The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-12-10

1 VII creditors. cases today Mdltre
 Cruppi, as Mime. Gouds lawyer, | told how Count Boni fell into the hands of the money lenders and how he was diven to desperate straits to rais money. | Count Boni, the lawyer said, was even compelled to descend into trade to raise money, and bought and sold goods just | like the common tradesman whom it is the fashion of the French aristocracy to denouce Maitre Cruppi talked for four | hours, mostly with the technical reading of the civil code, the marriage contract, and other dry documents. In 'the middle 1 of his speech the judge went to sleep and slipped in his chair, and several persons among the audience snored.
 | Cruppi demonstrated how Count Boni had been the victim of usurers, Isidore Ziegler, the principal creditor, claiming over a million francs for sums advanced | with which to manage the Counts house. | hold affairs. Ziegler showed himself the chief of the band of money lenders, and i Cruppi said that Zegler was sly fox, | for he advanced the least possible amount of money himself and always got some | body else to furnish the funds. Cruppi advanced proofs of usury in the following | transactions: In one case Count Boni gave a note for A,OO0 francs, but actually received in two payments only 29,oo0 | francs. Again he gave note for 21,0o0 francs and received actually 14O00 francs. Being unable to pay this when due, the money lender exacted note renewed at 250O0 francs. The sum total received by Boni, however, was only 17,OO0 francs. | On another note for 6500O francs Boni actually got 10000 francs. Countess Anna denied any participation in or benefit from these loans, and said they were made
 without her knowledge or consent. She refused, therefore, to be held responsible for. the same. Concerning the trades mems bills, said Maitre Cruppi, Countess Anna is always willing to pay the same
 when they are legitimate demands.
 Cruppi showed how dressmaker, claim
 ing nearly 2o,OOO francs, did not furnish | any dresses to the Countess but lent the
 money to Boni. So, too, an antiquity
 dealer, claiming payment for numerous
 objects of furniture, really sold the Coun-
 tess only two. The other items of the bill
 figuring as pieces of furniture were dis
 gused loans.
 One dealer claims that he sold the Cas-
 tellanes two sofas, one for 60,OO0 francs
 and the other for sO0OO francs; a chest
 of drawers for 5000 francs and a desk for 10000 francs.
 1 Countess Anna says the last two items
 were delivered at her house, but she never | saw the others. Notes for the same were
 signed by Count Boni without his wifes | knowledge. Another dealer sent bill for
 coffee pct, 200 francs, and an antique
 bottle, 20,000 francs, but these objects
 Boni sent as presents to his women | friends.
 Concerning Count Bonfs extravaganza, | Cruppi said he not only spent his wifes
 entire income, which she paid directly | into his hands out of generosity, but used ! up his personal sources of revenue. Cruppi detailed mortgages amounting to nearly 100000 francs raised by Count Boni on five separate personal and real estate
 properties. Boni also speoulated in an- tiquities but did not have much luck in
 these transactions. He generally lost, and
 Anna had to foot the bills. However, sometimes Boni did make profit, nota- bly, in a transaction with Seligman, the
 antiquarian of the Place Vendome. Here
 Boni bought goods which he resold, mak- ing profit of 57OOO0 francs. This sum
 should have been contributed to the ex- penses of the household, but it was not.
 It went in the usual direction of lordly
 extravaganza.
 Count Boni's extravaganza, Cruppi said,
 sometimes ran pretty close to what by any one else might be called swindle. One piquant detail concerned Mademoi- ] selle Nimidoff, great beauty and singer at the Grand opera here. She sold l Boni job lot of rich rings, pins, and
 necklaces for 10000 francs. She holds Bonrs receipt for the goods, but never | got the money. She applied to the Coun- tess for payment, but Anna declared she 1 had never set eyes on the jewels or heard
 them mentioned Boni, when asked for an explanation, declared he had shown | them to Anna and she had picked out ! those she preferred and had sent them to | a jeweler to reset and he had intended returning the remainder, so Cruppi de- clared, that Boni had simply taken the | jewels around the corner and sold them
 to jeweler for 55,O0o francs.
 | Nimidoff then wrote Count Boni letter
 which was read in court, saying that sine knew all American women were charm
 ing, and was sure that the Countess would see this affair was properly settled. Cruppi declared that Anna was wax in Bonis hands. He used to write letters to | her family or to business people and
 obliged her to copy them and sign her name. Cruppi said that Boni resorted to tricks to make Anna write these letters, | telling her they were intended for one | person and then he mailed them to some body else. Boni wrote very well in Eng