Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-23


by the authorities at the station, he con-
fessed that he was the -swindier Louis Con-
zalez. and that he had various accomplices,
most of whom Inspector Puga had seen in
the offices of the agency.
Puga S next move was to find Inspector
Visedo and Police; Officer Morcatelli, and
with, them and twelve constables he pro-
ceeded Immediately to the Gale de Cuchil-
leros, where all the members of the crimi-
nal association were still at work-that is,
Rafael Gabria, Pablo Graniete and his sis
ter Enrfqueta, Agustn Zamorano, Pedro
Herrera and his wife Maria, and Maria
Roja. They were arrested before they could
make an attempt at escape. Mara Roja
threw bundle of documents through
window, but 1t was picked up at once by
constable who was keeping watch outside
the house.
The strangest and most interesting of all
the prisoners is unquestionably Rafael
Gabria. He belongs to wealthy and dis
tinguished family of Barcelona, and re-
ceived an excellent education, having
taken degree in the University of Madrid.
At twenty-five, however, he robbed his
parents of large sum of money and left
them in order to go to Paris with a young
and beautiful girl who was related to him.
Eventually he abandoned her and began to
travel visiting all the principal capitals of
the world and wasting what remained of
the stolen money, so that at last he found
himself reduced to thievery and swndling,
for which he was at various times impriS-
oned and condemned Finally he returned
to Madrid. but his father meantime had
died and disinherited him, he Joined the
Spanish Prisoner League and, having
knowledge of several languages, was in
trusted with the foreign correspondence of
the society.
In the offices of the agency the police
found more than hundred letters written
in different tongues, and all ready to be
sent to individuals in the United States,
Germany. England, France and Mexico,
with the evident intention of swindiing
them by means of the Spanish prisoner
trick. Besides this a voluminous CORE
spondence with unknown strangers APP
peared, and also commercial guides and
directories of Europe and America, from
which the Swinders doubtless got the
names and requisite data relating to the
persons whom they purposed to swindle.
Lastly the police found boxes full of COM
terfeited documents, stamped paper, seals
and stamps with the following headings:
General Directory of the Prisons OF
SPAIN Ministry of Justice Ministry of
War" Bank of London, Mexico and South
America General Post and Telegraph
Office of SPAIN, Bank OF spain, ETC.,
etc.
1t must be admitted that this association
of criminals had done everything possible
to win the confidence of its victims and to
avoid suspicion on the part of the authori-
ties Indeed the swinders had not only
furnished their offices, consisting of six fine
apartments, in a truly splendid manner, but
also took good care to do their bookkeeping
strictly according to the severe rules pre-
scribed by the code of commerce. All their
| letters were written on paper with the ele-
gantly stamped heading, Gonzalez & Co.
Agency Authorized by government. Rep
resentatives of industrial and commercial
| houses" They really had become the rep
resentatives of various commercial and In
dustrial houses of Barcelona and Bilbago.
But It is needless to say that the criminal
association troubled itself little about these
firms and got little profit from them. Their
| prodgious gains were obtained chiefly by
| means of the hidden treasure of the Span
ish prisoner These proceeds were always
| scrupulously recorded in. their account
books but they figured in them under the
| conventional and significant heading of
| mining affairs.
| According to these books it appears that
| from January l. 1904, until the end of last
| April the Cuchileros gang received about
| 3o0. coo pesetas (s60.O00). of which the police
| found IS 600 in safe; besides the record of
| a running account in the Credit Lyonnafs
| for the sum of 59t6o francs t$1e,ooti3. All
| the members of the association lived like
lords and possessed valuable jewels.
HOW many have been the victims of these