The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-09-15
HOP DEALER IN JAIL
AS BANK SWINDLER
COnfeSSeS He Obtained Many
Thousands Falsely.
THREE INSTITUTIONS VICTIMS
AdOlDh ROthbnrth, Once Trust
worthy Agent of Big Firm, Ruined
by Speculation, Trying TO Get Rich
Quick, Tries Dishonest Methods
and II Soon Run 10 Earth.

New York. Sept a 80 Adolph Roth
barth, representative IN America Of the
largest hop dealing firms in the world,
Rothbarth & Co. OF Frankfort-on-the-
Main, London. ST Petersburg. and New
York is in the Tombs q confessed bank
swindler His victims are the Mercantile
National Bank. which. according 10 the
district attorneys Office. is out $500,
and the Liberty National. which holds
$1,000 of his fraudulent notes.
After twenty years Of honorable deal
ing as the New York agent Of a firm
whose credit is internationally good.
Roth6arth. in lSG5 made up his mind that
he wanted TO be a millionaire and get
, his million quick He adyentured into
Wall street, played the bull end Of the
market, put up for margins cash that he
had obtained from the hanks on the
strength Of i;npeccable business state
ments, and was ruined in the panic OF
1891 Thereafter he played a confidence
game with three banks-the Mercantile,
the Liberty, and the National Park
4 keeping each instits.tinn IGNORANT Of his
+ borrowings from the others and floating
I his hop business with the proceeds Of
/ false statements OF credit and cash
Anxious 10 Pay Penalty.
Now with the written evidence Of his
frauds in the hands Of District Attorney
/ Whitman. his $4,000 business reduced to
the value Of a desk and two or three o.
fee chairs. and the fear that he may
have ruined the prospects Of his German
brothers, who were innocent Of HIS trans
actions. Rothbarth SAYS he wants TO go
to prison for the longest term the law
can provide.
This happens. in his case. 20 be ten
years. He said to-day that he lived
through a he'll Of sleepless nights. and
that he was glad the hanks had laid
him by the heel
/ His game was a swindle of the sim
( plest variety He used the known rep
utation OF the foreign house Of Roth
barth & Co. as his best trump, and for
a second. his own previous credit with
the banks that dealt largely in com
mercial paper The banks never sus-
/ pected that he was a swindier until
] three days ago. so closely did he play
! his cards Upon the basis OF reputation
and credit he built fraudulent statement;
Of the condition of Martin Rothbarth &
/ Co, the American branch Of the Roth
barth's hop business; providing the banks
with utterly imaginary figures concern
ing bills receivable and cash
Each Lender Is Unaware.
] For years the Mercantile had no sus
picion that he was a heavy borrower
/ from the Liberty, the Liberty was un
aware tha; the Mercantile held his notes
and the National Park accepted his state
ment that he was Borrowing from Il
alone. OF the three banks. the Nationa
/ Park alone gets out without loss.
/ Like the bills of fading forged severa
( years ago, which were caught because h'
inserted in his counterfeit papers rreigh
car numbers higher than the road which
| owned the cars had ever gone in mum
bering them. Rothbarth was tripped NJ
by carelessness in a trivial detail. He for
/ got 10 make copies Of the false state
ments he made TO the Mercantile anC
4 the National Park. The statements diff
/ fered amazingly. The credit men OF these
/ banks happened to make comparison
They saw instantly that one Of the state
ments must be lie A little later they
| learned that both were false. SO they
went for Rothbarth in a hurry and after
a brief period Of excuses, in which h'
1 insisted that careless bookkeeping was
responsible FOR the discrepancies, his de
/ fense collapsed. He admitted the gull
/ and sought to explain the cause.