The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-03-04
FIND MISSING TREASURER
Mark Foster, Alleged DefauIter, 0
Hardwiek, Caught in Texas


Hardwick, Caught in Texas
Montpelier March 3-The arrest in
Marshall, Texas, of Mark Foster, the
abscondng town treasurer of Hard
wick, ends one of the most spectacu-
lar man hunts which has ever taken
place in Vermont or within the prov
ince of the Vermont officers.
The evening of April 49, 1908, Eos
ter sent word to the woman who as
sisted him in the treasurer's office
that he was going to Montpelier. The
town auditors were to 80 over his
books the next day and on making
their examination they found the ac
counts so tangled that 1t was decided |
to wait for Fosters return to straight |
en- out what was supposed at that |
time to be merely careless bookkeep- |
ing
The next day nothing was heard of
Foster and inquiry showed he had
placed his team in a local stable, say
ing he would call for it the following
day His failure to call for the team
or return to Hardwlck caused the Of
|
the accounts, a shortage of $500 be-
ing found Foster was indicted by the
Caledonia county grand jury and the
hunt for him began.
Expert accountants were put at
work on the books and found town
and private accounts mixed in an al
most hopeless tangle. 1t required
some time for bills to be turned.
both private and town, and finally his
bank account was checked up and
with everything accounted for there
was a shortage of $4,000.
According to the detectives Foster
went from here to Montreal and doub-
led back to New York, later return
ing to Montreal, Chicago, Kansas City
and ST. Louis were included in his
wanderings until he opened a hotel in
Nebraska. A travelling man, who put
up at the hotel one night, came so
near letting the cat out OF the bag
that Foster again moved on, trying
fruit raising in California, and finally
, settling in Florida. He next located
t in New Orleans for a time, later go
D ing to Texas.
+. II. w. Morgan of the Wood-Morgan
I Detective agency Of Boston. made the
I arrest. Governor Mead was informed
OF the capture and wired a request for
extradition, but Foster waived his
rights and is on the way east, being
= expected TO reach Boston today.
Foster is A years old and a native
!, of Brooklyn, ~ Y His father was a
! music teacher and the son is an ac-
> cOmplished yioinist and singer, a
: fact which added to the clues found
by the officers in tracing him. He
G came to Vermont when about 16 years
+ old and married at an early age in
2 Calais, later removing to Woodbury.
d He was employed as bookkeeper by
Z the Woodbury. Granite company and
G also in the same capacity in Lowell
r He went to Hardwick in 1897. lie
was a man who made friends and soon
had a wide acquaintance in the vii
I lage and was elected town treasurer
i SO great was the confidence In him
= that at the first rumors of his defal.
: cation many people in the village
: charged that II was an attempt to
make trouble for him and 1t was not
: until several months had elapsed and
experts had shown the amount of his
shortage that some OF the leading PEG
+ pie OF Hardwick lost faith in him.
o It is probable that the indictment
e against him will be taken up at the
a spring term of Caledonia county court
e and that Foster will plead guilty,