The Detroit times., 1908-08-25
NEW LEAD IS FOUND
IN COUNTERFEIT
TICKET CASE
MORE ARRESTS DUE IN coNNEc.
TON WITH PLOT TO DEFRAUD
o. v. R.-APPLIcATIoN FOR
WARRANTS POSTPONED.

nor any one representing the prose
cution Will give any hint as TO the
nature Of these developments lest
they give their hand away and spoil
the case, hut that important informa
ton has come 10 their attention is
certain
Attorney Charles Joslyn and AS
sistant Superintendent Dohrman. re-
presenting the ID. L. X, Assistant
PfOsecutor Crosse and Detective Baker
visited police court about IL o'clock
for the purpose OF swearing out war
rants against the three men now un-
der arrest But. because OF the new
turn In the case, Mr.. Crosse sent for
his chief and. after a hurried consul.
tation. the party left without laying
the matter before Justice Stein.
Asked for an explanation OF the
sudden change OF plans, Mr.. Yerkes
said:
Il am not at liberty to discuss the
matter at all now. IL might do harm. .
Are more arrests likely
--..eFshere= maybe mnre-f hat=isaft 4
lcan say"
Capt, Mcdonnell satd, Tuesday
morning. that Harold Rason. the con
ductor under arrest, had admitted that
he was the ringleader In the counter
feiting game
Scheme Nlpped in Bud.
What bears alill The eaf-maFks OF
another elaborate scheme To defraud
the ID. u. r. was nipped In the bud
by the police Monday night. when
they locked up three men on suspicion
Of counterfeiting tickets. The pris-
oners are Charles +. Rason, AS years
old. painter and decorator. living at
No. 100 Greenwood-ave.: his son, Har-
old f. Rason, aged u, same address.
who is a conductor on the Fourteenth
line. and William Vann, aged 40. No.
256 First-st., former street car con-
ductor and one OF the present mem.
bers OF the executive board of the
street railway mems union. The pc.
lice say the men have confessed.
The ID. u. X. officials received in
formation two weeks ago that coun-
terfeit eight-for-a-quarter tickets We're
being sold to the conductors on the
T Fourteenth line Aey--netified- Pres
ecuting Attorney Yerkes, who, in turn,
informed the police. Detectives were
assigned to the case at once. and
Monday nights arrests were the first
results of their labors. Several con.
ductors were taken to police head
quarters during the course of the in
vestigation and questioned as to
their knowledge of the counterfeit
tickets.
Printing Plate Found.
The two Rasons were arrested
Monday evening, as they were leaving
the Brunswick hotel. where they had
met. presumably by appointment.
Capt. Mcdonnell and Detectives Ba-
fer and Kunkei received them as they
came out. The self-appointed recep-
ton committee also including General
Manager Brooks. of the ID. u. r.:
General Superintendent Harry Bull
len. Assistant Superintendent Paul
Dohrman and Assistant Prosecutor
Percy Grose. When the prisoners
were searched In police headquarters.
the plate used in making the alleged
counterfeit tickets was found on the
elder Rason. while the younger man
had a quantity Of ink and 81 sheets OF
paper such as is used In printing tick
eta5Ta according to tffe police.
Vann was arrested in his home "a
few minutes later and search of the
premises revealed printing press
and 500 strips Of paper of the same
size as strips OF tickets. The bogus
tickets already disposed OF were print
ed I'm Chicago, the police say. The
press found In VanH,s home was set
up only on Monday, according to the
information received by the police,
and IL is believed that the gang WAS
getting ready To start printing the
tickets here when the police inter
fered.
Disposes Of Tickets.
Young Rasnn Is alleged 10 haze dis.
posed OF the tickets sold thus far.
about 1000 strips, the police estimate.
Rason has been off duty on account of
an injury TO his foot and the police
say his custom was TO board the
Fourteenth cars and sell the bogus
| tickets To the conductors. This was
very easy. as 1t is common practice
among conductors TO buy tickets from
one another.
William Nann was discharged from
the company's employ lasLJnne for
alleged Irregularities in the use OF
| transfers. Several other conductors
we're laid on about the same time. fol
lowing the discovery of scheme to
defraud the company Several prose-
cutions are now pending in the Grim.
inal courts.
One OF the witnesses against young
| Rason II the affair reaches the courts,
| will be former conductor named NIL
| Ter He was among those brought in
and questioned. and he told the police
that Rason had given him three strip
of tickets. two of which proved TO be
counterfeit and one genuine. and told
him TO see what he could do with them
among the boys Miller believed all
the tickets were genuine.
How Fraud Was Tipped OF.
This practice on The part of Rason
gave the thing away. ii is said Mi
Ter was not the only one 10 whom he
gave tickets, and the company natur-
ally got wind OF II and started an in
vestigation.\ Miller and the other men
who received the tickets are hot be-
! !ieved TO have had any part In tho
scheme however. TN savtI, twas -oftv'
Epf=them-= s=sHfti,= wir,-.-pprt n OF,
when HIS suspicious were aroused as
to the genuineness OF the tickets.
The tickets are really clever coun-
I terfeits. Placed side by side the gen
uine and the spurious article .ook as
much alike as two peas In the coun.
terfeit. however, there are no periods
after the initials of j. r. Keys. who
was general passenger agent CT the
old Detroit Railway. This IS about
I the only point of difference except
/ that the coloring does MOI run through