The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-04-01
SECRET service
/. OFFICERS ARREST
COIN SWEATER
Eben ]. Gregory, Well Known
Salt Lake Man, Is Charged
With Robbing Government.
GOLD PIECES WERE
REDUCED IN WEIGHT
UNITED STATES DETECTIVES
DECLARE THEY HAVE CLEAR
CASE AGAINST PRISONER.

IA%+%%&@@A+A%+
= Eben j. Gregory, OF 234 North Fifth y
4 West street. was arrested about noon =
y yesterday by United States secret y
y service men and charged with =
y sweating gold coins. GTegOry's =
y operations extended over two years y
y During that time he is alleged to y
4 have defrauded the government of y
\ many thousands of dollars. =
Gregory is well-knOwn in Salt y
y Lake. He formerly conducted cigar y
y stores i'm Main street and First South y
= street, but for the past two years he y
has posed as mining man.
%<<%%%@<+<%%%+ ++<+A<<
Like a spider weaving his web, Harry
| b. Richardson, government secret ser
vice man from Denver, assisted by w. w
/ Fraser, another Denver operative, spent
nearly a month in Salt Lake before ar
resting Eben J. Gregory, formerly a CT
gar dealer but more recently calling him
l self a mining man, of 234 North Fifth
/ West street, Gregory is charged with
sweating s. and so gold coins. Before
he was taken into custody. the govern
ment agents made sure of every detail OF
/ the case against him.
Gregory is about 80 years old and has
! a wife and three children living at the
/ North Fifth West street address. He IS
an Englishman. When he first came TO
/ Salt Lake he worked as a clerk for
I O'Meara brothers, the mining men. LeaV-
/ ing their employ he opened a cigar store
! i'm Main street, near the Western Union
( Telegraph office. Then he moved to First
South street. near West Temple. Two
d. years ago he was forced TO close his
/ store. the building having been leased by
/ a saloon man 1t was then that he began
/ to call himself a mining man and II IS
alleged. commenced his criminal career
/ 1t was first noticed that something was
l. ~ a4aa "a tod
Salt Lake about five weeks ago The
matter was called to the attention OF the
( Denver branch of the United, states Sc
/ cret service by Chief of Police Pitt On
erative Richardson and his assistant, Mr..
( Fraser were sent here. They knew that
/ their quarry was a sweater and they were
{ speedily upon the track OF Gregory, VINO
had passed gold coins In Salt Lake Dusl-
/ ness houses every DAY for about two
/ wears Gregory. unconscious that he was
being watched. kept al his work In the
month that he was followed. the govern
ment men were able to learn every detail
I of his methods
Revenue Was Large.
II is said that Gregory confined bis Op-
[ eratiOns to s. and 80 gold coins Through
/ his process of sweating. he was able 10
take from 20 cents to dollar IN gold
| from the s. coins and from Sl.D 10 = IN
! gold from the 80 coins He used acids IN
! sweating" the coins.
I the face of the coins, making them look
like old or badly worn pieces Of money.
( The stolen gold was left in a solution
and was reclaimed by an electrical pro-
! cess nv which the gold was made to adj
here to iron and the alloy was removed
/ Gregory's method, it is said was to use
l his acids upon the face OF the coin.
/ leaving the tall or reverse SIDE, IN
| perfect condition. IN passing the coins.
! il was his method TO turn the side that
had not been tempered with SO that the
person receiving the coin could not see
! the side that had been sweated-
/ The extent of the mans operations was
shown i'm the fact that ne would boldly
go 10 the pOstOffice for fresh gold coins
/ to use in his sweating" laboratory. He
! secured about 5000 I'm gold every month
! from the pOstoffice. He would buy post
! office money orders at pOstOffice substa-
| tatfons in his wife's maiden name, ia. Me
Evan. Then he would cash them at the
central office. demanding gold in pay
ment.
I He had other ways of getting fresh
supplies of gold. even sending to other
/ cities for coins that had not been lamp
cred with. The government detectives
| found that he received many express
packages from outside points. These, it
is said contained shipments of gold
| When he had .sweated" sufficient gold
| he would it is alleged. cast it into a bar
and send it TO the Denver mint His last
paid S3S5.34 for the bar he sent at that
/ time The gold was s99 fine-almost pure
I gold. This indicated that II was coin
gold with the alloy taken out by means
] of his retaining process
/ Gregory was arrested he was having
his shoes shined at the bootblack stand
in the Jennings block, q West First South
/ street. Before he was taken into Gus
tOdy the secret service men had seen
him pass three of the ''sweated" coins.
Gregory was turned over to Policeman
! II. d. Lyon by the secret service men
and was taken to the city jail.
/ visit was then paid to his house At
234 North Fifth West street. Up in the
attic the secret service men found a con-
plete laboratory. fitted with al of the sr-
I pliances required in the sweating of coins.
An expert chemist who examined the
laboratory, declared that it could have
been used for no other purpose than for
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