The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-11-19
The Story Told by a Young
BuenOs Ayres Wife.
Her Husband, a Russian Jew,
Arrested in Brooklyn.
AN EXPERT IN FURS.
Smithman Married the Daugh-
ter of a Rich Furrier.
Then Decamped One Night With
Money and Jewels.

! New York, Nov. ia romance, De-
| ginning in Buenos Ayres, and involving
marriage and possibly bigamy, deser-
ton, and the alleged robbery of $4,000
in gold coin and furs and jewelry valued
! at So 200 was disclosed last night
| through the arrest of David Sm1thman,
| "a years old, at his home, 179 Chr1stopheF
! street, in the Brownsville district IN
| Brooklyn. The prisoner is the nero OF
| the romance and the alleged robber or
| the gold, furs and jewelry. Marie Ar1-
! bout Smithman is the heroine and VIC
tim, on whose complaint the arrest was
| made.
! Smithman is a Russian Jew and came
/ to this country but twelve years ago
! and settled in Brooklyn. He was an
expert in furS, and about four years dsO
| went to Buenos Ayres. While there ne
| called one day at the fur estabhshn
of Aribout & Co., in Florida street, ana
made application for a place IN the
7 store. Mr.. AribOut, the founder OF the
! firm, had been dead a year or two ana
/ the business was owned and manaSeu
| by his widow and his only daughter,
| Marie Aribout, who was then about ~
years old. Snithman was employed as
an expert filter. Within year he be
came the general superintendent for the
Ar1boutS, and through the IlnapcLeA az
| furnished by them branched OF IN the
/ tailoring business on his own account;
From the start he had shown marked
| attention to Marie. He used to send her
a pretty bouquet each morning. Finally
he proposed marriage to the young Wo-
man, and agreed to give up the jewish
! religion and become a Catholic. Marie
explained the situation to her mother,
and the latter consented to the mar
.riage. In September, 1894, the couple
were married in a Catholic church, ana
a reception, in which, it is said, some OF
the best people in BuenOs Ayres part1cl-
pated, took place in the marble home OF
! the Aribouts in the suburbs of the city
Within a few months after the mar
rage Mrs. Aribout. her daughter and
son-in-laW determined to move their
business to a more pretentiOuS structure
in Florida street and finally the negOtla-
lions for it's purchase for $4,000 in gold
were completed. On July l, 1897, the
coin required for the transfer of the
property was locked up in the safe or
Aribout & Co, and the lawyers had ar
ranged for the formal transfer on July
5. On the previous day Smithman, who
had always been great admirer of the
Stars and Stripes, gave a big banquet
in honor Of American Independence Day,
and it was after midnight before the
festivities were brought to close. on
the same night Sm1thman, II IS Sald,
disappeared, and on the following day
it was discovered that the $4,000 in
gold, we'll as a. lot of furs, gold
watch and chain belonging to his de-
ceased father-in-law, eight diamond
and ruby rings, diamond brooch,
coral and pearl brooch, three pairs or
diamond earrings, two diamond scarf
pins and one sapphire scarfptn were
missing.
For months and months no trace could
be found of Smithman, but finally
through the efforts of Mr.. Mayer, the
American consul, he was traced to
Brooklyn, and ten days ago his wife
landed in this port and put herself at
once in communication with the police
authorities in Brooklyn. A few days
ago she sWore out a warrant before
Magistrate Bremen specifying all the
money and other valuables alleged to
have been stolen by her husband.
1t was not until Friday that the de-
tectives learned that Smithman was
living at the Christopher street house
with a woman whom 1t is said he repre-
scented as his wife and four children,
ranging from months to years of
age. 1t was also found that for some
time he had been conducting little fur
store at SO Bond street. The detectives
kept watch both on the store and the
Christopher street house on Friday, but
no sign of omithman was seen at either
place. Shortly after O'clock last
night, however, Detective SergeantS
Harrington, Flushing and Donovan, who
had been watching the Christopher
street house and were accompanied by
Mrs. Smithman, saw a man closely an
swering MS description enter. Mrs.
Smithman is so shOrtsighted that she
was not positive in her Identification.
After the lapse of half an hour Har-
rington rang the bell and asked if Mr..
Smithman was at home. nice looking
little woman who came to the door said
that he was not in, and that as his
movements were uncertain she could not
say when he would return. Harrington
at once called MS associates ana started
on a search through the little modest
two-story frame house. He searched
through rooms and closets and even
peeped under the beds without finding
Smithman, but finally discovered him
naked in the bathtub with the water
Hello, Mr.. snithman," said Har-
ringtoni you voted wrong on election
day"
'iYou lie" came from the bathtub. ST
didn't vote at ALL
While Smithman was still in the tub
but with a robe thrown over his shout
ders, Mrs Smithman was escorted up
stairs, and on reaching the bathroom
was asked: "IS that the man who rob-
bed you?' ''It is she replied at once,
her dark eyes swapping with satisfac-
ton.
AS soon as Smithman had put on his
clothes and bade adieu to the nice little
woman and the four children, he was
taken to headquarters. Before his de-
parture from the house he had given
the little woman all the money in his
pockets, amounting to $35, with the ex-
ception of 81 and some small change.
In his pockets, 1T is said were found
the gold watch that had belonged to his
step-father, and some articles of jewelry,
in which, however, none of the gems
mentioned in the warrant was included
He told Chief Detective Reynolds that
when he left BuenOs Ayres he had taken
only $4,000 and the furs, and declared
that the watch and other jewelry had
been presented to him by Mrs. Aribout,
his mOther-tn-laW. 4SOt a word passed
between him and his wife while they
were in the room together at police
headquarters. The latter in very good
English, but with a strong Spanish ac-
cent, told her story. In comparing the
modest home of her husband at Browns
VILE with the house he had lived in in
Buenos Ayres, she said:
why, we had a marble home down
there, and my father spent $4,000 in
She is confident that the nice little