The Detroit times., 1912-10-21
DODCES SLEUTHS,
BUT DRINK LANDS
FORCER In JAIL
Man Arrested Here on Spree
Said To Be Milton Schef-
tel, Notorious Crook
SOUGHT FOR MONTHS
BY DETECTIVE AGENCIES
Suitcase Full of Blank Checks
Found in Suspects Room
in Cadillac Hotel

Whisky landed Milton Scheftel in
cell IN the central police station.
after the three greatest detective
agencies IN America had bounded him
in vain sor months, flooding the coun-
try with circulars, picturing his hand
writing, giving his description, ana
warning hotel men all over the conti-
nent that the man they sought was
one of the cleverest forgers alive.
Meanwhile, forged checks contin-
ucd to pour In, while the cleverest
men OF the Burns, Pinkerton and
Thiel detectives agencies gnashed
their teeth and found that they were
"up against man with apparently
unending resource for crime, and a
wariness that baffled all efforts TO
bring him to justice.
Saturday morning. In the central
station. human being that looked
like an animal, and shook and trem-
bied as 1t begged for Just one more
drink of whisky downed a potion
that would strangle an ordinary man,
ana then braced up a trifie, drew a
long breath Of satisfaction, and pro-
tested innocence of any knowledge
OF hundreds of blank checks, and In
eliminating cards, found In his suit
case, in a room in the Hotel Cadl-
lac, Friday evening.
Hotelmen all over the country.
members OF the American Hotelmen's
Protective association, many of whom
had been his victims, had received
halftone reproductions of two checks,
one drawn on the National Exchange
bank of Agusta, Ca, payable to u.
NJ. Lane" and indorsed with that
signature. forgery; and another
check made by the st. Louis Brass
Co., payable to IN. j. Harvey" and
ipdorsed with that forged signature.
the handwriting was Identical. On
the back of the circular of which the
pictured checked formed a part, was
a description of the forger. IL tallies
with that of Scheftel, as Scheftel
would look in his human guise, with
the Destial lines of four days spree
removed.
Scheftels local spree caused the at
tention OF the Hotel Cadillac clerks
to be directed to their guest II result
ed In suspicion OF him, and his loose
rlouthed talk. The fox who had defed
the great detective agencies and had
become a maudlin drunkard.
Detectives Wilson and Black were
sent to the hotel to investigate. They
made a search Of his effects, and In
his suitcase found little iron box
the contents OF which made them
gasp. There were hundreds of blank
checks, from, institutions all over the
country There were hundreds OF
business cards. One card read &C. H.
Kemp, with the st. Louis Brass Co."
connecting the owner with the IN. j.
Harvey" check, sufficiently to war
rant the officers in locking Scheftel
up.
Other cards read "A. B. Miller, Ak
ron, (C) Foundry Co." &C. j. Wes-
ton, Reading, (Pa.) Electric Co."
Prominent among the blank checks
wGs whole pad of checks OF the Ma
tional Exchange bank OF Augusta,
Ga, identical with the one forged by
a. NJ. Lane"
The other institutions, whose blank
checks were In possession OF Schef-
tel. were: Third National bank OF st.
Louis; First National Of Middletown,
". Y; Marion (O.) National bank;
Peoples National, OF Charleston. 8.
c.. First National, Richmond, Va;
Richmond Bank q Trust Co.; Lin
cclr National, of Rochester, N. Y;
National City bank. Akron, o.; Ham
ilton National, Chattanooga, Tenn;
New York State National. Albany;
First National. Houston, Tex: Com
InerciaI Savings, Akron, o.; Mercan-
tile Trust Co., Pittsburgh, and Gen.
tral Bank & Trust Corporation, Of At
lanta, Ga.
Scheftel, maudlln drunk, had moth
ing but denials for the local officers
and newspapermen. He said he was
a respected real estate broker OF
Fla. could be vouched
for by any prominent citizens OF that
town, and had wife and four sons
and two daughters In the southern
city.
He said he had been away from
them only three weeks, but when
stating that he had lived In Jackson
vile for 10 years, admitted that he
had been "in and out of the town"
much Of the time.
Local police telegraphed to the
Thiel detective agency, and received
word that Scheftel was undoubtedly
the man they sought. They said that
he was wanted under the name OF
Cooper. in Reading, Pa, and also un-
der the name OF NJ. ]. Harvey, In the
same city.
They declare that many other cities
ESQ want the man, and ordered the
police to hold him at all costs.