The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-24
AN ALLEGED SWINDLER
ARREST AT NEW YORK OF C. n.
FAGEN-BUsH, OF DENVER.
Charged with Forgery and Fleeing
Many PeOple-Evidence of IA Scheme
to Victimize Hotel Men.

NEW YORK, June &C.. N. Fagen-
Bush, a Denver real-estate broker. was
to-day arraigned in Jefferson Market Court
and remanded to police headquarters lie
is charged with forgery and the amount
mentioned is $S,0)0 The prisoner made
light of the charge against him and appar-
emily made no objection to going back to
Denver. He intimated that the case could
easily be settled, and that he had not been
guilty of anything criminal. He said he
had done some Western transactions, but
they were legitimate, and that he had re-
ceived less than $50 as his commission, The
fugitive was traced to this city a short time
ago, and w. H. O Brien. chief of the Denver
police, sent the Indictment TO the detective
bureau here with a request that an arrest
be made at once 1t was learned that the
man was engaged in some business in the
Knickerhocker building. where he occupied
a desk in the office of the Dramatic Re
view. A warrant for his arrest was pro-
cured yesterday from a city magistrate and
the prisoner was arrested to-day on Broad
way His picture was taken for the Rogues'
Gallery and the police of Denver were noti-
fled of his arrest
The detectives here found that Fagen-
Bush employed three women typewriters,
all of whom were busy at their machines
when the detectives appeared. These type
writer operators were writing letters adj
dressed to hotel clerks in various places
over the country, and these letters were or
such a nature as to arouse suspicious of
the police. 1t was then decided to search
the prisoners room, and there the detec-
tives found lot of printed and other ma
terial which led them to believe that they
had nipped in the bud a skillful scheme for
Wholesale swindling On the letterheadS
a mythical called the (
Merk Chemical Manufacturing Company
the following was written to various MOTEL
clerks:
Il will be with you in short time. Hold
my mail and kilograms. / have instructed
Messrs. Benedick and Riddel, jewelers., to
forward my watch care of your house;
should same come to hand before my ar
rival please receipt for it and oblige;
This letter was apparently to be followed
er in order to thus further inspire the con-
hdence of the hotel people, with this IN
scription: Stay there until we arrive
Harry is coming with us. G.
Having thus secured the absolute con1-
dence of the hotel keepers, the police think
it would not be strange If the latter should
pay $3.50 to the express company presenting
a box supposed to contain the watch re-
ferred to in the first communication.
About two hundred boxes neatly wrapped
and addressed to the person to whom the
postal card was addressed and correspond
ing with the signature attached to the let
ter to the clerks We're found. These were
opened and found to contain a toy watch
worth fraction of a cent nicely packed in
salt One or two genuine watches or cheap
est sort were also found in the boxes. Ac-
companying the packages, it is supposed by
the police, was a bin for the amount OF
81. so C. 0. d., made out on the billhead Of the
bogus jewery firm of Benedick q Riddell.
According to Detective Sergeant McCauley
the purpose of the scheme was to get the
clerk at the hotel TO pay $3.50 for the pack
age to accommodate a guest already an
nounced as about to arrive.
This money would be collected by the eX-
press company handling it, and would then
be RENTED to the alleged firm of Benedick
& Riddel, presumed to be the prisoner HIM
self, who had secured an office on Broad
way, which he intended to occupy in a day
or two After waiting a reasonable time
for the expected guest to appear me hotel
clerk would open the package and find its
contents worthless.