The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-07-08
HOW IT WAS DONE.
One of the Most Singular Gases in tn,
History of Bank Wreckinp.


Commenting on the case of Louis Gal.
lot, who was convicted in the United
States circuit court at New Orleans Tues
day OF abstracting and lnisappropriating
the moneys of the Union National Bank,
Of that city, the Picayune says:
"This case is one of the most singular
in the history of bank wrecking. The
Union National Bank was cleared of it's
money and utterly wrecked by two book
Keepers who never in the course of bust
ness had any opportunity to handle any
of the banks money. These two inpe-
Mus robbers had Matched up a scheme,
and, through the aid of some confed-
crates on the outside of the bank, were
able to sweep it clean of every dollar in
the vaults before the actual situation
was discovered, and when an empty tres
ury made manifest the fact that the bank
had been raided the most labored and
painful researches had to be made before
the cause and manner of the leak could
he discovered
The method by which the bank was
robbed was briefly this: One CT the con-
federates, Louis Gallot, for instance.
made occasional small money deposits in
the bank, and so became known to the
banks officials as depositor. His ac-
count was kept by an 'indivilual book
keeper who had charge Of individual ac-
counts alphabetically, from A to X inclu-
sive. This party kept Gallot's account.
When Gallot's checks were presented for
payment the teller would ask the book :
keeper if Gallvt's account WAS good for
the amount claimed The account was
falsely declared to be good.
The money was then paid, but it was
not charged tc Gallot's account There
was no evidence on the ledgers of the
bank that such money had been paid out,
and it was supposed to he in the banks
vaults. The other 'inuivdual' book
Keeper who had the accounts of deposit
tors from l. to u also had his confeter.
ates on the outside, and bet Keen them ali
the bank was iobbed of more than $780,
D00, with no entries on the books to show
the absence of the money.
This abstraction of the banks money
had been in progress for .years-nnder
the eyes OF the banks other officers,
without discovery. The official govern
ment bank examiners came in due course
at frequent intervals AMI examined the
condition Of the hank and found nothing
wrong.
9 But a hank cannot carry on business
forever without money, and this fact
was finally realized. In Septembe
1885, panic in the local money market
developed and it caused IL withdrawal of
deposits from the various banks in the
city. The bank officers at once made
preparations to meet the situation, and
they naturally counted their money and
mustered their resources
when the president of the Union Ma.
tional Bank went to count his money he
was astonished To find it was gone. and
not the scratch of IL pen to show whittier.
he closed his bank and mott fled tho aut hor-
tiles at Washington. After difficult
and tedious search, aided by the confes.
sions of bookkeeper Leefe the system
upon which the robberies had been con.
d"cted was revealed and the guilty par.
ties discovered. Nevertheless the crimes
were so thoroughly concealed that it was
with the greatest difficulty that the
proofs could be obtained upon which to
base an Indictment. Colomb, the book
keeper. who was Gallot's confederate,
escaped arrest and trial by suicide'