The San Francisco call., 1905-03-23
|GIGAN TIC
|. SVINDLES
UNEARTHED
Operations Of Gang
| in Philadelphia
! Exposed.
| Deals Running Into Millions
| Involve Banks and
/ Trust Companies.
Frank C. Narrin, Brooklyn Lawyer
Who 0rcs Fled to Coast, the
Chief schemsr.
Special Dispatch to m. Call


PHILADELPHIA, March 22.-Phila-
delphia is the center. of the greatest
gang of get-rich-quick swindlers that
ever operated in the United States.
This fact has been fully established
by a protracted investigation conduct
ed by the Philadelphia North American
in an effort to close up the Storey
Cotton Company. which proposed pay
ments of impossible profits. The
Storey Cotton Company went to he
wall last Thursday with assets of $780,,
900 and liabilities totaling into the nil
lions 1t was followed on Tuesday by
allied concern. which turned up assets
of only $4,000 and liabilities footing up
nearly 81 900, ,00G.
The history Of these frauds goes
back to the time nf. Frank C. Marin,
a prosperous young BROOKLYN lawyer.
He was accused of being an embezzler
for about $4,000, money entrusted to
him for investment by one of his cli
ents, Mrs. Caroline Barry, widow
Marin fled to Europe. He was indict
ed in Brooklyn for forgery and ef1b z
Element and the indictments are still
pending.
After a short while spent in Europe
Marin went to Central America and
from there to Chicago. where he ap-
peared in 1896. He was broke and re-
duced to the point of selling shoeStrings
on the street. He subsequently, Sc
cured employment with press-cIip-
ping bureau at 81 a week, and While
SO employed fell in with a man who
was known as w. r. Bennett In Chi
cago Marin used the alias Frank NJ.
Stone. He and Bennett organized the
Chicago Bank Depositors' and Invest
ors' Protective Association with offices
in the Rialto buildingy Chicago. and
professed to be able to give inside in
formation to subscribers about the
many get-rich- quick concerns that
were operating in that city at the time.
FLEE TO SAN FRANCISCO.
This concern quickly gave way to the
Investors Protective Association, which
was a blind used by Marin ard Ben
nett, while these two men, the former
under the second alias of Edward
Dunne, promoted the Securities Saw
ings Society, which ran blind pool
or horse races. The schemes We're kept
af1oat until February. 1900, when Mar
rim. under the alias of Edward Dunno.
took his stenographer, Mrs. Sophia
Beck. and fled to San Francisco Ben
nett grabbed 100000 of the loot and
got away.
Marin and the Beck woman were
chased by the Chicago police from that
city to San Francisco and thence to
New Orleans. where they were both
arrested on February IL. 1900. Marin
had $4,000 cash with him when ar
rested and although indicted and de-
spite the fact that witnesses were
taken from Chicago he managed to
escape extradition. The effort cost him
$40, 900.
He then came to Philadelphia. hav-
ing established his family here pre-
vious to his fight from Chicago. He
bought a handsome house on South
Forty-fourth street and appeared here
as Judge" Franklin Stone, lawyer and
turfman, from Kentucky. Almost inn
mediately he opened offices for a fake
importing firm known as Storey & Co.,
in which the partners were alleged to
be Franklin E. Storey and Francis
Stone. This firm was blind for Mar
rim. who at the same time was pro-
noting the firm Of Arthur S. Foster &
Co., cotton specialists.
AID FROM WASHINGTON.
Marin went to Europe almost i'm
mediately after launching Storey & Co.
and the Foster fraud, being represented
in the latter concern by an Englishrnan
known as Arthur S. Foster Francis.
In business this man passed as Foster:
socially and at his hotel he was known
as Francis Once each week Francis
called at Marrin's home on South
Forty-fourth street and secured from
Mrs Marin check to defray the cur
rent expenses of floating the Foster
outfit.
This latter concern was put out OF
business on September 49, 1900. by a
fraud order issued .ostensibly on the
ground of fraud, but in reality because
the man Francis, who was identified by
postal inspectors and showed a crooked
record in New Orleans. appeared as
the nominal head and manager. Fol-
lowing the collapse of the Foster fraud.
Marin produced an Englishman who
passed as F. Ewart Storey and who
paid the remaining debts of the Foster
outfit. While the affairs of this corcern
were being wound up Marin went to
Washington and from the Machen-
Miller crowd OF crooks in the solicitors ;
once for the postofnce department se-