The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-23
CASE OF FRED BROOKS
Was He Victimized With Bogus
Check.
TELLS A STRANGE STORY AND
STICKS TO 1T.
Says the Paper Was Given Him by
Frederick A. Herman For Clerical
Check, Tiernan Has Disappeared
and There Is Trouble.

Fred Brooks, % years of age, and OF
respectable family connections in Salt
Lake. is confined in the city prison or
the accusation OF forgery, preferred by
R. Hollander, a Main street jeweler.
Brooks is charged specifically with
having passed a fraudulent check upon
Hollander, the paper being drawn upon
the State National bank ostensibly by
Frederic a. Teirnan, for the amount OF
SOS. Hollander cashed the check and
discovered later that there was no &C
count in the State National to the or
der of Frederic A. Teirnan. 1t is not
absolutely certain that such q person
exists in this instance, although the
Walker House proprietors have a faint
recollection of an intermittent guest by
that name. Brooks is Steadfast in his
statement that the check was rendered
him in good faith, for services per-
formed. There his responsibility in the
matter ceases, if his story be the truth.
Frederic A. Teirnan's name does not
appear in the city directory. There are
other persons of apparently the same
geneology, but none of them spell the
surname as it is written across the
signature blank of the check Herman
is the way it invariably appears in the
directory listing. The letter ''e'' is
transplanted on the check Another
feature of the Unacceptable paper is
that IT bears no number as is generally
the case by a business man who keeps
an accurate stub account of his bank
ing business
1t is said, however, that Teirnan is an
engineer who travels constantly in the
service of some big syndicate in the
east. His supposed speciality is that
1iFler ffoe Z !,
interests of intending investors. Fred
Brooks asserts that he has been en-
ployed for some time past by Teirnan
to perform certain clerical work The
mining expert has no headquarters in
Salt Lake and therefore this labor was
done at Brooks home. The date of
the check was May 90, yesterday. and
Teirnan must have been in the city to
have executed the paper, as it was a
fresh piece of penmanship, the ink still
revealing the sharp indentation of the
pen. Strangely enough Teirnan has
vanished. His name does not orna-
ment the registry page of the Walker,
although he is Feputed TO have always
stopped at that house when in the city.
He even wrote the check on the tour
list desk of the hotel. but none of the
attaches of that place saw him do it or
knew that he was in the house yes
terday.
The story of how the check was sue
cesSfully passed is not appreciate I'M
less it is known that there happens to
be q Svengali in this tale, one who has
eXerted a baneful influence over the
actions of young Brooks The name
OF the person who is able to cast a
hypnotic spell about the youthful pen
man is Tiernan, not Frederick Teirnan,
but Charles w. Tiernan. He possesses
the Dower TO compel obedience from
A mi, IL
Charles w. Tiernan is not in the least
acquainted with Frederic a. Teirnan,
for whom Brooks did work, although
Charles w. Herman is the closest friend
OF his hypnotic subject. This being clear,
the road is open to explain how the
check was manipulated.
AT O'Clock Saturday afternoon, Fred
Brooks entered r. EIollander's jewelry
store and asked to be shown some
watches. Mr.. Hollander personally at
tended TO the customer. He was not
acquainted with him, however. After
critically inspecting the line of goods
placed at his disposal. ne selected a
chronometer, to which was attached a
value OF $3.50. With studied dehbera-
ton the purchaser examined the time
piece. 1t was opened, closed. the
springs were a matter of much com
ment. He must be assured that it was
guaranteed to perform its mechanical
functions regularly. Then, with marked
emphasis. he decided to take the watch.
While these things were going on Sven
gall, or Charles w. Tiernan, just hap
pened into the place.
Why, hello, Brooks" was the ex-
elamation OF surprise, you here? What
are you doing-buying a watch?"
II was the most casual salutation in
the world. Hollander was readily en-
trapped when Brooks presented the
check Of Frederic A. Teirnan in pay
ment in the shopkeeper's mind the
Identification was complete. He was
anxious to make the sale and he cook
chances. The watch was delivered to
Brooks, and with it $3.50. The pur-
chaser and his opportune acquaintance
left the place together
Presently Hollander hurried up to the |
State National and made INQUIRIES con-.
corning the validity of his paper. 1t |
was then that he realized he was the |
victim of dupe. At O'clock he had |
Brooks in custody. When arrested |
there were found on his person the
watch and $26.S5 in cash
Brooks was interviewed at the Jail |
and his statement would seem to i'm
plfcate Svengah Herman, who was very |
earnest in his efforts to have the re-
porter suppress his name in connection
with the affair. Brooks used the fol-
lowing language:
Il am Innocent of any attempt to
commit forgery. The check was given
to me by Frederic A. Teirnan for work
performed. He wrote il on the desk
Of the Walker House about l o'clock
yesterday afternoon. l did not know
that he did not have an account at the
state National. l do, not know that he
has any account in the city. After [
got the check, Charlie Herman and I
irove around for a while, and then We
vent 10 the Hollander jewelry store
lie waited outside for me and then
anne in and spoke in surprised tone.
Ny folks have told me that he would
'uin me if l kept company with him. I
ion't want to implicate him. He and
were going TO Los Angeles to take
positions on an engineer corps near
here in charge of Joe Farck. secured
he positions. I don't know anything
lbout Frederic Teirnan except what l
nave already told. He is not in town
very often. 1 think he is now on the
way 10 New York"
/