The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1899-01-25
CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP co.
SAN FRANCISCO, Cal
L0UisYILLE, Ky. NEW YORK. n. v.
WEST PORTALS DIG sWlNDLr.

Daniel Webster Losic, alias George
Rivers, il locked up IN New York
awaiting the arrival of cxtradition pap
ers from New Jersey Losie was ar
rested on Wednesday week before last
byJcrsey City detectives. He is want
ed on many charges of swindling, but
his most gigantic scheme to deirnud
was worked successfully Mt West Por-
tai, this county. Between 200 and
! 800 Italians were Losie's victims.
These men paid the swindlcr from 50
to rs each for securing work for them
nj ~ day This was i'll the summer
mud fnll Of 1877 Tho men were taken
from New York to this county, whore
they were placed nj work ON what be-
came known rs the West Portal Mys-
terry. Iosio intimatcd that n great
city was to spring up Mt that point. lie
allowed the rumor to becirculnted that
Coils =. Huntington and other weal=
thy iinnnciers were interested with him
in the project. Losie never paid the
laborers Il cent. and whom the payroll
had renehed nboul $40, 900 he dis
appeared.
Stephen Goliath, contractor of
sos Wcst Eleventh street. alleged that
III July, 1897, Losie called on him with
a man named Worth They told him
that they owned big iron mine nj
West Portal, y. J., and wanted to
employ 1000 men there at once, and
were willing to pay Sc Il day
| Colletti, knowing th:t he could get
the men for ~ % day, was eager Ia
get the contract, and after aomo bar
gaining agreed to pay them $4,000 foi
tho privilege of furnishing the mon.
He investigated the references, and,
finding them satisfactory, paid the
money in four instalments He put
300 men ut work and kept them there
for % days, but nj the end of that time
Losic and Worth having disappeared
he brought his mon back to New York.
Ia addition TO the 80, 600 which he gave
|
been compelled to give to the men.
| 1ha.e were two other men in the
West Portal scheme with Losic They
were known as Captain Enoch l.. Rich
ardson of New York and Mr.. Jackson
of Philadelphia They first rented
five nercs of land from DIR. Petrio for
800 month few dnys Inter 300
Italians were brought down and III
stalled in temporary buildings on the
| ground and Immediately began to
build n wall around the trnct with stone
taken from noiRhboring mountain.
| Tho wall was ten feet at its base.
When the wall was finished no one
was permitted to see what was going
on inside, but il WA rumored that II
great electric plant was being installed
there, TINT big factory was to be
erected and that government fnctory
for the manufacture of high explosives
WAC to be built.
Local tradesmen furnished large
quantities of supplies TO the workmen,
for which they were not paid, and nj
the end of month the workmen, who
were also unpaid, became, riotous
W5uddenly the contractor, Collotti,
announced that he, too had not been
paid Then the sheriff was called III.
He had n hard time preventing n
bloody outbreak Finally, to ward off
n riot, the Lehigh Valley railroad of
ficials took the cnrOged Italians to
New York on special trains. free of
charge Nothing more WINS seen Of
Losic until his arrest there.
All That remains of the West Por-
tai Mystery is the stone wall. The
sheriff held sale Of all the tools and
materials left behind, out of the pro-
eeeds Of which the creditors secured
small sum DcBi0crat IdCCrtisrr.
1