The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1906-06-05
lNOFFENSiVE TELEGRAPH OPERA.
TOR TURNS OUT TO BE A
FINISHED CROOK.
FORCED CREDIT LETTERS
And Succeeded in 5windIrg Banke IN
Central States Out Of Over
One Eudred Thousand
Dollars.

| PiusbTsg Penn ,flun 4 Whi,e
Pmkcrton detectives have been SC ur
ling the country 70, reyan yea S In 2
| fruitles, ondeaNor tc find the man wAc
wa swindling national banks II New
York, ePnnsylvania and Ohio, thai
quarry wa pounding the KEY"
| $50 a month at Greentrea. a lii le sta.
tion on the Wabasl railroad, nea'
PittsbuIg His name is Boyd Fl. Stone
rode. He lived comfortably in C5rapo-
l. s. IL miles from Pittsburg his hons
was well furnished, his thee children
went to good chools AMI his family
was alway nicely dres ed His Corap
oils neighbors wonderee how he did 4
on 81 a day. They know now.
About a week ago che cashier of tho
Bentleyville, Penn, National bank, re
ceiyed a letter from the NJ MaFcaat' r
Nadonal biak, Of Cleveland, Ohio.
now out a eX stence. bayiag mergaC
with another bank saving It had given
Samuel G. Fletcher letter Of credit
for $3,200, the proceeds Of the sale of
a house in that city, and asking he
Bentleyyille bank TO honor It.
Presented BY Fletcher.
A few days later the letter of credit
was presented by a man who said his
name wa Fletcher. The cashier gave
him 5000 in ca h and a draft on the
Diamond National bank of P sburg
for S2,G00. Early this week "Fle cher"
pres ented the draft at the Ambridge
National bank The cashier there RI
fused 10 cash It, but pfomf ca to col
lect It. and told FLETCHER call tn
next day. In the meantime the Bent
leyVille bank officers had be ONE sur
Oicious of the authenticity Of Tie LEI
ters of credit ami coafegrel with ID
&c i've Cecil G. Rice The dtectfy' Il
posted all the banks in thi5 distrlc
and was told of the application al An
bridge When Fietchcr calle1 al tn
Ambridge bank to se; tn $4,000 a.
officer arrested him. Fletcher r
fused TO ell anything about himself
and The pol &c were at their wits en-
In the meantime the new papers print
cd Fletcher portrait and by tht
he was Identified as Stonerode, IN
Corapolis telegraph operate.
eiectivc Rice went 10 Stoner3de'.
home and found Mrs. Stonerode il
Mysteries. She had re ognizei the pOr
trait of her husband. but could not IN
'er.tanl why il was labeled Fletcher
nor how he could possibly be charg2
with any crime.
A Wealthy Man.
An investigation showed that "Flet
cher" now StoneToie. owned his p
home Sl0.000 worth Of stock in the
Columbia Saving bank. Of Pittsburgh
oil property at Garrett vile
Ohio. stock in a Cleveland nationa
bank and comfortable sum in tn
Coiapolis Mai onal bank
Stonerode is in the Washington
county jail, awai ing trial on the com
plant of the Benlleyville bank. and
many more charges will be made
against him. the police aow getting IN
10 communication W m other banks
hat have been robbei.
In Stoncrode's hOma wa found g
small printing press, typewriter N'
other paraphcrualia 20 enable him Ir
forge letters Of credit and othes banl
printing. The p Iicc say Stcnr.0le
has swindled 50 banks In even years
netting over 100000. By working
steadily and being a man Of domestic /
HABITS hc disarmed all suspi ions |
Year ago Stoneroio served a term in |
he penitenta-y herc for a imilar |
lffenso.