Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-10
Secret Service at Bottom of
Big Counterfeiting Scheme.
ARREST ALLEGED LEADER
PLANT ON VANCOUVER ISLAND
Outfit for Making Bank Notes Found
in Cabin-West Flooded With
Fake $40 Bills.

Albert Leon. who is said TO be the
cleverest counterfeiter that the author
tiles have had to deal with In many
years, was arrested yesterday in the Of
fees OF the Royal Dutch West Indies
Steamship Company in New York, as he
was buying a ticket for Demerara, Dutch
Guiana. Two of his alleged accomplices
are under arrest in Chicago.
Leon. who is twenty-eight years old.
has the appearance OF a well-to-do artist.
He has been in New York several weeks,
living at a boarding house on West LID
street as Albert Sanders"
II was by the close watch which the
secret service men kept on the steamship
Offices that Leon was arrested. Since
last spring, according to Chief FLYNN.
Leon has been engaged In counterfeiiing
national bank notes He used photo
mechanical process that enabled him 10
turn out ten-dollaT bank notes that were
easily passed. His first product, accord
ing to the secret service men, was dis
posed OF in Los Angeles, Cal, but later
his counterfeit notes were freely circuiat-
ed in many of the western cities. lie Is
said to have counterfeited the notes Of
| twelve western banks.
No Counterfeits Found.
When Leon was searched the secret
| service men found on him $500 in good
money and an express money order for
| $500. No counterfeit money was found
in his pockets. and a search OF his
| room revealed that he had left nothing
behind that would connect him with
any counterfeiting operations. Leon
| admitted knowing the men arrested IN
| Chicago.
| Leon is said to have been in this
| country about three years He TOOK
up q section Of land near Los Angeles.
Cal. where il is believed the first
spurious notes were made. In Dccem-
| Der, 1910. he went to Nootka Island. IN
| British Columbia. and IL is charged
| that most OF his counterfeit work came
out Of plant there Notes OF the FOL
| lowing banks. II is alleged, were coun-
| terfeited by Leon:
Riverside (CaL) National Bank: First
| National, Yuma. Ariz.; First National
| Of Orange, Cal; Pasadena lCal.) Ma
| tional Bank; First National of Will
| Transport, Pa; Ell Centre tCal) Ma
tional; First National OF Portland. Ore;
| National Bank of Commerce, wichita,
Kan; Anglo and London-Paris Nation
al of San Francisco; Illinois National
| of Springfield; Blair County National
| Of Tyrone, Pa, and Croker National
| Of San Francisco.
Leon was also alleged to have coun-'
| terfeited the ten-dollar United States
| buffalo note.
Arrest Comes Through Widow.
| CHICAGO, October 10.-To a poverty
stricken widow living in Sedgw1ck street
may be traced directly the arrest In New
York yesterday Of Albert Leon. alleged
head of an extensive countarfeiung gang
which has flooded the MIDDLE west and
Pacific coast with spurious ten-dollar
bank notes during the last year.
49, Ii foA
made their appearance in Chicago. Hun
dreds were passed. Three weeks ago a
German widow went into q delicatessen
store on Sedgwick street to buy some
bread. She rendered ten-doliar note
payment and was told 1t was worthless.
But it is all have. and my five chill
dren need food" she said.
| Capt. Thomas +. Porter OF the United
States secret service was notified The
| woman was able to give a description or
| the man who gave her the bill The man.
| Fred Marneck, was taken into custody
in midnight raid on nat at Division
and Wells streets. More than $500 in
good money was found in his possession,
but no counterfeit bills. He made adj
missions however. which resulted In the
| federal secret service men being ordered
| to capture Leon.
Alleged Plant Located.
VICTORIA, B. c., October 10.-The al
legged counterfeiting plant OF Albert Leon.
arrested in New York yesterday. was To-
Gated two miles from the Indian village
Of Nootka, on the west coast of Van
couver Island, where Leon had a small
cabin in the woods and said that he was
prospecting and timber-cruising.
United States secret service men search
ed the cabin and found a high-power
camera, acids and etching plates, but no
bills OF any kind. Leon had taken out
presumption papers from the British Co
lumbia government for a homestead OF
100 acres.