New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-03-13
BANKERS READY TO
PLEAD FOR MERCY
Private LedgersRevealHow
S1,45O,O00 of Stockhold-
ers' Money Vanished.
STORES ORDERED SHUT
One.Half of 5000 Employees Lose
Places TO.morrOw-DepOsit-
Ors Change Front.

Within a week. probably Wednesday.
District Attorney Charles S. Whitman
expects to have ten if not twelve ad-
oit,onal indictments returned against
Henry Segel and Frank F.. Vogel. The
charges will include grand larcenies
from banks and merchants, from de-
positors in the private banking house
of Henry Siegel & Co, with the chances
favoring one for perjury and others for
grand larceny from the Siegel Stores
Corporation Of $1.45O.000.
Mr.. Whitman and his assistant, Ar
thur c. Train, spent the greater part OF
yesterday wading through reams Of
evidence and consulting with witnesses.
No evidence WAS presented to the grand
Jury. il being the wish Of the District
Attorney to have the cases in such
shape that the evidence can be pre-
sented quickly and in an orderly man.
ner the first Of the week, and have the
indictments ready for the foreman's
signature the moment they are voted
To furnish corroboration Of evidence
already in hand he sent men TO CHI
cago and Boston yesterday to look over
the books Of the Siegel Cooper Com
pany and of the Henry Siegel Compan,
Money was borrowed for both iirm,
here on ihe strength of statements Of
their financial condition furnished by
Siegel ami Vogel
Mr. Whitman knows that the Boston
statements were padded. What was
done in the case of the Chicago store
is not so clear. That store has been
represented as a money maker, and so
far as Nh. Whitman knows it is.
Plead for Liberty.
SiegeI and VogeI yesterday spent
most Of their time in consultation with
John 3. Stanchheld and Louis S. Levy.
their counsel, going over the case in
which an Indictment has been present
ed with a view to meeting IT, Siegel,
who is on the verge Of a nervous break
down, Will have another conference
with the lawyers to-day.
Both he and Vogel would ike to II
make an arrangement with the District
Attorney whereby in consideration OF
partial restitution being made to the
depositors at this time and promises OF
an effort to pay them in full the in
dicted men would he allowed their lib
erty. A considerable faction of the de-
positors are anxious for such an agree
ment. but the District Attorney will
not agree TO II.
The most that can possibly be hoped
for in this respect is the filing Of all in
dictments save one on condition that
the men plead guilty TO a felony charge
and take the sentence the court may
impose.
Much of the work Of the District At
torney's office yesterday was on leads
supplied by the private ledgers kept By
the Siegel stores and the comparison OF
statements made to banks and mer-
chants with the actual condition shown
by the auditors, and explained by Rob-
ert G.. McMeekin and oscar 4. Prall.
confidential employees OF Siegel and
Vogel, and William Pridday, manager
of the Boston store.
Pridday has furnished the District
Attorney with proof that the false
were not confined to the
New York stores. He told Mr. Train
that the statement as Of January 81.
1913 which Siegel and Vogel swOrc 20
before 5. c. Braddick, a notary public,
was made up out OF whole cloth under
orders from New York. This state
ment showed the store 10 be worth
$4,000 over and above all liabilities.
AS a matter of fact, there was 2 deficit.
the entire capital stock having been
wiped out.
In addition 10 this more than $1,000
600 which had been supplied by the
New York stores had been dissipated.
The statement was also fictitious in
that it showed property and fixtures
worth SOL 900. The store owned no
property, all the fixtures, even TO the
stools for the salespeople, having been
hired with the building. Pridday vii
assist Mr.. Whitman's representative In
fixing the exact deficit.
May Indict in Boston.
II is also among the possibilities that
his evidence will lead 10 indictments in
Boston. District Attorney Joseph c.
Pelletier OF that city having begun an
OF his own.
Another statement furnished by the
Fourteeth Street Store. on which loans
were obtained and on which It is ex-
pected an indictment will be based.
was turned up by Mr.. Train yester-
day. This purports TO show the con-
dltion OF the store as OF January 81,
1912, and issued "A month later. II
shows merchandise on hand worth
SoGI noI cash of Sllg3l4 and ont