The evening times., 1899-01-14
IMPORTANT CAPTURE BY
SECRET SERVICE AGENTS
COUNTERFEIT PLANT SEIZED
Former Convict Said to BE Leader
of Dangerous sang Caught
in New York.

III SeW faFA
| New York, jan 14+Chief Hazen and his
| detectives of the United States Secret Ser
vice Bureau in the postofice building were
J in high feather yesterday, and they said the
reason was that they had in Ludlow Street
| Jail four counterfeiters. Three of them,
| they said were members of the band which
last summer had flooded Coney Island and
| Rockaway Beach with spurious dimes and
| quarters and had since done the same
| thing in Harlem. The other prisoner was
charged with passing counterfeit five and
| n-dollar bills.
| On Thursday secret service agents ar
rested two men, Giuseppe Longarbardo and
| Enrico Guidico, on the charge of being
counterfeiters, and United States Com
missioner Shields committed them TO Lud-
| low Street jail Yesterday morning De-
tective Flynn and Brown arrested Joseph
Walters, who, they declare, was the leader
of the band. In Walters possession were
| some counterfeit ten and twenty-five cent
| pieces, fine looking razor and bottle OF
! knockout drops-enough the detectives
said, to give its quietus to an elephant.
The detectives later raided Walters
! apartments, in a tenement in East Fifty
second Street, where they found coun-
terfeiting plant. There were forty-two
molds in the room, lot of metal, some
| melting pots and similar implements, and
! also ninety-three counterfeit coins.
| Secret service agents say Walters is one
! of the most expert counterfeiters in the
/ country. The coins he makes are very
! clever limitations and could not be readily
detected. They have a good sound and
| their only flaw is in the milling.
Walters was arrested in 1893 on charge
! of counterfeiting and was sentenced to i've
! years in the Erie County Penitentiary.
! Last year when he left the penitentlary
| he boasted that the secret service men
would never get their hands on him again.
Soon after Chic. Hazan received many COM
plants that counterfeit coins were in cir
| culation. and he concluded that Walters
| and his band had resumed their old opera
tions. Walters arrest yesterday it was
! understood, was through information FUR
nished by George Haers, arrested in 1on-
! kers a month ago on charge Of passing
counterfeit coins. Haers, before Judge
| Thomas in the United States Circuit
/ Court yesterday, entered plea OF guilty
and was remanded for sentence.
| When Walters was arraigned in the af-
! ternoon before Commissioner Shields, he
! was cool and collected Asked why he car
ried the razor. he said he was barber ana
| carried the razor TO shave his customers.
Asked why he carried the bottle Of knock
| out" drops, he replied that he had intended
/ to swallow the poison, but that the detec-
tives were too quick for him.
When the charge of making, selling
and passing counterfeit coin was read to
! him by Commissioner Shields Walters said
! inquiringly, Selling and passing? No.
Commissioner Shields pointed TO the for
! ty-two molds and other counterfeiting
paraphernalia which were spread on the
! table before him and said, That was
found in your rooms.
1t speaks for itself was Walters re-
ply L made them, but ! did not sell or
pass them.
To the charges of making and having in
! his possession counterfeit coins Walters
pleaded guilty. but on the charges of sell
| ing and passing the coins he waived eX-
| animation. Commissioner Shields fixed
the bail at s. 900, and. as Walters had no
! bCndsman. he was committed to Ludlow
| Street jail
A woman named Click. housekeeper
| where Walters counterfeiting plant was
| found. was taken to the Oak Street po-
lice station yesterday morning by Secret
Service Agents Henry and Tyrrell and held
| there as suspicious person. Later she
was arraigned before Commissioner
Shields. who committed her to the House
CT Detention as witness.
After Walters had been disposed OF
Chief Hazen arraigned before Commits
sioner Shields Salvatore EspoSto. of 205
Mulberry Street. He was arrested on Null
berry Street by Secret Service Agents
Flynn and Brown, and the charge against
him was passing counterfeit 50 and s.
| bills. He had several of the bills in his
purse when he was arrested, and Commits
siOner Shields and Chief Hazen both said
| they were dangerous counterfetis
Espcsitc. it was alleged, sold the 50 to
any one who would take them for so cents
! each, but charged 81 for the So counter
feits. The Government officials say Es-
posito is a member Of the same gang OF
! counterfeiters as Brancatc. who has been
/ sentenced to five years in the penitentiary.
| and Angelo Lamar. who was arrested last
| Saturday as he was about to sail for Cuba
Esposito pleaded not guilty TO the charge
| against him, and in default of 50 coo bail
| was committed to Ludlow Street Jail