Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-08
OBRIEN CASE A PRECEDENT
First Conviction in West for Counter
feiting Special Bank Notes.
PAPER OF DEFUNCT INSTITUTION
Operator CircuIates Notes of Late
Merchants and Planters Bank OF
and Lands Il
Prison.

The conviction of Thomas O'Brien, the
somewhat notorious counterfeiter. before
the federal court at Lincoln. is the first
conviction in the west for counterfeiting
where special bank notes figured and has
become the subject of extensive discussion
among law officers concerned in such work.
The specific offense of which OBrien Is
convicted was in having In his possession
and passing certain bank notes issued by
the defunct Merchants and Planters bank
OF Savannah, Ca. which. it was charged,
he pasted together with silk threads be-
tween, to initiate the silk fiber In the
genuine bank notes, and for fraudulently
attaching a serial number with intent to
deceive and defraud. These bogus notes
were passed at Geneva and Wahoo. Neb.
O'Brien was convicted before Judge T. c.
Munger in the United States district court
at Lincoln on two indictments for counter
feiting and was at once taken to Fremont
and lodged in the Dodge county jail to
await the disposition of a motion by his
attorneys for a new trial.
Previous Sentence Light.
O'Brien was once before convicted in the
state courts for passing similar notes and
sentenced to thirty days in Jail. not speci-
fically for counterfeiting. but for obtain
ing goods under false pretenses. 1t
was then held that the bank notes
in question were not actual counter
feits, but that they were valueless, being
merely state bank notes of a defunct bank.
They were put in the same class with the
bank notes Of the defunct state bank OF
New Brunswick, n. j., of which many
were passed in Omaha several years ago
but no conviction could lie against the
passers OF the money for counterfeiting
because the notes were not actually coun-
~terfeits, but occupied the same relation
that do the bank notes of the late con-
federaoy, being merely curios. The par
ties passing these notes in Omaha were
tried in police court for obtaining goods
under false pretenses. and the bank notes
were confiscated. In the interim the "Mer-
chants and Planters notes appeared on
the scene and were for a long time placed
In the same category as the New Bruins
wick notes, but, as the Merchants and
Planters bank notes were blank on the
back, they could not be so readily passed.
This defect was overcome by parties who
came into possession of large numbers of
these notes, generally of the s.. $40 and $40
lusive silk fiber between them ''in imitation
and similitude' to the government bank note
paper, 1t was held by the government au-
thoritles that the act OF counterfeitlng was
completed, and hence the trial and con-
viction Of o'Brien at Lincoln Tuesday.
Secret Service Expert a witness.
w. II. Moran, assistant chief of the
United States secret service, from Wash
ington, was one Of the expert witnesses
called in the O'Brien case, to testify as to
the ''similitude and likeness to the gen.
uine bank notes of the government.
Judge 7. c. Munger, before whom the
case was tried, held to the contention OF
the government regarding the "similitude
and likeness" of the bank notes O'Brien
was charged with passing, and so in
structed the jury.
The attorneys for O'Brlen deny that the
Merchants and Planters bank notes or the
New Brunswick notes are in "similitude'
to United States treasury or national bank
notes, and that the government has made
no case OF actual counterfeiting, and hence
demand a new trial. In the event of the
denial of a new trial they will appeal the
case II necessary to the supreme court OF
the United States.