Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-08-18
FRAUDS ARE WORKED.
lmpersonats6 a Former Waterbury
 Man to Secure Pension.

Dominic c. Minute, the New Haven
 Italian hurdy- -gurdy player, who is
 held for trial this month .mo!l Uh
 held for trial in the United States dis
 trict court this month for fraud, hay ] ing impersOnated dead man in hopes 1 Of securing d pension from the gov ernment. used the name of John Stone who lived in Meriden for a short time ! fifteen or more years ago but since | died in Waterbury. Mr Stone was a
 member of Company c. Fourteenth C. V., of which Albert F. Hall is pres-
 ident.
 How Minute had the nerve to i'm
 personate John Stone, who died in 1887, is surprising. Mir Stone was
 born in Litchfield and those who
 knew him and served ill Company c, Fourteenth c. V., with him say that
 he was Connecticut Yankee from away back. When MT Stone was
 young man he went to Waterbury to
 live and when the civil war broke out he enlisted in Company c. Before he died he made application to the Uni ted States government for pension as civil war veteran and while his application was under consideration he died. After his death, his widow, who now lives in Waterbury, made application for a pension as widow of a civil war veteran and she was granted a pension which she has had for many years.
 On October 31. 1904. Minute went to the office of the late Judge James Bishop in New Haven and represented served in Company c, Fourteenth c. V. He said that he desired to make application for pension and by di rection of Judge Bishop, Frederick A. Robertson, who was a lawyer in Judge Bishops office, made out the necessary papers and they were sworr to by two Italians who accompanied Minute. Minute was familiar with the life of Mr Stone. before and after the war. and he knew of the service which had been rendered to him in the Fourteenth C. V. during the war. After the application for a pension had been made out the papers were sent to the pension department in Washington and an examination of Mir Stones record was begun. The records in the department disclosed that Mr Stone had made an applica- ton for pension. but that before his application had been passed upon by the department. he had died and the records showed that his widow was drawing pension because of his ser vice, she representing that he had died in 1887.
 The. Investigators which the pension department has took trip to New Haven and Waterbury. Mrs Stone was living ill Waterbury and it was true that she was the widow of John Stone, who died in 1887 and Who did service in Co c. Fourteenth (. Y. The man who had represented himself to be John Stone was hunted up and when he was located he was playing a hurdy -gurdy in the streets of New Ha- ven. He was arrested and yesterday he was arraigned before United States Commissioner Wright charged with making false affidavit for the purpose of defrauding the United States government. He was held for the next term of the United States district court, which meets at New Haven in August.
 United States District Attorney Francis H. Parker prosecuted the man before Commissioner Wright. NIT Par ker was anxious to know how Minute came in possession of the facts in con nection with Mir Stone. The man said when he was in Paterson, x. J.. last summer on visit with his wife, he met an Italian named John Painter. That wasn't his correct name. but hs was called Painter as he worked as painter. Minute said that Painter told him that he served in Co C. Fourteenth Connecticut. during the civil war un der the name of John Stone. He was entitled to pension, he said, and Min. ut0 said he told him 10 make applica. tion for pension in his name and IL he got it he would divide with him. Minute did not kneiR much about Painter. according to his statement and the belief is that it was someone nearer New Haven who put him wise to Mir Stones civil war record. At the hearing were William H. Nel- | son of Waterbury and John D. l Chatfied of Waterville. who served with Mir Stone in Co (, during the | civil war. Another witness who had l known Mir Stone during his lifetime l said that he was born in Litchtield | and was Connecticut Yankee from |