New-York tribune., 1910-09-10
ARREST CUBAN AS Bic
DEALS COME TO LIGHT
Detectives Say Menendez, Late
Iv from Havana. Tried to Pass
Fake S125,OOO Draft.
BANKS SUSPICiONSAROUSED
Hotel Inquiry on Guests Stand
ing Starts Investigation That
Leads to His Arrest for
Attempted Swindle.

Attempted Swindle.
| Manuel Alvarez. alias b Menendez. of
| Cuba. is q prisoner at Police Headquar-
ters charged with attempts at swindling
several firms doing business in the city
| His method Of procedure. according to
| William 7. Burns of the Burns & Sheri-
dan Detective Agency. who arrested the
Cuban. was the most daring attempted
| in New York for long time.
| Menendez. as the officers believe his
| name to be, or Alvarez. a he called him
self. in his business dealings. came from
Cuba a month ago. and registered al the
| Hotel Martinique as Manuel Alvarez. of
| Havana, Cuba. Last Tuesday accord
ing to Detective Burns. he went to the
| United States Film Brokers and I'm
porters. No. II Union Square. and repre-
scented himself as a rich Havana ner-
! chant. He told the manager James c.
| Coglan. that he believed there was
great opening for the moving picture
| business in Cuba. and he had decided to
invest in the business This was vel
| come intelligence to the film Dealers and
| they entertained their prospective Gus
| I
an order for $4,000 worth of films. and
| then asked Mr.. Coglan to introduce him
to a reputable bank. as he wished to
| cash some drafts.
! At the Savoy Trust Company No. $50
| Broadway. where he was introduced, by
Mr.. Coglan, the Cuban deposited draft
! for S125,000 issued by the Banco de la
! Isla de Cuba. of Havana on the Union
! Discount Company. of London, England.
| on this. he drew for the payment of the
! films, and then placed an order for S. 900
worth of clothing with Saks & co. and
another order for $4,000 with the Hub
| Clothing Company. giving checks on the
| Savoy Trust Company in payment.
Branded as Fake" From Havana.
His next move. according to Mr
| Burns, was the one that brought about
his arrest. He presented check for
| $1,000 to the Hotel Martinique. asked for
| 5000 cash. and suggested that the balance
be paid over to him when the check and
| been accepted by the trust company.
| The hotel management refused to give
! the so-called Alvarez the money, and
| then telephoned to the Savoy Trust Com
pany. The trust company became sus-
| pCious and communicated by cable with
London and Havana. From both sources
came the reply that neither the BanCa
| de la Isla de Cuba nor the Union Dis
count Company had any customer of
| that name. The Havana dispatch
branded Alvarez as a fake.
The Savoy Trust Company turned the
affair over to the Burns & Sheridan
Agency, which does all such work for
| the American Bankers Association.
| Alvarez had disappeared. however. and
it was onl. yesterday afternoon that the
| detectives on the case ascertained that
he was staying at a boarding house at
No 3o4 West GSth street
Detective Burns called in Detective
Sergeant Thomas F. DOnahue from Po-
lice Headquarters, and together they
trailed Alvarez TO a hotel in West 34th
street. where they placed him under ar
rest. Their action did not seem to an
noy him in the least, and he enjoyed his
dinner as if detectives and police We're
the last thing in the world that could
trouble him.
Says He Is Revolutionary Agent.
The prisoner is short and stout His
eyes are deeply sunken. He gave his
age as thirty eight. but he looks older.
He declined to say anything about him
self. and said he could not talk English
at all. go that it was necessary to con
verse with him i'm Spanish. When
brought to Police Headquarters he said
that he had come from Havana as the
agent of a revolutionary party. and that
the draft he had deposited had been sent
to him for the purpose of going to Eng
land to secure arms for the revolution
lists
In the room which he oCCupied at No. |
3O4 West 2Sth street were found two
letters in Spanish, rostmarked Havana,
Cuba" and addressed to r. Menedezz. !
at the 2Sth street address. The detec-
tives regard II as significant that he
should have had letters addressed at
that address while ostensibly a guest at
the Martinique. Mr.. Burns said last
night that he expected to fasten ether |
attempts a swindling upon the prisoner.
Among others mentioned by Mr.. Burns |
as intended victims of Menendez was
tJa firm of Antonio PARA e. Co. com |
mission merchants. Of No. 50 Wall |
street, to whom he is said to have pre- |
sented checks for S2G.eU0 and $4,000 for /
Dayment against the craft on London. |
In both cases the firm refused To cash |
ihe checks The prisoner will be ar
raigned in the Tombs court to-day.