Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-16
MAKERS OF BAD MONEY
Former Detective INDUCES
in "reminiscences.
BROCKWAY WAS KING
BRocKwAY,s DISTINCTION OF RE-
CEIvING LONGEST SENTENCE.
Miles ogle and His Household Work
shop-The Lesser Lights and
Their Methods.

| The recent release from the Trenton peni-
| tertiary of William Brockway, the veteran
| counterfeiter, after serving a long term,
recalled to former Detective Sam T. Lake
| the histories Of some of the thirty-third-de-
| gree counterfeiters who have been handled
/ by Chief Wilkes clever agents.
1.-The first time ! met Brockway, whose
| alias is Ed Spencer" said the old detective,
was in 1883, when he was sentenced by
the New York state courts to serve five
years. The case against him was worked
up by Superintendent Byrnes Just before
/, Judge Cowing sentenced him the aged
counterfeiter stated that he had not served
time before since 1913. The secret service
| first heard of Brockway in 1917. His his
tory on file in the treasury archives shows
that this expert maker of bogus money was
an orphan when he was adopted by
family in Connecticut. Upon reaching
manhood he married a most estimable
young woman, and had a nice home.
| "BrOckway has long been known as the
king of counterfeiters, and his speciality has
always been big game. On one occasion he
announced to his pals that he was going
| to get up bogus SO note. The members
| of the gang became indignant and threat
| ened to desert him If he got down to such
small stuff This settled the matter, and
the old man continued to manufacture gilt
edge securities as he termed the bills of
| higher denomination.
| is an expert engraver, but this is mis-
| take" the detective added. He has
| secret process of blending copper plates,
but ne has never revealed it to any one.
| and his valuable secret may die with him.
He has Travelled on it and used it d
! sort of con game among men of his ilk.
| All efforts to make him reveal his process
| have proved futile.
Regarded as Dangerous Counterfeiter.
miles Ogle, whose last sentence was for
| fifteen years In the penitentiary at Column
bus. Ohio, was considered by former Chief
Hazen of the secret service as one of the
| most dangerous currency counterfeiters in
this country. He began his operations
early as a member of the old Reno gang III
Indiana. The members of this criminal
| aggregation were both counterfeiters and
| outlaws. Ogle was fairly good engraver,
| and in his time he engraved first the old
| twenty-five and fifty-cent fractional cur
called. Later he turned out S. legal tenders
| and then SO national bank notes on Rich
| mond. Lafayette and Muncie, Ind. banks.
He also made $40 plates on the Third
| certificates Ogle served long terms for
these jobs and Immediately after getting
| out of the penitentiary he began work on a
crude imitation of a 50 silver certificate
|
| money to carry on more extensive opera
tons. The job which gave him the term
of fifteen years in the Ohio penitentiary
was ten-dollar counterfeit on the Ger
1 mania National Bank of New Orleans
| Former Chief Hazen regarded these bills
as very dangerous.
| Ogle's Workshop.
"Ogle is said to have done all, or nearly
all, this work in fancied security on fat
| boats. These boats he purchased and con-
verted into households, with living apart
| ments and his workshop cleverly concealed.
| With these queer craft he would work his
way gradually down the Ohio river. Ogle
| knew every tributary and inlet along that
| stream. 1t was his habit to go ashore at
certain points and purchase material for
| carrying on his counterfeiting afioat. He
| would engrave and print the bogus money
| on his houseboat while securely anchored in
| some quiet bayou or inlet, or else while
| floating calmly down the Ohio.
| After a sufficient quantity of the Queer
had been manufactured, Ogle visited Gin
| cinnati and Memphis to plant the stuff and
| make the necessary arrangements for it's
| sale to others who would pass it, He was
! different from most expert counterfeiters in
| that he passed great deal of his own
| stuff himself
AT the time of the round up of Ogle
and his gang the secret service men can
tured more than one hundred of his coun-
! terfeft plates. Former Chief Hazen stated
| that the reason Ogle had so MANY plat
| was because 1t was his practice to make "a
| number OF electros from each original en-
| craving. He did this so that he would
always have reserve plates in case the
| others were captured or worn out
Manufactured of Coin.
| "One of the oldest characters in the
| memory of Detective Lake was Carlo Sala
4 an Italian, who had a most complete set of
| machinery for coin counterfeiting The out
fit weighed over one thousand pounds 1t
! consisted of presses. dies and machines for
cutting strips of metal. SaIa operated in
New York city. and the original complaints
1 against his bogus coin were received from
the newspaper Offices, the toll takers at
the Brooklyn bridge and ferries and from
elevated railroad ticket sellers who were
1 being deluged with counterfeit pennies. The
/ complaints had also taken in a number of
LOCUS ten-cent pieces which were being
/ uttered by the italian. Many of the IN
MES and dimes were passed by a woman
| who claimed to be Sala's WIFE
| When the secret service ferrets captured
| this woman in the act of showing pennies
| among the New York newsbovs che
| promptly confessed and told all about SaIa
| and his underground workshop The man
was arrested and sent up for a long term
| This was considered to be splendid can
| ture, because large number of the bogus
pennies had been noated among the news
| boys. bootblacks. department stores and
| other places in both New York and Boston
| Experts estimated that Sala's machin-
| cry had cost him about $4,0OO After being
sent to Washington 1t was destroyed in the
presence of a commission appointed by the
| Secretary Of the Treasury.
Gets Long Sentence.
"Tom Ballard received the longest sem
tence ever given any man arrested by Sc