The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-10-04
Clerk Robbed Institution
On a Wager.
so He NOW DECLARES
As He at Once Returned 100000
Worth Of $359,O0O Securities and
Had Borne an Uablemished Char
acter, Henry A. Leonard's En-.
ploYers Believe Him.
(By the Associated Press. }

(By the Associated Press.)
New York, Oct. BY the confess
sion of Henry A. Leonard, a young
clerk in the employ of Halle & Stieg-
litz brokers. at No. 80 Broad street,
the mystery of the robbery on We'd
nesday of $359.000 worth of securi-
ties from the National City Bank, was
cleared up today. Leonard, who lives
with his parents at No. $50 East 136th
street was arrested yesterday and
kept i'm close confinement while the
detectives continued their search for
the missing securities, every dollar of
which was recovered today.
The prisoner, who is only "a years
of age. and had previously borne the
reputation of an industrious and thor
oughly reliable clerk, made the as
founding statement in his confession
that he had planned and carried out
his scheme of forgery and robbery,
not from any criminal motive, but
solely to show by what a simple de-
vice the elaborate safeguards of New
York banks could be set at naught.
That this statement. is true is in a
measure corroborated by the facts in
the case and is the belief of the young
highly esteemed.
Soon after the theft Leonard mailed
package containing 100000 in Sc
curities to the residence of Dyer Pearl,
senior member of the firm of Pearl
& Company. by whom they were
owned. The package was received by
Mr.. Pearl yesterday. Today Leonard's
father turned over to the police the
remaining $4,000 in stocks and bonds
sCl.
wardrobe i'm his house, where his son
had said after his arrest, he had Sc
croted them.
The first clue that led to Leonard's
arrest was obtained when the detec-
tives traced the rubber stamp maker
whom Leonard had employed to make
the imitation certification stamp used
on the check he presented at the Ma
tional City Bank. AS a model for the
stamp he gave the maker an old GER
titled check bearing fragment of the
signature of Halle & Steiglitz and also
a memorandum in his own hand which
was identified by fellow clerks.
IL Did 1t on Bet
Leonard was held in the Tombs
police court in $4,000 bail for furth-
er examination. On leaving the court
room on his way to prison, he said
l. i
on q bet
Leonard had been for several years
a trusted employe of Halle & Stieglitz
and lived quietly with his mother in
Harlem.
Leonard told the police today that
he conceived the idea of the theft
some three or four months ago and
had been planning during that time
to execute it and show how easy such
49,
banks of New York. On the 18th of
September. he said he found four
blank checks on the Hanover Ma
tional Bank. That was in the fore
noon. Later, in the same day, he
said, he was in the corridor of the Ma
tional City Bank and among the men
waiting in line he saw man holding
i'm his hand an envelope marked $780,
600 IA per cent" on the enve-
lope. He said he heard the loan clerk
tell the messenger that the interest
was 1-2 per cent, and not Ia. The
messenger then departed.
Leonard went at once to the Bow
cry. and there ordered a rubber certi-
fication stamp; but before doing so he
cut out the certification of an old
check from which the stamp was to
be copied. After he secured the stamp
he filled out the body of the
check drawn on Hanover National
Bank. Then he said he went to Wall
Street and hailed a passing boy and
asked him if he knew where the Ma
tional City Bank was. The boy said
he did not Leonard said to him,
Take this check to No. So Wall Street
and hand it to the loan clerk" Leon
ard meanwhile stood opposite the GUS
tom house and saw the boy take the
package and come out with the Secur-
tiles. Leonard said he took the securi-
ties to his house at $50 East 136th
street, and with no delay put them in
a wrapper. affixed the necessary stamp
and took them to a mail box in the
neighhorhood of West 92nd street and
mailed them to Dyer Pearl. of "a West
73rd street. who is a member of the
firm that owned the securities.
There were, however, only 100000
worth of securities in the package,
which were received safely the next
day by Mr.. Pearl. There were $59,-
900 worth of securities missing, and
Leonard explained that by saying that
TO have enclosed them all in a pack
age by mail would have made the
package too bulky and he therefore
kept them out and only mailed $780,
coo worth.
1t was reported today that Leon
ard was engaged to Miss Lulu Schra-
der daughter of Park Commissioner
Schrader of the Bronx borough. Com
missioner Schrader said that Leonard
had called at his home frequently, but
that there was no engagement between
the young people so far as knew. He