The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1899-11-20
WOMEN FHS VICTIMS
A Swindler Who Selected the Fair
Sex as His Prey.
HIS MANY THIBvING SCHEMES.

when Con fronted by Ills Many Vic-
Tins tho schemer Admitted His lden-
tity aud Acknowledged His Guilt
served Time For Stealing Diamonds.
New York. Nov. 2O.-The police have
at Headquarters James G. Hart, who
spent IS months in Sing sing Tor
swndling q woman out of SlO,OOO
worth OF diamonds in 1896, 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 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 a woman
out of $500.
Hart was arrested in December, 1895,
on the charge of grand larceny, be
having stolen diamonds to the value
Of $4,000 from Mrs. ElizatH de la
Barre. He pleaded guilty the COM
plainant in Che meantime having died,
and was sentenced to only Is 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
lyn. complained to the police that she
had been swindled out of $l62 by
man who called himself J. 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
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,
ha eaid later and then engaged Mrs.
Zingsem at SIS per month. He told
! her however, that he should require
| a bond of s15,0 coo, the charge for Whlch
| s162. 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 E. 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
| sa.-o ~ Caffornia.
Mrs. Herman Gagain, of West Four
| teB.Ll 81 e3 . Lit ~, was sWlluleu
out of nearly 500 after hart had en-
| gagged her to enter the service of his
sister in Bermuda
On Nov. 70 Miss Mary s. Gray, oi
West One Hundred and Eighteenth
street, entered into negotiations with
Hart. who was then under the name
of 80. G. Smith, of the Edison Mimeo-
graph company" to conduct a board
ing house for him, where "the highest
raid employees of the largest corpora
tion in the city" were to reside. Hart
gave as his references Thomas A
Edison and Colonel Lawrence Kip, ant
IL was after the negotiations with this
| lady were completed, by which Mr.
Hart secured three S100 bills from her
that he was arrested.
In addition to those named number
of other women and several old mer
have lost money through Hart.