Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-17
DOUBLE LIFE
NOTED NEW YORK LAWYER AC-
CUsED OF BLACKMAIL.
Former Assistant Corporation Counsel
Charged With Sending Letters
Signed "Lewis Jarvis"

For thirteen years an assistant corpora
ton counsel, serving when the late VIII
liam c. Whitney was the head of that de-
partment and later under the present
Judge E. Henry Lacombe. a lawyer well
known in New York practice and a mem
Der of several prominent clubs. Thomas
Parmalee Wickes, was indicted for black
mail in that city recently.
Surrendering himself. for he had just
left the grand jury room, he stood before
Judge Mcmahon in general sessions court
alone, not one of his many legal friends
having come forward to comfort him. His
only words were to say he had cash bail to
offer. and the pleading being adjourned,
he was taken to the clerks Office, where
he remained until his 1850 was accepted
by the city chamberlain.
With his arrest comes the solution Of
the mystery of Lewis Jarvis" whose OPP
erations with lock box 1,GO4, III the gen
eral post office, have been told in the New
the investigation say Wickes has had this
lock box for six years, signing his own
name to Jarvis application for 1t. This he
does not deny; indeed he will only say, gen.
orally, that he is guilty of no crime.
Furthermore, the lawyers who placed an
advertisement in city paper calling TO.
responses from those who had been an
noyed by letters from Lewis Jarvis" as
nation of startling ventures in the black
mailing line, in which scores of prominent
men and women were selected rs the VIC
TINS Of Jarvis plots
DR.. Weston His Accuser.
The specific charge against Wickes is
that he wrote to DR.. Edward Weston, an
electrical inventor of Newark, ". j., a let
ter accusing him of perjury in a suit
brought against him by Ashbel p. Grinnell
for $4,000 damages for false arrest The
letter, which did not demand, in SO many
words, the payment of any sum, told DIR.
Weston there was "only one chance for
you to get OUT adding that If he did not
avail himself Of 1t he would find himself in
Sing Sing prison.
This suit which was on its fourth trial
was called this week, being withdrawn
by former Senator Thomas c. O'Sullivan.
attorney OF record for Mr.. Grinne1.
Wickes was the trial lawyer for Mr.. Grin
nell, but he did not appear before Judge
Greenbaum In the supreme court when
Mr. OSullivan said that, as result of
something which had come to his knowl-
edge, he was willing to withdraw the suit.
lawyers for DR.. Weston, agreed, a Juror
was withdrawn and the civil action was
ended
The suit against DR.. Weston, which has
led to the exposure was due to the arrest
of Mr.. Grihnell in March, 1901. DR.. Wes-
ton. who is a member of the New York
Yacht Club, the Atlantic Yacht Club and
many others. and whose home is at G45
High street. Newark, and whose factory
Is In Waverly, N. j.. had been swindled OF
small sum by Edward S. Raymor.
The Grinnell Mistake.
He was stopping in the Waldorf Astoria
soon afterward, when he received black
mailing letter. in which his wife was
named. few nights afterward his room
WA nd ho
jewelry. The next night he saw in the
corridor of the hotel a man he was posi-
tive was Raymor. Concluding that the
man who had swindled him was intent on
harming him further. he informed the po-
lice, giving description Of the swindler
Detectives, after few days, at the Grand
Central station arrested man as he was
boarding train with his wife. DR.. Wes-
ton, who was not far away, identified him
positively as Raymor, and in the subsequent
suits several men who had known Raymor
for years and had lived in the same house
with him swore he was the picture of the
man who was arrested.
Despite this protest. the man was taken
to court and there Willard A. Mitchell. who
was DR.. Weston's lawyer, saw mistake
had been made. He was graduated from
the University Of Vermont, and he recog-
nized the prisoner as Ashbel p Grinneli.
who had been dean Of the universitys medi-
cal school. That, of course. ended the pro-
ceedings, and that night Dr. Weston wrote
a letter of apology to Mr.. Grinnell Offering
TO compensate him In any way for the in
convenience to which he was put.
The Blacknlail Letter.
By some strange coincidence Mr.. Weston
that day received a Matchmaking letter
and at night his room was entered and
800 stolen. A man known to the police as
Paul de Hart was convicted for the rob-
berry. De Hart Is now serving a ten-year
sentence for Matchmaking President Mellen
of the New York. New Haven and Hartford
railroad.
Subsequently DR.. Grinnen brought suit
against Mr.. Weston. asking $4,000 as dam
ages for false arrest. and damages in a
similar amount against the police. It rs
SHOWN by the papers In the first suit that
he brought the action against Weston with
some reluctance and not until after he had
gone to police headquarters. where William
8. Devery was then overload. Devery said.
according to the papers in the case:
Now. Grinnell, ! hope you'll squeeze that
teller Weston. Lemme give you a tip
He's got lots OF money. HIN hard He's
been a-botherin' us great deal. He's got
no friends here"
To make doubly sure that there would be
no friends of Mr.. Weston at police head
quarters. DR.. Grinnen got his wife to be-
gin action against Detective McConyilie
twenty-four hours before the statute of
limitations would have made such action
void. This was for the purpose of having
a club over the detective.
Wickes is a cousin of DR.. Grinnell. and in
the litigation that followed he was en-
gagged as one of counsel for DIR. GrinneU.
but ex-senator Thomas c. O'Sullivan was
attorney Of record. The first time the case
WAS tried before Justice Truax the iury
rendered a verdict Of $12, 500 in favor Of
the plaintiff. Mr.. Osborne for the defend
ant appealed the case, and the appellate
division. set aside the verdict 1t was tried
again. and verdict of $4,000 returned
but the damages were cut to 5000 by JUS
tice Dugro. Thereupon both sides appealed
The third trial was before Justice Belts of
Kingston. 1t resulted in a mistrial caused
by the Illness of juror.
The fourth trial was before Justice Green
baum. 1t began on June 8 and came to a
sensational close June by the introduce
ton of the Jarvis letters received by the
defendent, with evidence to show that they
had been written by Wfckes. Mr. O'Sulli-
van then announced his withdrawal from
the case. Wickes in the meantime had been
absent from the court room for several trial
days.
The letters are written on very elaborate
paper, engraved with the name of Lewis
Jarvis" and the address Lock Box 1904
New York" According to District Attor-
ney Jerome. they were ordered at a sta
toners three years ago, about the same
time the box WAS rented.
The commodore explained how he had
come to suspect that others might have re-