Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1900-07-27
MILLIONS N Hin MIND
A Frenohman, Crooked and Crazy, With {
Oheckered Career, Finally Comes
to Grief
HE'S E'SABUNGLlNGFORGER
Arrested at Choteau, Mont, He Is Being
Brought Back to Red Lodge by
Sheriff Dunn,

Sheriff Dunn.
After operating throughout Wyoming
and Montana under many aliases anl
palming himself off as a wealthy resi-
dent Of Pullman, ILL.,, and a firm frienc
Of Banker Amoretti Of Thermopois anc
Bridger, a crooked Frenchman, speaking
broken English, has finally gotten into
the mcshes of the criminal law and il
about to be brought to book for his M
merous forgeries. The complete story 81
his crooked transactions during the past
year would Till q newspaper, and if his
mental machinery We're to be examined
lot OF wheels revolving in opposite di
rectlOns would doubtless be found inside
his cranium.
| About year ago the fellow. who
by the way is about 90 years Of age
made his appearance in this city and
gave his name as Frank Rossoll. He
claimed to hail from Pullman. Ill.,. where
he said he owned big store and had
a family. He represented himself as
being very wealthy and caused it to be
given out that he was engaged in CON
summating big sheep and ranch deals in
Wyoming. He actually negotiated for
the purchase Of the Frost ranch in BIG
Horn county, Wyo, and to make the
play stronger came to Red Lodge and
secured the services of Attorneys Meyer
and Pierson in looking up the title to
the property Then he appeared at the
Carbon county bank and struck up an
acquaintance with Cashier Vail by
opening an account and securing check
book. He deposited some SIS in cash
and also an $50 endorsed check drawn
on the First National bank Of Lander.
Wyo., by Bunce 4 Delfclder III favor Of
Z. 4. Cobb. The Frenchman also left
with the bank for collection 4 $4,000
draft on the Amoretti bank at Therlnop-
oils, with instructions to place the
money, when collected, to his credit.
This was a nice little sum and the bank
felt elated on securing such wealthy
patron. In the course of week or two,
however, the draft for $4,000 came back
protested. but the $50 check was paid.
the forged endorsement not being dis
covered until several months later. when
it developed that Mr.. Cobb had lost the
check, though how it came into the
Frenchman's possession is not known.
unless he found it. But at amy rate the
Frenchman pulled his freight and trans
ferred his field of operations to Fergus
county before the Thermopolis bank
could be heard from, first checking out
all but a few dollars of his small deposit
in the Carbon County bank.
The fellow was not heard from again
until last December, when several checks
on the bank in this city, for various
amounts ranging between $50 and slOO,
came through the mails and went to pro-
test. These checks were from the book Sc
cured from the Carbon County bank by
Rossoll, purporting to have been drawn by
Juan Almanrazo. this being the new
name assumed by the Frenchman after
leaving Red Lodge About this time
Cashier Vail received a telegram from
p. l. Moule, one of the wealthy wool
growers of Fergus county, asking if the
check of Juan Almanrazo for 81 900 was
good. Mr.. Vail notified Mr.. Moule that
the fellow was a blk and asked that he
be arrested. But for some reason or
other no arrest was made, and the
Frenchman was not heard Of again un-
til last Sunday, when Mr.. Vail received
a message from J. E. Cowles of Chotcau,
Mont, asking if Frank Roseatta was
good for a $4,000 deal, It appearing that
the Frenchman had again changed his
name. For reply, Mr.. Vail wired to ar
rest the fellow stating that he was
professional sWindler and was wanted
for crooked transactions here and in
Fergus county.
On Monday a warrant was issued out
of Justice Hawthorne's court in this city
charging Rossoll with the crime of cheat
ing, an offense similar to that of obtain
ing money under false pretenses and on
Monday afternoon Sheriff John Dunn,
having previously been informed of the
arrest of the Frenchman, started for
Choteau to get the prisoner and bring
him back to Red Lodge, where he will
be given a preliminary hearing and
bound over, no doubt, to the district
court.