The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-30
SING SING YAWNS FOR MNUTT
SWINDLER LONG LNMGNE con-
VICTED FOR ONCE.

tIC - SeI7 SNhS - AsSAh AAaA
TestifyinE In His Fa,Or- MoNutt Didn't
Have to Testify, Having Already written
His Opinion OF the Stock He Dealt In.
William Howard McNutt, who has worried
the police for years, has at last been
convicted by a jury. This was accom-
.plished in Judge Fosters court in General
Sessions yesterday when a jury after
celebrating for ten minutes found him
guilty of swindling John w. Whyatt, a
saloon keeper, out of So, 500. McNutt may
get ten years in Sing Sing, and the District
Attorney will urge a heavy sentence. One OF
McNutt's pals in the scheme that separated
Wyatt from the So, 500 has already beer
convicted.
One of the principal bits Of evidence
against McNutt was a copy Of a letter which
he wrote after he had swindled David H..
Barnett out OF 500 900. When Barnett
learned that he had been duped he worried
30 much that he died. 1t was after his
death that McNutt informed the executors
Of his state that the stock Barnett had
bought was worthless and that they
needn't trouble about appraising It. The
materiality OF the letter became apparent
to the Jury when it was brought out by
Assistant District Attorney Train that a
month later McNutt swindled Wyatt
with the very same stock that he had sold
to Barnett.
Barnett was the owner OF the New York
Saddlery Company at Newark, and had
considerable mo ney. That was a little
over a year ago. McNutt had organized
the Central Idaho Mining Company, which
he had Incorporated with a capital OF
eo mn nnn n, L. Dattargon IIayaa m lo-t;,1
Of this city, was the original president OF
the company, but McNutt got to know
Barnett, who was very much impressed
with the free and easy way in which McNutt
talked Of big financial transactions. Finally
McNutt got Barnett to become president Of
the company and to invest 500 900. 1t
wasn't long before Barnett learned hat
he had been swindled and died.
Soon after that McNutt wrote the letter
to the executors Of the Barnett estate
ex-Judge Ten Eyok and Thomas Pruitt of
Newark. McNutt took particular pains to
sheer at Barnett's Investment in the ct ock
of the Central Idaho Mining Company,
saying that it was worthless and that the
property Of the company had all been sold
for a song.
The original letter was lost. but when
the District Attorney got after McNutt a
copy of the etter-preserved possibly from
literary v~anity-was found in McNutt's
office. The letter was written on February
s Of last year and It was on March IL that
Wyatt was swindled. McNutt and his
pals told Whvatt that the stock Of the Cen
trail Idaho Mining Company was worth
S1.?5 a share, because the company was to
be taken over by the Okoboio Mining Com
pany, but that there was a man who didn't
know its value who was willing to sell 1t
for IS cents a share, and wouldn't Whaytt
like to make a little money? McNutt was
ready to buy the stock at Sl,?5 and was
very anxious to get it, because he and John
W. Gates were engaged in a gigantic
struggle" to get control Of the company.
So Wyatt bought it TO sell to McNutt, but
be couldn't sell it to McNutt.
McNutt formed the Elmore Mines Con-
solidated. For this company he got Eugene
Jerome as president, eX-Coroner O'Gorman
Of The Bronx secretary and Daniel Mason
as counsel. The Gluck Mining Company
was merged with the Elmore Mines Con-
solidated and prospectuses of all of McNutt's
enterprises were shown to the jury.
After Whyatt felt convinced that he had
been swindled McNutt said to him: sOh, go
to jerome IL you think you have been
McNutt was arrested McNutt had some
friends who then had influence uptown,
and one of the things he tried tokdo was to
get the police to raid Whyatts saloon in
Harlem as a disorderly house. In McNutts
letter book were found letters from well
known men, two Of them being from United
States Senator's.
McNutt did not go on the witness stand
Yesterday, but ex-Coroner O'Gorman did.
He said that McNutt was a fine man. SO
did Elsie Barr. She has been McNutt's
friend for years, and acted as his secretary.
She admitted however, that she sold stock
of the Elmore company on a 25 per cent.
commission.
1t was generally believed that McNutt
was the hacker of Gussie Mckee, who was
dubbed the "Poolroom Queen" After her
death McNutt collected 81 900 from her
estate. 1t was understood that the money
was for backing one Of Gussie's poolrooms.
but McNutt swore that he was an expert
electrician and that he had been employed
to treat with X-rays the cancerous growth
that caused her death.