New-York tribune., 1906-05-05
TRIED TO TRICK CITY.
WARRANT NICELY RAISED.
II. L. Whaley Presents Forged
Order for $3.50 900 at Night Bank.

Following what appears to be either one Of
the boldest attempts ever made to swindle the
city or else huge joke, H. L. Whaley, Of No.
2O5 West 1O2d street. arrested at his home
last night, charged with having raised So war
rant from the Department of Finance to $780,
900, The prisoner tried to open an account with
the warrant at the Night and Day Bank about
8 a. m. yesterday. The warrant was taken to
the Controllers office later, where the banks
suspicious that the warrant was queer were
proved correct.
Whaley when arrested was cool and collected.
He readily admitted having attempted to de-
posit the warrant. He told the two detectives
Fogerty and McConville. of the Central Office
that he did not raise the check emphasizing this
denial by affirming that he did not know that the
warrant called for $359.O00 instead of So The
bank officials however. declare that Whaley was
well aware Of the amount for which the warrant
called.
Whaley received the warrant on June IA last.
1t for So for supplies furnished when he
had a paint and Oil store in No 70 East Dist
street. The raising Of the warrant was done
cleverly and with Skill The figure 3 in the
upper corner had been changed to a D and a
figure placed before it. the ciphers also being
added. The word three" further down had been
erased completely and the larger amount writ
ten in in clever imitation OF the words below
written in the Controllers ONCE. Even the date
which was correct. had been erased with acid
and then stamped in again 70 make 1t appear
that all the erasures had been made in the
3Gohtrollers ) 0iisls.
1t o'clock yesterday morning when
Whaley reached the bank with the warrant He
spoke first to the watchman at the door. an old
Pinkerton man named Clarke. He showed the
warrant to the watchman, talking thicky mean
while, and was finally passed along to the night
n AG,o
the amount he called G. L. Wimerding, the
night manager.
When Mr.. Wilmerding the amount OF the
warrant. and noticed that although calling for
more than quarter Of million dollars, it had
been carried around for nearly a year, he be-
came suspicious and decided TO retain the war
rant for investigation. Whaley became indig-
nant and wanted to climb through the window
to get the warrant back. according to the bank
officials. Finally. he agreed that the bank was
right in retaining the warrant until it could be
investigated. and went away, displaying a big
roll of bills.
On a closer examination after his departure
the suspicious Of the bank officials became prac-
tically certainty. AS soon the day force
came on. at 8 o'clock, Mr. Hill took the war
rant TO Controller Metz. and examination OF che
records showed that the warrant had been
raised from the original modest sum. Mr.. Metz
started an investigation at once. with the result
that Whaley was arrested early In the evening.
He gave his present occupation a salesman.
While Mr.. Hill at the Controllers office
woman, heavily yelled, who said that she was
Mrs. Whaley. called at the bank She said she
had heard that her husband had been at the
bank and wanted to know If he had done any
thing that would get him into trouble. She ex-
planned that he had been dining out the night
before and might have done something or
less foolish. The day force knew nothing OF the
affair and the woman went away.