Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1903-02-13
IN OUR OWN STATE.
OFFENDERS SENTENCED
BY Judge Wheeler in the U. S. Court
at Rutland,


Charles w. Norton, of South Walling-
ford the wholesale swindler who has
been confined in the house of correction
since his arrest october 3, was sentenced
to is months in the house of correction
by Judge Wheeler in the Federal court
at Rutland Tuesday for using the mails
for fraudulent purposes. Norton pleaded
guilty on one count of the ten found
against him. District Attorney Martin
was unwilling to nolle PROSE- the other
nine, and Norton probably will answer
to some of them later.
The indictment which Nortons attor-
neys selected for him to plead guilty to
was one of the lightest of the lot. 1t
charges him with obtaining goods of c..
c. Bailey & Co., of Boston, without ever
intending to pay for them
Norton was one of the most success
full swinders the country has ever
known. He obtained goods to the value
of over 100000 from firms all over the
country without paying a cent. and af-
terward disposed of the goods for what
ever he could get for them.
District Attorney Martin stated in his
opening remarks that he had never
known a case of this kind reaching such
| enormous dimensions or extending
! over so great a period of time. Mr..
| Martin thought that the respondent had
| been conducting his swlnding schemes
through the use of the United States
mails over 20 years. He said that these
| schemes had not been confined to any
particular section, but had extended over
nearly every section of the country. and
| by them Norton had obtained stocks.
| bonds. machinery, vehicles painters
supplies diamonds, jewellery, firearms,
and, in fact almost every kind of salable
! goods imaginable. In one instance, the
man had obtained three or four carloads
.f ;r, sal, ),
exchanged for other goods. In another
| 1t was stated that the respondent had
| received stock from a Western mining
/ company to the value of over $4,000 for
which he paid nothing. When pressed
for payment he would send notes or
worthless checks. In carrying out his
/ swinding schemes he used many differ
! ent kinds of letter heads.
The defence entered for the respondent
/ was that he had been insolvent for years
! and had been struggling to keep his
! business alive, buying goods when he
! had no money. but intending to pay for
them as Soon as he could.
Judge Wheeler in imposing sentence
said it was n very bad case and the
court could not let it pass without using
1T as an example and imposing the heav-
lest sentence provided by law.
James A. Gilmore, postmaster at Wat.
erbury Centre. was fined SIS on a charge
| of misappropriatnC money-ordor funds
| Mr.. Gilmores counsel explained for hin
that he had been postmaster at Water
bury Centre for seven years. He runs
a small store in connection with the Of
fee. About thirty Of his customers ar,
pensioners and as they only draw theil
pensions once in 'hree months Mr.. Gil
more had been .Iu.,tng them and us
ing the governments money to run hi'
business intending to pay 1t back wher
the pension money arrived. but the post
office inspector visited his office at thu
wrong time and discovered the shortage
Mr.. Gilmore made the shortage good i'm
medately.
Benjamin Starks a A-year-old boy,
who was arrested last October charge,
with stealing letters from the Unitet
States mail, was brought from the hous
of correction, where he had been con
fined since his arrest. He pleaded guilt.
to the charge and was released on hi
own recogniZance in the sum of S25C
Judge Wheeler charged the boy to be
have himself in the future. He ha
been allowed by his father to drive
stage route between Manchester an
Dorset and it was while thus employee
that he stole the letters from which h
got small sum of money.