Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1902-10-13
SWINDLER
Mail Inspector Captures Otto Hermann in
0slHoil Bluffs.
MANY CRIMES LAID At HIS DOOR
said to Have Defrauded Numerous In
surance Companies, Including one
In Omaha, by System OF
-. Bold FOrReries.
,srmann. alas Adolph Heller. alIa

now languishes in the city Jail OF Council
Blufs, waiting to find out what the United
States government does with a man IL shall
convict OF using the mails to defraud He
admits that such conviction seems prob
able, and this view is concurred in by
number of insurance companies Of Ala
ban1a Kansas and Colorado.
The Gardeners of Omaha may also hold
that view later, but at present is non
committaI, because it hasn't fully investi
gated returns that Hermann has made to
1t in the last three weeks, during which
time he has acted as it's agent
R. w. Harrington, general superintend-
ent of the bridge line, might have been
another interested party II A. p. Fred
erck OF Denver. an inspector in the United
States mail service, had waited long enough
to let Hermann learn the back stroke that
Harrington uses in signing his name.
Inspector Frederick and Detective Calla-
han of Council Bluffs arrested Hermann at
80 Sunday morning as he was coming
downstairs from his room in the Creston
house, a hostery Of the Iowa city. The
capture was the end of a game Of hide and
seek that has been in progress some weeks
Early in September the government re-
ceived complaints from insurance compa-
nies, the names of which are not yet given
out, but among which are supposed to be
the Union Accident Stock company and the
American Guarantee Investment company
OF Denver. and the National Benevolent
society Of Kansas City. Mo-, that an Otto
Hermann was using the mails to defraud
working Mining Camps.
The government gave the matter into the
hands Of Inspector e. L. Mckee of the Kan
sas City division, who, upon investigation,
is alleged to have discovered that Hermann
was working mining camps and some other
communities where large numbers OF men
were employed. He sold, II is said, acci-
dent insurance TO persons that did not ex-
list. forged names to fit them, forged the
name of the mine superintendent of each
camp as endorsement on the papers, and
collected his commissions promptly from
the insurance company employing him.
Inspector Mckee, upon learning this and
ascertaining that Hermann was then in
Pittsburg. Kan, under the name Of Adolph
Heller, went to the latter place In company
with an officer of the victimized National
Benevolent society. Hermann, 1t is said,
saw them first and decamped. Later he was
located at Louisville, Colo, and Inspector
4 Frederick of the Denver division was put
on the trail. He found Hermann at Louis
VILE. operating under the alias of G. e.
Mlllsap and stoutly maintaining that Mill
sap was his name. The Inspector was con-
viuced he had the right man, but the de-
scription did not tally, and In order to make
certain he determined to bring to Louisville
! from Denver r. ]. Bardwell, vice president
of the American Casualty company, organ
ICED in November last, with Hermann as
its general manager and later as its road
solicitor. BardwelI had told Frederick early
/ ~ 10 ~
$500 advanced him and never repaid Fred
erick left Hermann under the eye Of the
constable of Louisville and went to Dem
yer for Bardwell. The constable's wife had
heavy washing and sent for him to come
home and turn the wringer. He did so and
Hermann promptly hiked over the divide
! toward Lafayette. In fact, he hiked clear
into Denver, a distance Of twenty-five miles
and was secreted there until the afternoon
OF October 7, when he left for Omaha, ar
riving here the next morning.
Letter to Woman Gives Tip.
The evening of October he wrote a
letter to Mrs. L. X. Hermann of Denver,
care OF the general delivery. and Inspecto;
Frederick was promptly dispatched here to
look up the writer. With the assistance oi
Assistant Postmaster James Woodard he
! discovered that the man was in Council
Bluffs and he crossed the river in pur-
suit Saturday evening. With Detective
Callahan Of the Council Bluffs force he
rounded up the hotels there and on the
register OF the Creston house found the
name H. Kurtz, with the letter H bear
ing a telltale resemblance to the HIS Her
man was known TO make In writing his
name When Herman came down in the
morning the officers confronted him, and
he recognizing the inspector. exclaimed
after he had recovered his breath:
"WelI. you've got me. / don't know how
you did 1t, but you've got me and I'll mako
no trouble"
He was handcuffed and taken to the Coun
ell Bluffs Jail. there to await the arriva
this morning Of Inspector Mckee VIII,
probably will take him to Kansas City a
It was there that the hunt began, ant
with that division OF the mail service tha
the original complaints were placed.
when searched he was found to have
letter from the Des Moines Street Railwa,
company. evidently in answer TO an applica
tion for a position. In the same pocke
with this one was another, typewriter, Of
letterhead Of the Bridge Line compan
and complete except for the signature owe
the word superintendent" Slips foun
/. in the envelope bore many limitations O
3 the name. R. w. Harrington. and It is tn
= theory that he was planning to forge tn
e name OF the superintendent to the letter
which was one recommending "H. Kurtz
as an old and very efficient detective, Ion
employed by the Bridge Line company.
Expect TO BE "Sent over"
In the course of the afternoon Hermann
: who no longer pretended to be any one els,
wrote. in the presence of Inspector Fred
: erick. letter addressed TO Mrs. l.. X Haw
thorne. general delivery. Denver. telling he
briefly that he Is in trouble and expect
to be sent over The road" II was the mrs
time the name Hawthorne has appeare,
n but he gave no explanation concerning it,
n President Frank R0sewater OF the Gard
T. eners said last evenings Herman appeare
a In person at our ONCE in The Bee buildin
/, three weeks ago and was employed as
i solicitor on a comm ission basis. He aske
to have funds advanced, but this was d,
MED him. He has sent us two small II
I stallments of applications and has receive
his commission on them. amounting to abo,
r S25. When his FIRST batch arrived fro
Louisville. Colo, started an investigate
through a commercial agency to make ee
tain that all was right but did not get
response through them Tor two weeks, al