The sun., 1903-08-16
WOMAN HEAD OF FORGER GANG
STOLE H. tNk CHECKS AND DID
THE PEN WORK HERSELF.
Mabel Priest and Two Men Locked Up at
IIead,,uart ers-P0lice Say That Her
work Fools Even Experts Slcuth
Caught Her by Posing as Crock.

NushN hhNA NY HvcAbD so - ehvvWs
With the arrest last night OF a prepos-
sessing Young woman who calls herself
Mrs James Parker and who lis believed to
he Mabel Priest Of Minneapolis. the police
rounded up IA trio who, according to In
spector McClusky, have passed the most
ceverly forged checks ever seen in this
city
The Jim the Penman" of the trio is the
Young woman herself, and the police say
that her work of forging signatures has
surprised the most keen-eyed bank cashiers
and handwriting experts in New York.
The other two members Of the trio say
they are James Parker, the husband Of the
Young woman, and James Reed. They are
young men and they don't look so able as
the Young woman. She says their appear
arrcos are not deceitful in that respect
As TO the extent Of their operations the
police have not learned very much. They
have found out, however, that they have
got at least 81, 900 out of two banks by the
forged checks They think that other
New York banks have been fooled by
the forgeries. In passing the bad checks
The trio have got goods worth several
X,
and jewelry stores.
Complaints Of the forgeries reached the
roiic" several weeks ago; They came from
several banks, particularly the Lincoln
National and the Shoe and Leather, The
bank people said the forgeries were 80 good
that they had escaped notice until the
repositorS whose names We're forged found
hat their accounts didn't balance
A week ago Thursday the police first got
IN the trail. The tip came from Schumann's
eweIry store at a37 Broadway. Parker
and the woman went there, selected pair
Of diamond earrings worth S4l0 and offered
in paymen. a check for $50 bearing the
positor in the Lincoln National Bank.
I'VE won't ask you to give US the change
or the earrings to-day" said the man
You can send the check to be certified
and well call for the earrings tomorrow.
The check was sent to the bank The
bank people didn't think it was forgery.
but Inspector McClusky had asked to be
called in whenever check turned up in
any such way, so the police were notified.
The check turned out to be forgery.
The next day Central Office Detectives
Clark and Peabody took their stand at
The jewelry store. At noon Hoboken
messenger boy appeared at the store with
letter from Parker, asking that the ear
rings and 500 change be given to the boy.
The detectives gave the boy package
Of sawdust and followed him to Hoboken.
where no was to meet Parker on corner.
Parker, however, didn't appear.
The police heard nothing more of the trio
ill last Thursday, when Parker and Reed
went to Rogers, Peet 4 Co. 8 store in upper
Broadway. Parker offered check for
st4O in payment for a fortydolar suit. The
renderloin police were called in, and Parker
and Reed were arrested and taken to Police
Headquarters, where they still are.
InsDeCtOr MC('uskv soon concluded that
the "scratcher," or forger, was neither OF
the two prisoners, but he could get no
nearer the truth until the young woman
went on Friday morning to Police Head
quarters to give some "catarrh medicine
which the police say is really morphine or
some kindred drug-to Parker
Detective Peabody followed the woman.
ard found that she was living as Mrs
James b. Singley" at llU West Thirty-eighth
street Yesterday morning he went to
as bill Hickey, second-story burglar. >"
and said he bore request for more dope
from Parker.
II was locked up in the. same cell with
him" was the detectives explanation
He's in bad shape"
He got her confidence in this way and
they went together to Police Headquarters,
where she was not allowed to see Parker.
They ate luncheon at the Broadway Central,
she paying the bill Later. at the house
she told Peabody how she did the {. geries
It = the simplest thing in the world, she
said You come with Inc IN Mo ndBy
morning and III show You. Wen start
early and get INTO some office bIildi ng
Nh'e the sweopers are working.
1T will be easy TO steal some mail and in
that way we II get names and addresses
They are all | need TO start with, because
We can hnd out. without much trouble,
IN what banks the people are depostors.
Then get check book on forged order
ami begin to forge checks
She then showed to Peabody samples Of
l"l work. She initiated heavy and light
signatures and plain and complicated
ores Peabody wrote his name on a piece
of paper ard she dashed off rapidly so good
an initiation that Peabody cant tell them
5nart except for the fact that he wrote
- the top Of the sheet and she wrote at the
bottom.
Peabody showed the sheet to the re-
norta"5 last evening II will be kept for
evidence.
After the writing Peabody and the wo-
man started to Shanleys restaurant. Pea
tcdy', partner Clark stepped up and ar
rested the woman, pretending TO arrest
Peabody, too The woman tried to pass
Peabody a roll of $500 and then Peabody
told her he was detective. The woman
'ook the pins from her hat and lifted ID
from her head.
Il take off my hat to the New York po-
zoe, she .nid. The New York banks are
he easiest on earth to work | know
hat. The poi2e are not.
For heavens sake, though don't lot
gnv ore know | WIS such a sucker as to
tiII into your trap