Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-05-06


| fling of their friends because of their
| gullibility. But it's known that among
| the sufferers are Cardinals, Archbis-
| hops, Abbots Of monasteries, Mother
| Supporters and Addresses of converts
/ and noble men and women who are
charitahly disposed.
How did he do it2 In many ways.
| He forged letters of Introduction from
| one Bisncp to another. He ingratiat-
ed himself here and there by conspicu-
| Gus acts of charity and piety and so
| get genuine letters of Introduction
/ from prelates and mobiles
Among those upon whom he imposed
| Was the Dowager Duchess of Genoa.
| mother of Queen Marghrita of Italy
in whose private chapel at Noyara he
| said mass and from whom ne received
! n present.
| When caught in Rome he was abont TO
| 20 to st. Peters to say mass, the au-
J thorization so 10 do being signed by Car
dinal Respighi which signature is de-
| clared TO be a forgery. At the Pontifieal
| Academy called del Nobili Ecclesias-
tici," in the Piazza della Minerva, letters
addressed to him had been piling up for
| several days. They were all directed 10
4 1.-THE Rev. Granite di Belmonte'' O name
| he was using in certain quarters where
| he had posed as a nephew Of Cardinal
Granite di Belmonte. Many of these let
| ters We're in feminine hands and daintily
| peffumed They were a puzzle TO Mgr.
| francesca Sogaro, Archbishop of Armida,
! the President Of the college. until he
| heard of Gindris arrest and read the list
Of names the fellow had used. Then ne
sent all the letters TO the police. They
are said to throw a brilliant light on
Gindri's methods.
| The police We're astonished when they
| searched the trunks in Gindri's room in
the Pension la Bella. in the Via del
| Babuino Ills trunks and valises were
| of the finest leather, with sold-plated
| mountings. They were full OF saeredotal
garments of the finest broadcloth lined
with silk and satin; laymens suits made
BY the most fashionable tailors in Eu-
| rope collars and cuffs were in a box Of
| carved ivory; there were a few ecclesias-
Teal vestments of rich damask, cellee-
ton of richly Illuminated and artisticaly
bound brevlaries; boxes containing sta
tionery with embossed monographs
crests. ooats-of-arms and eoronets two
antique felauaFies. an ivory statue Of
the Virgin Mary, gold watch and
chain, and many photographs of famous
personages bearing their autographs, and
some of them affectionate messages.
The police of Rome have not yet dis
covered just what he was up to when
they caught him. He had been there
only two days. having come from Turin
He had called upon an engraver and
ordered 200 visiting cards bearing the
high-sounding name "Monsignor Jea1
Boni de Caller des ldarquis de Vinar-
moir," half of them with Tours as his
residence. half with Rome" He had
paid four Iire-about 80 cents-deposit on
them, and had given as his address No
AZ Via di Santa Ghiara." which is that of
the French ecclesiastical seminary.
The following day he had visited the
studio of the Cavaliere Felce. official
Photographers of the Vatican. and ex-
pressed desire to buy the photographs
of some Cardinals AT his ease in big
armchair the bogus prelate turned the
pages of a big album, from which he se-
lected pictures of Cardinal Merry del
Val Cardinal RampolIa and Cardinal
Granite di Beimonte, which he took and
paid for.
a high Parsonage at the Vatican de-
Gle seemed an attractive person, both
in face and in manners, although rather
affected and slightly too uncruous. There
was certain indescribable something
about him that made one hesitate TO
trust him fully From the few sentences
exchanged with him formed the i'm
preston that his culture was a layer OF
plating covering base metal
Oft was aaSu for him Ia ,aapaEra4o
seminaries and the inconsistencies Every
one of these has weak spot somewhere.
and he had but, to discover this. Re-
member how Mime. Humbert swindled in
Paris, and what joke that rascal OF
Kopenik played on the German army?
Well, Gindri has oeen our Nine. Hum
bert and our Captain of Kopenik COM
bined"
Gindris methods We're as various as
his names. and depended always upon
the character of the man he was plan
ming to entrap He solicited aid for
charitable or philanthropic objects more
often real than imaginary he offered re-
investments of capital at higher rates of
interest; here and there when he had an
ambitious and not too scrupulous man to
deal with he propounded schemes
~ 'i'A7 man pipilibtIoi ny 1fltdIS OIL
bribes placed in the right quarters
There was nothing new about his
swindles; they Were the old. well-worn
devices with which every one ought TO
be familiar. h@: which work Just as er-
fectively today as they worked in The
time of Gil Bias
Getting forged checks cashed was am
other and very simple method of OBJ
tanning money. When searched Gindri
had in his pocket check book on the
Credit Lyonnais, which has branches all
over Europe. The stubs in this book
showed that checks aggregating many
thousands of francs had been eashed for
him by ecclesiastical dignitaries. al
though the only deposit he had made
was one of 500 francs. In his pockets
We're also solid silver purse containing
$io6 in foreign money, several diamond
GhSnARETH INeI|RE