The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-11-20
WOMEN His VICTIMS .
A Swindlsr Who Selected tho Fair
! Sex as His Prey.
HIS MANY TH1EvIHe SCHEMES.

when Confronted by His Many Vic-
Tins the schemer Admitted His Iden-
tity and Acknowledged His Guilt.
Served Time For Stealing Diamonds,
New York, Nov. 20.-Ths police have
at headquarters James G. Hart. who
spent Is months In Sing Sing for
swindling a woman out Of $4,000
worth of diamonds In 1895, and whose
latest operations. carried on in New
York city, have consisted Of swindling
women out of sums Of money vary
ing from SIS to several hundred
dollars, their jewelry or what
ever else he could successfully lift and
carry away. When he was confronted
with q number Of his victims he con-
fessed to the crimes. Hart was arrest
ed outside of the Albemarle hotel,
from which he was rapidly making his
way after having swindled q woman
out Of $500.
Hart was arrested In December, 1895,
on the charge of grand larceny, he
having stolen diamonds to the value
of $4,000 from Mrs. Elizath de Ia
Barre. He pleaded guilty, the COM
plainant in the meantime having died,
and was sentenced to only IL months
in prison.
Since the time of his release from
prison in 1898 nothing had been heard
here of Hart until September last.
when Mrs. E. w. Zingsem, OF Brook
Ign, complained to the police that she
had been swindled out Of $162 by a
man who called himself ]. Iselin Ma
son, but whom she readily identified
as Hart from his photograph. On
Sept. 10 Mrs. Zingsem, who Is French
woman, inserted an advertisement in
a New York paper as follows:
"A French lady, being acquainted
with Parisians, speaking good English
French and German, would be willing
to transact their business abroad dur
ing the Paris exposition"
In response to this advertisement
Hart called on Mrs. zingsem and stated
that he was general superintendent OF
a corset company of Chicago. He said
he would like to employ her as agent
of the company at the exposition, but
would first have to communicate with
the company in Chicago. This he did,
he said later. and then engaged Mrs.
Zingsem at SIS per month. He told
her, however, that he should require
bond of SIS 900, the charge for which,
1892, would be refunded to her at the
termination Of her services for the
company. He got the money and dis
appeared.
His next victim appears to have
been Miss Rebecca L. Boyd, Of Lexing-
ton avenue, whom he employed as
governess for the family of his sister,
NOW living in San Diego, CAL He
secured $3.50 from her to pay her pas
saee to California.
Mrs. Herman Gagain, Of West Four
tenth street. on Nov. 3, was sWindled
out of nearly 500 after Hart had en-
gagged her to enter the service of his
sister in Bermuda.
On Nov. IL Miss Mary s. Gray, OF
West One Hundred and Eighteenth
street, entered into negotiations with
Hart, who was then under the name
of 20. G. Smith, of the Edison Mimeo-
graph company" to conduct a board
ing house for him, where the highest
paid employees of the largest corpora
ton in the city" were to reside. Hart
gave as his references Thomas A.
Edison and Colonel Lawrence Kip. and
it was after the negotiations with this
lady were completed by which Mr.
Hart secured three 500 bills from her,
that he was arrested.
In addition to those named a number !.
of other women and several old men
have lost money through Hart.