New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-09-15
TWO BANKS VICTIMS
FOR ABOUT $4,000
Adolph R0ti1barth, Agent for Ger
man Hop Dealing Firm. Pleads
Guilty to Larceny.
.BLAMES TIE STOCK MARKET
4 Am Glad It Is Over" Declares
the Prisoner-DistraCted
by Efforts to Re
coup Losses.

! agent OF German HFSn o. mop utoie- =
Who was arrested yesterday on the COM
/ plant OF the Mercantile National Bank,
was arraigned before Magistrate Her
bert. in the Tomhs court. late yesterday
afternoon. and pleaded guilty to the lar
! ceny Of $1,000 10 on September |, 1908.
He was held for the grand jury in bail
of $4,000. and is now in the Tombs,
Rothbarth is about fifty years old and
unmarried. and has been the American
agent of the German firm of Martin
Rothbarth & Co. of Frankfort-on-the
Main for the last twenty years.
Though the specific complaint on
which he was arraigned was for $4,000,
his total theft as it now stands is in the
neighborhood of $4,000 Two banks
are concerned. the Mercantile National
and the Liberty National Bank, and in
each case his methods were alike
BY means of sworn statements of his
assets and liza bilities he built up line of
credit with the two banks mentioned
and with the National Park Bank. on
which he was able to borrow at one
time to the extent of about 100000. but
his loans to the National Park Bank
We're all repaid before any one discov-
cred his dishonesty.
Rothbarth himself ascribes his down
fall to the stock market. in which, he
says he was caught heavily in the panic
Ct 1907. He had been Specializing for
two years before then, but the crash
found him unprepared and the call for
more margins drove him to the device
of extending his bank credit by false
statements.
Recouping Since the Panic.
Since the panic he had in part re-
couped his losses. and might have pulled
through without discovery but for re
cent renewal of his particular method Of
bank swindling
The hop season for buyers and dealers
opens in force in the middle of August,
and at about that time this year he ap-
piled TO the National Park Bank for re-
newal of his credit with that institution.
They asked him for statement of as
sets and liz bilities as of June 80. 1910,
which he furnished AT the same time
he applied to the Mercantile National
Bank for renewal OF loan of $4,000
which they held against him, and on
their request he furnished them with
another statement of his affairs, also
dated June 80, 1910
Investigation by the credit officers of
these two banks disclosed the fact that
the two statements were different in
essential points. and the immediate re-
suit was that the National Park Bank
declined TO reopen an account with him.
At the same time the Mercantile Ma
tional went deeper into his affairs until
on Tuesday they felt justified in asking
for an explanation from him.
William Nelson Cromwell. of the law
firm of Sullivan & Cromwell. is
director in the Mercantile and. through
his interest. H. H. Boyesen and William
Y. Rowe. of that firm. assisted Presi-
dent Willis G. Nash in an examination
of Rothbarth's affairs
The hop dealers office is on the second
floor of No. &c Whitehall street. and on
Tuesday afternoon the three men. ac-
Companied By two detectives. went there
to demand explanations The two detec-
tives were left on guard outside while
the bank president with the two lawyers
questioned Rothbarth.
Calmly Makes Confession
His explanation Of the discrepancies in
the two statements TO the two banks was
first based on what he called bad book
keeping. but when the errors were
pointed out TO him as being So large IS
to prohibit such an explanation. he
turned around and calmly confessed the
entire matter
At the office Of District Attornev Whit
man, where the party then went. the
two statements were again compared,
h:t as il appeared that though Roth
lsarth had uttered false statement in
either one case n the other he had not
actually received any cash as the result
Of such deception the prosecutor de-
cided to look further before submitting
the hop dealer 10 arrest
In a similar statement Of assets and
liza bilities submitted to the Mercantile
National Bank, on September l. 1905,
Assistant District Attorney Robert E
Manley. who was assigned to the case.
found that Rothbarth had sworn to an
$40. 500 36. and liabilities on that date
of only 1000.
Rothbarth, on being examined admit
ted that his total of bills receivable on
that date amounted TO only $4,000 in
stead of the S420OnO TO which he had
sworn in his statement, and on the liza
bilities side Of the statement it was
FOUND that on that date he owed the
Liberty National Bank an even 500 900 |
on the strength Of this statement
which he now admits to be false. the
Mercantile National Bank extended 10
Rothbarth q line of credit. which ran
up In items IF So. 600 each TO total
Of 100000 on March -. 1893 From
time to time since then he had paid back |
part. and renewed the balance of those /
obligations. until al present. according |
to President Nash of the Mercantile Ma |
tional Bank, his debt 10 that institution |
is approximately $4,000,
Owes the Liberty $4,000.
With the Liberty National Bank ac- |
cording to President F r. Schenck. his |
account is on the wrong side OF the |
ledger To the amount of $1,000
At the National Park Bank Roth /
bartha credit good for total Of /
10 osa ar one time but according tn (