New-York tribune., 1912-02-12
TRACE $4,000 FORGERY
TO MEMBER OF A GANG
Detectives Know Identity Of One
Man "Wanted" in National
City Bank Case.
SMALL CHECK GIVES CLEW
Band Is Said to Have Headquar
ters in Connecticut and to
Have Operated in Many
Cities in Last Six Months.

Developments in the forgery case IN
which the National City Bank recently
maid out $4,000 on a worthless cnecK
reached point yesterday where repre-
sentatives of the Burns Detective
Agency. representing the American
Bankers Association, said the forgery
had been the work of skilful swindlers
who have perpetrated series OF geod
sized forgeries on other banks here ana
IN other Eastern cities during the last
six months The work Of this particular
hand may have netted several hundred
thousand dollars in that time, 1t was
said.
A we'll equipped plant, with printing
presses, rubber stamps, engravers' TOOLS
and other things essential to the forger
art, is known to be located near Bridge
port. Conn, from which point the well
dressed stranger and his associates VINO
defrauded the National City Bank are
said TO lave worked. 1t is only ques-
tion of hours. perhaps a day or two, II Is
said, before the gang will be rounded up
and the person who presented the checR
for $4,000 at the bank on January u
and got his money for it caught In the
net The check was forged in the name
Of Charles $. Porter. the representative
IN this country of G. Gaudig Blum
fur dealers, Of Leipsic, Germany. with
offices at No. 121 West 9th street
William ]. Burns. head Of the detective
agency. came TO this city yesterday and
took personal charge Of the National
CITY Bank matter. The man who cashed
tho $4,000 check is said to have posed
in Bridgeport as H mechanic, and re-
ceived mail and kilograms at certain
address i'm that city. The police here
and i'm other cities have made his ac-
qusintanCe before. and he is supposed to
he a member of a troublesome gang OF
forgers whom the Burns detectives have
been trailing for several months. Half
dozen Of the Burns men have been
running down the clews which lead to
this gang
No one at the bank or employed in the
offices of the firm OF Gaudig & Blum is
suspected of any completely in the for
gerry. Mr.. Porter said yesterday that he
was positive no one in his office could
know anything about IT, The man who
cashed the check evidently knew that
Mr.. Porter had communicated with tho
bank and asked that a new checkbook
be sent to him, for he appeared the fol-
lowing day with a forged order for the
book signed by Porter and was given the
Checkbook. Mr.. Porter was at a loss to
explain this circumstance. for II was
hard TO see how any one outside of his
Office would have known that he made
such request Of the bank. Besides. tho
forged order was written on what pur-
ported 10 be letter head of the Gaudig
& Blum firm. but that is now known to
he somewhat crudely printed imita-
tion of the firms paper The man
walked into the bank and cashed the
check a few days later.
The National City Bank. like some
other banks in this city, is insured
against forgery as well as burglary in a
surety company which has been writing
such insurance for about year, and so
the loss falls on the surety company.
Hf heiNA 'lifl' u 'llt'h VI lildl size WAS
Cashed without question for 4 stranger
has led some of those who are investi-
eating the case to suggest that paying
tellers may get careless when they know
the bank carries such insurance.
The plot" against the National CITY
Bank was most carefully planned and
skilfully carried out. according to other
facts which the investigation has dis
closed so far. For one thing. the method
of obtaining the Porter signature shows
this. II appears that early in January
tho Gaudig & Blum firm bought some
furs Of a man in Connecticut city. and
check for S2l was later sent to him
which bore Mr.. Porter's signature. The
10000 check was exactly like this
smaller check. The fur firm was unable.
after the forgery was discovered to find
the man who received the S2I check
This small check. however, is said 10
have been cashed later by the same man.
The detectives succeeded. by tracing the
check, in establishing the identity Of one
of the men they want for the National