The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-08
HE WAS AN EASY MARK
How New York Man Bought a New Milford Farm

That not all of the "easy marks are to be found in the hill towns of New England, has been conc usively proved in a lawsuit which Judge Case recently had to do with in the Super for court in Litchfeld county.
 Wilfred Roberts of Brooklyn is the victim, William S. Finberg and Jo- seph F1riedland, both of whom live in New York, are the ones who got hold | and he was an acrobat.
 One of the suits before Judge Case | was that of Wilfred Robert against Finberg and Friedland- It was for the canoe lation of a mortgage they held on a farm in New Milo wni, n they induced him to buy and the ac- tion called for the re-eonVeyance to | Robert of the equity in certain real l estate in Brooklyn which he conveyed l to them as part payment for the farm He also asked for damages. Judge | Case has directed that the mortsS ge l be cancelled. that the reeonveyanee | of the equity be made and he also awarded Robert damages of s. 900. -Finberg and Friedland had also suit against Robert for foreclosure of mortg age of $T,560 on the New Mil ford farm. The decision in the first case disposed of the second case. Fin berg and Fried and have given notices | of appeals to the supreme court. The | story as to how the two men got away with Robert is fully told in Judge Cases finding and he reeites
 Prior to December, 1908, Sarah E. Jones was the owner Of farm known as "Cobble View Farm situated in i the township of New MilHo~d, about two miles from South Kent, and about l five miles from the village of New i Milford, Generally described the farm consisted, approximately of s96 acres | of pasture, meadow and woodland, and a main house of eleven rooms, main barn, a carriage house and other small buildings and a sile. In the
 
 Jones advertised the farm for sale in a New York newspaper and listed the property with George Weber, a real estate dealer in that city. William s. Finherg and Joseph FNFiedland were residents of Brooklyn, They were builders, contractors and dealers in | real estate.
 Finberg and Frfediand interviewed | Weber and a possible purchase of the farm by them was discussed and asN a result of the interview, onA or about i December 12, 1908, Finberg and Fried land went to New Milford with a rep resentatiVe of Weber to look over the farm and on December IT., 1908, Fin berg and Friediand made a written
 farm. but the terms or method of pay ment were not expressed in the agree ment. On December 31, 1'0S, Finterg
 before he acquired tit c to the farm gave to Edward A. Lang of Brooklyn a written option for the purchase of
 the farm for $12,0o0, the option being
 for ten or twelve days duration, Will
 fred Robert, who is one of the parties to both law actions or as some would call him the 'goat" in the transaction had at this time passed his 31st tirth-
 day, Judge Case finds. His father had
 been a travelling acrobat in Eurene and Wiifred had performed with him.
 The father died in 1906, leaving an es-
 tate of about si5,0oo, which came into
 the only heir. In this country Will P fred engaged in Yaudeyt ie performs h. ees and exhibited trick dog. He was , ! thoroughly unfamiliar with business Of
 any kind, had no experiences in com nlereial matters, knew nothing Of the
 value of farm or other properties, and was one to be easily imposed upon. Lang, who had the option, was a Sa- loon keeper and he was introduced to Robert by Joseph N. Fackner, said to be man without occupation. Pack neF had known Robert for about a year and a half. having bearded with ' him in the same house in Brooklyn, On December zs, 1908, Lang intro
 dueed Robert to F'inberg and Fried , land, and Lang referred to Robert as a possible purchaser of the farm. Fin ? berg engaged Robert inc conversation l and represented that he and his part neT, Friedland, were the owners of 3 , large farm near New Milford, thai l this farm had been bought by Fried
 and for $25,000 cash, and F1nbefg s Id that he had gone into partnership with F1riedland, that he had paid half ot the 5000 for an interest in the farm and that both he and Friedland with
 their families had lived on the farm
 for several years.
 At this same interview Finberg told Robert that the farm contained 4ol
 acres, that there were 250 acres ei l woodland, explaining the different l kinds of wood; 151 acres of tillable land in a high state of GU ttYa ton; that there were pond and brook up
 on the land; that deer and game were plentiful; that there was a house upor the farm containing eleven rooms ane
 steam heated; that they would sell il ' for $15,O00; that they had SO l s1,0't , well as $500 OF s70e worth of apples i a yeari that they could not under take to bui'd the house upon the farm
 for $s.oo0; that their reason for sel ing and his partners wife could not agree
 Robert 'took a bali' and at that in- teFYiew 1t was arranged that he, Fin berg and Long visit the farm; Jan
 uary 6, 1909, saw the three aboard 3 train. On the way up F'inberg asked , | Robert if he knew anything about then tn ia''1sf F'inberg told Robert that he and
 Friedland had leased the house on the farm to a lacy for $500 year When they got to New Milford !. was was three arranged to stop at the same 2 hotel in New Milford that night. Af- eFt Robert had gone to bed Finbers
 went into his room and said "sone- one has found a bag of gold on the
 farm and Bfnberg told Robert that he would try and learn who found . the gold because cit belonged to the
 people who owned the farm" and con
 tinuing he told Robert, you know l
 own the property now. so the gold
 ought to be mipe.'' The next morn
 ing F'inberg, Robert and Long got a
 team and drove to the farm. On the
 way Robert asked Ffnberg who were
 the real estate dealers in New Mill
 ford. Fnberg said that MT. Young
 was the only req estate dealer in the
 town. but that he was away. When
 they got to the farm, Finberg show ed Robert through the house and barn and then pointed out some woodland,
 representins that the timbef- aIo~e
 was worth 5000. Finberg also pointed out some partly imbedded stone and told Robert that the stone was mar l bIe and granite and that he had had the same examined by an expert for whose service he had paid s150. He also pointed out the orchard and the