The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-11

upon the employees of the firms whose
blank checks are stolen and forged, which
was the case in those New York forg-
cries recently cleared up by us: and
contend that there is no more disagreed
BILE feature in the police and detective
business than the unjustifiable suspicion
of person without the actual facts to
warrant It, But sometimes these suspi-
cions come, as they would in these cases,
| from circumstances, and sometimes result
in arrest and possible conviction, when
the crimes are really committed by pro-
fessionals operating from the outside and
using the methods described herein.
7 recall the forgery of check of a
large brokerage firm in Chicago, who de
cided that it was impossible for anyone
excepting an employee to have committed
| the forgery. because the firm considered
their blank checks either all accounted
for or always carefully guarded. When
the forgery was submitted to us and we
compared 1t with the upward of 25.0oo
specimens of Handwriting we have on file.
we promptly determined that the forgery
was committed by an outside professional
who was at that time under arrest in
Lexington, Ky, and who subsequently
admitted to us that the blank checks
Were obtained from the firms lithogra-
| pliers through a subterfuge.
More Careful Record
Il would also advocate that more
careful record be kept of all sales of
check protectors, which should be con-
secutively numbered and recorded by the
retailer And while l am dwelling on
this subject I might call your attention
to the great difficulty we at all times
experience in tracing revolvers to pur
chasers. Almost every revolver manu-
featured, as you know, bears a consecu
tive number. They are sold in large lots
by manufacturers to the middlemen, who
dispose of them to retailers, who event
ually sell them to the user. 1 maintain
that If there were a more careful and
complete record kept of the sale of the
revolver from the manufacturer to the
user, the detection of criminals using a
revolver would be much less difficult.
While this has no bearing on the matter
incidentally.
II want to tell you about forger who
secured $3.50 In a little over three months
in the south and southwest because the
methods employed by him were exceed
ingly clever. He began his operations
by employing Memphis, Tenn. attorney,
to whom he stated that his aunt, residing
at Little Rock, Ark, Administrative of his
fathers estate, had mailed him a check
for $500, in settlement of his interest
that his brother Paul. stopping at local
hotel, had opened the letter and abb
stracted the check, which he was holding
as security for a debt of $500, which the
forger acknowl edged he owed his brother
but said he was unable to pay it until he
could get possession of the check Nat
urally the attorney became interested
and endeavored by various means to To-
cate the alleged brother Paul, but was
unsuccessful. Then the forger requested
that the attorney write to Paul at a local
hotel, which the attorney did, and the
following day the forger called on the
attorney with the check, alleging that the
attorneys letter had resulted in his broth
er turning over the check to him. The
attorney, believing the check to be gem
uine, introduced the forger to bank.
from which he collected $3.50 before the
swindle was discovered.
After his operations in Memphis he
went to St. Louis, and attempted to de-
fraud two banks out of $4,000 by the same
method, and later appeared at Cincin-
after all the facts concerning these
forgeries were reported to me 1 figured
out the work might have been committed
by Fred W. Diebel, Jr., originally from
New Orleans, La, who had previously
been arrested and convicted of forgery;
and we succeeded in locating and arrest
ing him at Denver, Col. aided by the po-
lice, the first of this month. He had the
usual bank swindler's paraphernalia, con-
sisting of pass books, certifcation stamps.
perforators, etc., in his possession at the
time Of his arrest, and he has been iden-
titled for both crimes.
THE day previous to his arrest the
swindler visited a printing establishment
at Denver and ordered 1000 drafts for
bank at Atlanta. Ga, representing him
self as cashier of the bank.
Previous to his operations at Mem
phis he served a term of Imprisonment in
the Alabama state penitentiary for swim
dies committed at Mobile.
Original Methods
II mention this particular crime be-
cause of the original methods employed
by the forger. The average lawyer. with
his fee In sight, would have no hesitancy
in introducing man of his caliber. under
the circumstances to a bank, believing
the check offered by him to be genuine
and expecting to be paid for his services.
The actual crime in this case was, of
course, false pretense, otherwise known to
all of us as confidence game; but In
over 30 per cent of the forgeries uttered
in the United States today more or less
of these cunning confidence methods are
employed. in which 1.-The other fellow"