The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-05-01
4, L, RICH IS GONE ID PARTS UNKNOWN Cincinnati Broker Leaves Trail of Forged Securities GAVE PURSUERS THE SLIP Defaleatlons So Far Amount to About sso, ,ooo-Thought to Have Fled
 to Honduras By Way of
 New Orleans.
GAVE PURSUERS THE SLIP

SD'AN'-' terprlses. The failure is especially in- teresting to the people of Birmingham in view of the fact that the High school bond issue of $2OO,0OO was underwritten by A. L. Rich & Co. The firm also handled municipal improvement bond issue of North Birmingham.
 Henry B. Gray, president of the Peo- ples Savings Bank and Trust company, stated last night that the failure of Rich in Cincinnati would not have any local effect. MT. Gray stated that the Rich firm, acting as brokers. purchased the 1 High school bonds. He stated further that the firm did not have any local interests. Birmingham will not lose anything by the action of Rich" said MT. Gray.
 MT. Gray Is the treasurer of the Board of Education and a member of the f. nance committee of the City Council
 The Cincinnati Enquirer of last Sunday presents the following account of Rich's financial transactions:
 "The local financial world was startled yesterday by the discovery that A. L. Rich. a prominent broker, had left for parts unknown and that loans for large amounts had been obtained on fradulent bonds.
 Prom what could be gathered yester- day. it seems that Rich probably adopted the scheme of Prior. the Cleveland opera tor, who duplicated genuine bonds from the plates and forged the necessary sig natures.
 "Rich is wanted for forgery and em- bezzlement and the police were keeping the wires hot yesterday trying to locate the fugitive. It was announced last night i that a warm trail had been struck and ] that he would probably be under arrest somewhere by Tuesday. This is taken to ] indicate that Rich has not taken flight to the Honduras colony, or if so, the au- thorities have strong hopes of intercept ing him before he leaves the country.
 "Rich had offices in the First National Bank building, and lived with his wife and child in sumptuous apartments at Hadden Hall. Avondale.
 1.-TWO prominent brokers of this city who happened to be in a big deal with 1 him, have pressed their resources in talk ing up the bonds forged by Rich. and ] making good the money the latter raised on these spurious certificates The extent of Richs defalcations and forgeres so far as absolutely known at this time, aggregate about 800 900, but the ramifica- tions of his work cannot be gauged now. Some reports have 1t that Rich is now on l the Gulf of Mexico headed for Honduras, and another, which comes from a more trustworthy source, is that his where abouts are pretty well known and that he will be brought back to Cincinnati by tomorrow night by the police.
 Exciting Encounter.
 "A struggle in Broker P s. Briggs of l flee in the Mercantile Library building, when Briggs, with his hand clutched at Rich's neck, secured admissions. Warm sleuthing, carried on by Brokers Briggs l and Wolley his associate, and another man, the result of which was the escape of Rich through the window of his state room on a Pullman car at Dayton, while his pursuers watched the locked door of his apartment and the refusal of Rich S personal friend, Charles H. Rosenthal a dentist in the Weave building, to give over to Mrs Rich S3O0O left by Rich on the l eve of his flight, for her use, furnish set tings of this latest sensational drama in the local brokerage world.
 Last Friday P S. Briggs & Co.,, c. H. | Woolley and Arthur l.. Rich got into a deal to take over the water, gas and cleo tric plant of Beloit Wis. The deal ag l gregated $l00o,0oO. On February 12, 1906, all of these brokers were at Beloit. On February IA Mrs. Rich went to Milwau- kee. She carried 8 satchel which con 1 tained $65,O0o worth of forged Wood coun- ty (Ohio) bonds, wrapped in a towel. These were put up as optional securities on the deal. Ten thousand dollars in these forged bonds were placed in bank at Janesville, Wis, by the brokers engaged in the deal. A s55,coo lot of the forged bonds was taken up by Briggs, Woolley and Rich. This was before any doubt had arisen as to their genuineness. MT. Briggs took up the additional s10,000 worth l left at Janesville later, when he learned | that they had been forged.
 Still before the discovery by Briggs | anu NOOllcy SopW Noil oi tiSpt SdiiS forged bonds were put up as security l for a loan with the Queen City Savings l bank in the Carew building. Cincinnati, the latter part of February or the 1st of l March, and subsequently, taken up. Then 5000 worth were put up in the Central i Trust company. During the latter part l of the month and additional S500O worth were put in Covington bank by him. Finally the $55,oo0 worth of these bonds were taken out of the Queen City Savings l bank and placed with the Union Savings l Bank and Trust company last March for l another loan. After this was done Rich l took S20000 more of these bonds and put 1 them mp with the Queen City Savings ! bank for a loan on his individual account. | These bonds were also taken up.-
 The First lntimatlon.
 Last Monday P. $. Briggs received an l intimation from President C. A. Hinsch, | of the Fifth National bank, that these bonds might not be all right. and that they may have been forged. or that the bonds in other words, might not be genu- inc Of course this filled Broker Briggs with consternation, and he lost no time In having conference with MT. Woolley. 1 his partner, sending the latter posthaste | k~ rd .o ,,uta ipyaaff ua ti0n a