Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-28
POLICE NIP PBUNCO
GAME AT GO-OFF
"G0LD COIN GAME" HAS END
IN CITY JAIL
PLEASING PROCESS is SHOWN
TO coNFlDlNo CITIZENS
Two Men Gathered In Before Willing
Victims of Bogus Offer
Put Up Their Real
Cash

One of the most clever bunco games
that has come to the notice of the Los
Angeles police for some time was re-
vealed yesterday when Detectives Car
roll and Ingram arrested Manuel B.
Whitman and John M. Shreve at their
room at 52Ok West Sixth street and
seized a complete outfit which the
confidence men led their dupes to be-
lieVe was used in molding gold coins.
The detectives learned of the swindle
through a man who answered an ad-
vertisement in a morning paper for
partner with $1,000 to engage in prof
liable business. The police Immediate
ly laid a trap and the two bunco men
were caught with but little trouble.
The system of the pair was to insert
an ad in the papers asking for a part
ner with $1000 and when the victim
appeared at their rooms, which the
swindlers changed from time to time,
he would be sized up" questioned as
to the amount of money at his COM
mand and then gradually would be led
on until he was found to be a person
who would take a risk to make money.
Then one of the men would bring out
the outfit, consisting of a mould with
false bottom, a quantity of sheet
lead, package Of bronze powder, a
~ hSADAN anu dA eAACOlAbA lamp
Had a New Process
"This is a new process for making
q metal that cannot be detected from
gold" said Shreve, who was the leader
of the gang. 1.-THE system is so simple
that 1t is remarkable il has not been
discovered before"
Shreve then would light the alcohol
lamp, place it under the crucible,
which was set on a wire stand, drop
several pieces of the sheet lead, a small
quantity of powdered bronze and sew
eral globules of mercury into the cru
chile and then melt the mixture. lie
then would open the mould, which is of
heavy brass with a small, smooth,
circular steel die in the center.
Whitman would stir the mixture in
the crueible while Shreye was prepar-
ing the mould In order to allow
Shreve ample time to fix the fake die
Whitman would call the attention of
the victim to the melting mass. ShreVe
then would place a new $40 gold coin
into the die, which had been lined with
prepared chalk so that the dupe could
not see that it was not a die, but a
plain mould. Then the receptacle
would be closed and after the metal
was shown to the victim a funnel
would be inserted in the top Of the
mould and the molten stuff poured into
false bottom in the contrivance.
After waiting several minutes, pre-
sumably TO allow the coin to become
solid, but in reality to let the metal
become attached to the false bottom
so that it would not move about in
the mould, the apparatus would be
opened and the gold coin, covered with
chalk, would be taken out.
Filed of Rough Edges
filing off the imaginary rough edges of
the coin, rub it with a cloth and then
exhibit 1t to the victim.
I'VE don't want you TO buy this out
fit" they would tell the dupe. That
is not our business. We will take. you
in as a partner if you put in $1,000,
or will sell you the exclusive right for
this territory"
If the victim became suspicious and
remarked that he was not sure the
coin would pass, then the bank was
visited
Come with us to the bank and we
will show you how it viii pass" they
would say. They then would go TO a
bank, hand the coin to the cashier
and ask for change The bank official
would give the necessary change after
ringing" the coin on the counter, and
the dupe would be satisfied.
Inc next step WOULD De TO persuade
the victim to draw his money from
the bank and go to the room and sign
up the articles of partnership.
According to the police the men, i'm
the event the victim refused at the
last moment, would give him the
'strong-arm" and take the money by
force.
When the men were taken into Gus
tody, they admitted they were at
tempting to bunco those who answered
their advertisement and declared they
had been following fairs in Canada and
running various games of chance un-
der guises Of different kinds.
Operated Before
Secret Service Agent George Hazen
went to the police station to investi-
gate, but when he found that the men
We're not counterfeiting but simply
using a dummy" mould, he passed the
matter to the police. Hazen ques-
toned the men and learned that they
had operated similar swindles some
time ago, the other swindle being a
box equipped with a roll of paper and
a crank with which the men appar-
emily would turn out crisp, new paper
money.
The men will be arraigned in police
court tomorrow on charges of va
grancy and probably will be given sus-
pended sentences and ordered out of
the city.