The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-04-07
DID "DIFFY" DEAL DOPE AT
 LOS ANGELES?
Those Who Know Him Say He Was Ro.
 mancing About Walkers $B,O0O.
They Are Also Inclined to Believe That Tuberculosis Story Was ''Stalr' to Escape the CaIabo0Se - Some Side. lights on Life of Notorious "C0n" Man.

People who knew F. c. Diffenbacher while he lived in this city were anus ed when. they learned that the expert tapper and 'tcon'' man had slipped through the fingers of the Los Angeles police by telling a tale of woe about being in the last stages of tuberculosis. The Bridgeporters who know "Diffy" say that he has been telling that con sumption story for the past ten years, especially when he was about to be jugged for anything.
 All of the newspapers published a story to the effect that ''Diffy'' had been arrested for vagrancy in Los An geles and had been banished from the city forever. He confessed to having "trimmed' the New Britain banker, Walker to the tune of s4S,O00.
 The local men who know ''Diffy" say his head must be affected if he made such a confession, as it is known that the Gondorfs, of Philadelphia, shad Walker all to themselves, and they or anyone else.
 But nevertheless "Diffy" is a king among "con'' men. It was he who created the prize fight stall" In this fight, generally in a suburban barn. The "victim' is tipped off that one of the fighters is going to Hay down and throw the fight. The gang has m
 
 bank roll and he, being on the inside. begins to bet on the sure thing. Af- ter the money is bet there are several ways of getting away with the "suck- CTS" money. Either some fake con- stables descend on the fight, the stake holder absconds, or the fighter turns the tables and instead of quitting puts a sleep producer over to the other fel- low.
 '.Diffy' came here from the upper part of New York State where he had been a stock broker. He did some bucketing and was cleaned out TOT s6O, 900. "Diffy' started out to get an easy living Like Jimmy McNally his proud boast is. that he never took any part of an honest mans money, but that his prey was the supposedly hon est, who wanted to indulge in a little crooked business on the sly.
 He often declared that he was a pub lie benefactor because he took money away from the "hardshells" who had it stored away in the banks, and put it in circulation. After 'EDiffy" had made a clean up he always appeared in a Prince Albert, a silk hat, smoked S1 cigars and spent a great deal of time in New York, where he would have a suite at one of the best hotels The sum of s5,OOO would not last him much over a month. His weakness was faro, and like the majority of the get-rich-quick men he had a faro bank to take his quickly gotten gains.
 .fDiffy" hovered around this city off and on for about nine years. About five years ago he shot a man in an al- tercation at Stamford. The court sent him to the county jail in this city for a. year. While there he had an operation performed for serious ailment. When he left the 1nst1tu- tion he had gained 50 pounds, was in perfect health and better prepared to look for easy money than ever before in his checkered career. He had been broke when he went to jail, but being an invalid he had considerable liberty at the jail, and he claims to have cleaned up nearly $500 by shooting craps with the bound over prisoners, who had some money, and nothing to do but wait for their trials.
 Now that "Diny'' has been run out of Los Angeles the folks who knew him here would not be surprised to see him come back to town within short time His local friends claim that the charges that "Diffy" used loaded dice are untrue They claim that he had a clever way of letting the dice roll over his fingers so that he controlled their play.
 While here "tDiffy'' was never with out a small Morocco leather case in which he carried his wire tapping out fit, consisting of a diminutive tele- graph instrument and very Inc wires. The whole outfit can be carried in an inside coat pocket. '