The herald., 1897-05-11
"A BRIGHT LOT
Judge Allen Scores Some
City Merchants
-
UNPARALLELED RAscALl1Y
DISPLAYED IN MANIPULATING
A JEWELRY BUSINESS
The Story Of the Frauds Incident to
the Business Carried on At 1875
s. Spring Street

1t Is long time ago that the original
suit of Henry Susskind against Sheriff
J. G. Kline as defendant and A. 1. Hall
as intervenor was tried. Since then the
supreme court passed upon 1t, and yes
terday Judge Allen handed down an
opinion upon the facts as presented up
on the last trial Of the cause.
It was an action by plaintiff for the
recovery Of the possession of a stock
Of jewelry situated at 125 South Spring
street, alleged to be Of the value OF
$4,000, and for Judgment for such
amount in case delivery could not be
had. The defendant denied the owner
ship of plaintiff in such stock Of jewelry;
denied that he unlawfully withheld
possession, and alleged that he took
OF writ of attachment issued to him
as the sheriff Of the county in an ac-
tion brought by M. Wunsch ct al, plain
tiffs, against L. M. Wagner, defendant,
and that Wagner Is the owner of the
property. A. J. Hall, by leave of the
court, was permitted to intervene in
the action, and filed his complaint in
Intervention.
1.-The questions presented in this
case," says Judge Allen, "are of fact
only. The law of the case has been es-
tablished by the supreme court on the
former appeal Neither defendant or
intervenor have introduced any testi-
mony worthy of belief tending to show
that the purchase by plaintiff Of the
assignee of Wagner, in the first in
stance, was irregular in any respect,
or made upon any trust, or under any
arrangement other than the absolute
unqualified purchase and requirement
of title by plaintiff. The pretense that
that the purchase was made by plaintiff
acting for Wagner is not sustained, but,
on the contrary, it Is clearly shown
that neither L. M. Wagner nor j. b.
Wagner had any interest in the stock
of goods so purchased after the
purchase by the plaintiff. De-
fendant and intervenor, however con-
tend that, If this be conceded, yet J..
B. Wagner was, in fact. in possession
Of valuable stock of watches and dia-
mOnds before that time embezzled
from the insolvent estate; and that.
with the knowledge and consent of
plaintiff the stock of plaintiff and
these secreted and embezzled watches
and diamonds were so commingled as
to form an inGistinguishable mass and
for that reason in this action plaintiff
can only recover the goods designated
by him as his own, and comprising part
of the original stock, or subsequent ad-
ditions thereto by purchase.
A STORY OF FRAUD
"The testimony showed that in the
summer of 1892, l.. M. Wagner. s.mar-
ried woman, the wife of ]. b. Wagner,
was the owner Of stock Of goods, COM
prising watches. diamonds, and that
character of goods usually found in a
jewelry stock, contained at 125 South
Spring street; that at the time she was
indebted to various parties in about the
sum of $33, 900, $4,000 Of which was ow-
ing to parties resident at San Francis
CO, the balance to eastern creditors;
that nearly all Of the San Francisco
Indebtedness was due to M. Wunsch &
Co., a wholesale jewelry firm of that
city; that M. Wunsch, the senior mem
Der of the firm, visited the east during
the summer of 1892, and while there
learned of threatened legal proceedings
against Wagner by eastern creditors
He Immediately returned to the coast
and dispatched his partner to Los An
geles, for just what purpose is not clear
About the only thing which he seemed
to have reported to the firm on his re-
turn, however. was, that Wagner had
told him he was going to take out a lot
of the stock. and showed him bag con-
tanning large number of valuable
watches, which he intended to sacrete.
Whether acting upon this information
or whether the member of the firm was
sent to Wagner to propose the PROPOSE
tion, is not clear; yet it is clear that a
conspiracy was formed between Wunsch
and Wagner, by which Wagner was to
take out of the stock of goods an amount
sufficient to- satisfy the claims, of San
Francisco creditors. And, in an inter-
view with Wunsch and Hall, another
creditor, after the insolvency, he repre-
sented to them that he had taken out
plenty" presumably plenty" under
this arrangement.
Mrs Wagner went into insolvency.
A COOKED-UP INVENTORY
'Wunsch, representing the California
creditors, and Hall. the assignee, father
of one of the creditors superintended
the inventory of the insolvent stock,
Wunsch avowing his intention to have
the stock so inventorled that the eastern
creditors would get nothing, ard Hail.
the assignee, relieving Mr.. Bannister
from work as an appraiser because he
was appraising the goods at a fair value.
With this motive in view, it is demon
strated that the insolvent stock, worth
from eighteen to twenty-thousand dol
lars, part Of which was diamond goods
worth from six to eight thousand dol
lars, was appraised at less than ten
Thousand dollars, and sold to plaintiff
Tor little over seven.
At this stage disagreement seems
70 arise between Wunsch and Wagner.
Wunsch becoming distrustful Of War
ner, and demand Is made upon Wag-
ner, through Hail, to ship these embez-
zled goods to San Francisco. with a pro-
mise to return them by piecemeai 40
they could be run OF without knowledge
Of other creditors Whether WAGNER ac-
ceded to this proposition Is not shown
unless the denial Of Wunsch ana Hail be
credited. -~aA' y
After plaintiffs purchase ~ tha
stock Of goods. he employed !. B. Wag-
ner as his general manager, and con-
tinued the business until July 2e. 1eaa
wnen the attachment mentioned ID the