors at SO Union street TO suspect
her Illegal business, and for this reason,
the detectives believe she took the house
on Long Island.
The Union street tenement house. had
been carefully watched for months with
ont result, but about 9 o'olcck on Tues
day night Detective Ksquirel saw Mrs.
Bettini enter the house He followed her
to the fifth aoor She tried to summon aid
when she realized that she had been dis
covered. Before she could spread an alarm
the detective had handcuffed her and hur-
rled with his prisoner from the building.
She struggled hard, but was no match
physically for her captor.
Commissioners Morle yesterday held her
In SIS, 900 bail for examination. Mrs. Bet
TIM cannot speak English. She understood
that the sum named was 81, 500. and told
the interpreter tlfat she world produce II
at once. When madeaware of hor mistake,
she gave up all thought OF being released
and was taken to the Raymond street jail.
Her husband Is confined there awaiting
trial, his bail being placed at $40, 600 also.
Mrs. Bettini's offer to produce $1,000
for her freedom strengthened the belief of
the detectives that she is woman Of con-
siderable wealth. She is credited with
owning Several tenement houses In Brook
lyn, besides personal property the value
OF which no enc has,as yet boon able TO
estimate rho has made most OF her mon
ey. the detectives say, from acting as dis
trhuting agont for the band Of counter
feiters now serving, out theirsen tences.
She has been In the United States ten
years. She is bright and alert Her flrst
husband John Brandino, was sentenced
to the Erie county penitentiary for eight
years for counterfoiting. He died In 1899.
ard she married her present husband two
years ago
Chief Hazen has given much attention
so the efforts to capture Mrs. Bettini, and
George r. Bnag, his deputy in this city,
has directed the work personally. They
arc elated over the capture of the woman,
as It will complete the downfall Of the
most desperate and successful band OF
oounterfeiters the secret service bureau
has had to deal with recently.