Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-05
CRIMINALS CAUGHT
CROOKS CAPTURED
BY SECRET SERVICE MEN.
Expert Counterfeiters Rounded Up In
Boston and New York and
Their Plant Confiscated.

Chief Wilkie of the secret service last
night added another laurel to his ability
as detector Of criminals by the rounding
up of a dangerous gang of counterfeiters
that has been flooding the states Of New
England and other sections OF the east
during the past few months with spurious
bills and bank notes.
Ten persons in all were arrested-seven In
New York and three in Discriminating
Pinkus Lieberman, alias John Davis, alias
Phillips, alias Swartz, alias Schmitt, who
is considered by the federal officers as the
most expert engraver in this or any other
country. and who counterfeited the Bank
of England notes several years ago, as well
as Russian documentary stamps and Amer
lean Express Company money orders
abroad
The men arrested In New York were:
Benjamin Farber, who runs a saloon in Es-
sex street; Jacob Farber, Harry Stein. pro-
prietor of a restaurant at 1T Monroe
street: his father, Nathan Stein; Morris
HOwben. who runs lunch room in Essex
street: Morris Isenberger and man en-
ployed by Stein. whose name Is not yet
known by the officials in Washington.
Lieberman's arrest was made in Boston.
Others of the gang captured in that city
were Joseph Boumenbled and Moses No
yak. alias H. Frankel. The counterfeiters'
plant was found in house in Pleasant ave-
nue.. Revere, a suburb of Boston. Novak
was captured in the street. while Lieber-
man and Boumenbled were busy In the
workshop. where negatives of bank notes
were found in chemical solutions.
The raid in Boston was made under the
immediate supervision of Captain Murphy
of the st. Louis district who has been
working on the case since last September;
Captain Flynn of the New York district and
a number of assistants.
The negatives were of the buffalo head
$40 note, the Indian head S. note and the
Garfield head $40 gold certificate. When
Stein was arrested in New York there was
found in his possession two buffalo head
$40 notes of the same plate number and
check letter as the negatives recovered in
Boston. The counterfeiting plant in Re-
we're was complete in every respect.
Chief Wilkie said this afternoon that
there was no way Of estimating the amount
of counterfeit money put in circulation by
this gang. There was enough paper and
other material found in the Revere house
to have printed several hundred thousand
dollars.
Lieberman. with his numerous aliases, has
had an interesting career of crime. In 1897
he was connected with the Moses gang of
counterfeiters that was broken up by the
secret service officers. He was then known
as Swartz. He escaped in the roundup,
and the next heard of him was in England.
Certain counterfeits on what was known
as the Davenport note of the Bank Of Eng
land began to make their appearance.
Members of the gang that was putting
these spurious notes out were arrested and
the photographic stones recovered A re-
ward of fl 600 was offered for the intercept
ton of the rest of the gang
one day Lieberman walked into the office
of Mr.. Freshfeld, who was solicitor for
the Bank of England. and claimed the re-
ward He said he had knowledge that
bunch of the photographic notes on the bank
mad been sold to a number of Russian Jews
MI F'reshfield listened attentively to
What his visitor said. He found that
I'M ho,
e1gn to the case in hand. The story Swartz
told resulted in his own arrest and the
rounding up of five others. Among the lat
Ter were two brothers, Barmashes by name,
and two Bernstein brothers.
The Autograph work was done by Swartz.
VINO mad then changed his name to Schmitt
Twenty-three thousand English pounds had
peen printed In 80. 20. 10 and 5-pound notes.
In december, 1891, one of the Barma shes
and Jacob Stern came to the United States,
bringing with them f15OO0 in the spurious
notes for circulation here.
Stern tried to pass f155 on the East
Side Bank, In New York. The teller
suspected that the notes had been stolen.
not for moment that they were counter
felts. The police were notified, and later
the secret service bureau found at once
that they were spurious.
Stern was arrested. Barmash sailed for
England, taking with him the counterfeit
money that had not been passed in this
country. Stern's defense was that he
T.
tempted to pass at the New York bank
The government could not prove to the con-
trary and Stern was DISCHARGED from GUS
tOdy. Subsequently the Barmashes again
turned up in England.
AS the result of Schmitt's arrest the u,bo1.
gang was brought to bay The only notes
IT. evidence were the f155 that had been
captured here. and which were in possession
OF the secret service officials The Bar
mashes and Bernsteins were sent to prison
for terms ranging from twenty to ten years.
Sol Barmash killed himself by cutting his
throat in his cell a few hours after he re-
ceived his sentence
Schmitt, who is the Lieberman taken into
custody at Revere last night. having turned
kings evidence. was escorted by an officer
Of the government to Belgium The officer,
after having admonished him never to show
his face again on British soil, gave him a
small sum of money and turned his back,
not wishing to see what the criminal would
do or where he would go.
While in London last summer Chief
Wilkie got picture Of Schmitt In the
early part Of September the spurious buffalo
and Indian head United States notes began
to appear. The photographic work was only
moderately good, yet the ordinary person
would take them as genuine. The notes
were made Of two pieces of paper, with silk
fiber distributed between, to give them the
appearance of genuine.
An analysis Of the paper was made by the
secret service men, and it was identified as
having come from two different establish
ments. Eventually the gang was located
Lieberman was at once Identified as the
man whose photograph Chief Wilkie had
seen in London, and who was then known
as Schmitt
Chief Wilkie said today that the arrest
of this gang Of counterfeiters was one of
the most important made since he has been
at the head of the secret service.