The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-02-15
THE MYSTERY is SOLVED
O,BRIEN, OF TOGUS, ME-, REC0G-
NIZEs O'BRIEN, OF INDIANA.
He Identifies the Latter ms His Old
Comrade in Arms, Thomas Les
carbo-Latter Sentenced.

The mystery of the two O'Briens. which
has been puzzling the brains OF the jury
men in the trial Of the alleged Thomas
O'Brieu, of vevay, charged with imper-
sonating thomas O'Brien. of Togus. Me-.
has been solved and. as a result. the
Thomas O'Brien, of vevay. has become
Thomas Lescarbo. and is destined TO serve
a sentence of one year at hard labor. in
the Columbus. O., pe~nitentiary.
The case has been one of the most pc
culiar ever tried in the United States
Court of this city. The trial came to an
end with the confession of the accused
that he was not Thomas O'Brien, but
Thomas Lescarbo. The trial of the case be-
gan Tuesday morning with the testimony
of the United States pension examiner.
who told in detail of his examination OF
the prisoner. The next witness was Capt.
Joseph s. Mccoy. assistant chief of the
Pension Department, who went into detail
concerning the records of the company.
The testimony of the accused was then
read at length. He accounted for every
period of his life from 1861 to date. and he
told of little incidents which happened in
the everyday life of the camp; told Of his
skirmishes in battle and of his capture and
Imprisonment at An~dersonville with such
FEASIBILITY that the jury was more than
ever mystified. The star witness OF the
prosecution, Thomas O'Brien. of Togus.
Me-, did not arrive until late In the even
ing, but when he came he took the stand
at once, and, in answer to the interroga-
lions Of tne attorneys. he told a story so
----J-w AL 49, .-2 oA -.
situation looked helpless even to Judge
Baker. Finally the district attorney asked
the witness If he recognized the accused.
The witness replied that he had never
seen him before, but when the accused was
asked to stand up, the witness leane for
ward with his hands oil his knees. and
gazed earnestly at the prisoner. With a
look of sudden enlightenment he exclaimed.
Know him.? OF course I know him."
"Who is hep" asked the lawyer.
why, he is my old friend Lescarbo.
Who else should he be?" answered the wit
ness. The witness then went on to detail
how he and Lescarbo had served In the
same company of the same regiment and
that later Lescarpo had been captured and
imprisoned at Andersonvine, but after that
all trace of him had been lost. The two
men stood smiling at each other all the
time the witness was detailing the history
Of Lescarbo, and they seemed mutually
glad to see one another again.
At the conclusion of O'Brien's testimony
the court adjourned until yesterday morn
ing. When court was opened the first wit
ness called by the prosecution was the
prisoner, and on a rigid cross-examination
he admitted that his name was Lescarbo
but that until he had been recognized by
O'Brien he had not known it. He said that
after he was liberated from Andersonville
he became a wanderer, and hat he had
no money, no friends, and that he could OBJ
tain no work because his French name was
against him. and as he noticed that the
.l ne 800 eli 4 zr~.I- 49,
wanted. he changed his name to O'Brien.
He said it had been so long ago he had for.
gotten about ii. After Lescarbo had con-
cluded his testimony witnesses were called
who said they believed he was Of unsound
mind. Judge Baker said, in summing ur
the evidence that the prisoner did MOI
make a fraudulent pension claim, but was
guilty of making a false affidavit in swear.
ing his name was O'Brien. In giving
Lescarbo a sentence of one year, Judge
Baker said he did it with regret.