Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-20
| POLICE ARREST ADAMS FOR
ALLEGED $4,000 SW|NDLE
Charge Stranger With Attempting To
flim-F'lam Woodward and
MOncurc.
DESTROYS ALLEGED FORGERY

I DESTROYS ALLEGED FORGERY
Confronted With Impending Arrest,
| Man Tears Up Note Which, Rich
| mOnd Men Say, Purported to BE
Signed by Washington Broker.
Arrested at the Jefferson Hotel fol-
lowing an alleged attempt 10 secure
$4,000 from stuart NJ. Woodward. OF
Woodward & Sons. and Vice prcsidont
of the Tidewater and Western Railway,
and J. \. Moncure. secretary and
treasurer of tho Richmond Guano Com
PAW and Powhatan Chemical Com
pany. on note 10 which tho name of
Azell Ford. prominent banker and
broker of Washington. is alleged to
have been forged George Adams was
taken into custody late Yesterday af-
ternoon by Captain of Detectives Me
Mahon and Detective Sergeant Atkin-
son and removed to the Second Police
station. He later secured Attorney
Louis q. WcndcnburG to defend him,
and II few minutes later secured bail
In the sum OF $500 by permission OF
Judge Richardson.
The proposition made the Richmond
men by Adams concerned the purchase
III Kentucky In the course of nis
negotiations with Moncure and Wood
ward. 10 strengthen his propositior
Adams introduced man who called
himself X. w. Lassiter, of the Internal
revenue Office at Washington. who nre-
sented letter of Recommendation
which bore the signature OF John Skel
ton Williams, Com "oller OF tn.
Treasury
INVESTIGATION AROUSED
LOCAL MEMS SUSPICIOUS
The arrest yesterday afternoon was
The result of an Investigation OF sew
cral days duration conducted b. Non
care and Woodward into the proposi-
non made them by Adams Early yes
'eFday tho Richmond men learned by
i"hS distance telephone from Ford that
ms signature I" the note as well ms
,hat to letter. purporting to have
'eeh written Moncure by him from Sal
i.more. wcr. toiceries. They corn
mEhicatcd with Captain Mcmahon and
II was decided TO hold another con.
ference with ADAM at tho Jenerso,
curing the afternoon. McAlahon and
Atkinson waited in the lobby OF tho
hotel while Woodward talked with
Adams in his room.
Adams explained his proposition q,
length. but manifested signs OF ON
narrassment when asked 10 cyplain
Ford's denial OF tho signatures wood
ward then Informed him that the no.
lice We're waiting in the lobby and
that they would be summoned unless
some satisfactory explanation were Of
tered None was forthcoming. and
Will. he was summoning the detec.
lives. Adams tore the alleged forged
note into s:rall pieces and threw them
fl'd them down the pipe and the evil
Gence in the case was lost
WOODWARD DESCRIBES
DEALINGS WITH ADAMS
Woodward last night explained 10
The Times-Dispatch the manner in
which Adams is alleged to have az.
tempted u flim- fam him and Moncurc
Il received a telephone call abou;
two weeks ago" said Woodward. land
was Informed that the speaker was Mr.
Evans. who is connected with a local
trust company. The speaker said that
4 Young man in his Office desired "a
talk with me concerning business
proposition. and an engagement was
arranged. Adams. therefore. presented
himself al my Office
He told me that he was a mining
engineer of Roanoke. and that he had
been working near Louisa. XIV. for
some time. During his stay there. he
said, he had learned OF some very valu-
able coal lands situated in the sur
rounding country and had managed 10
secure options on between 10000 and
10000 acres at an expense Of between
$4,000 and $4,000 to himself
PRESENTED $4,000 NOTE.
SIGNED ny "EORD"
The man then went on 10 tell me
that he had gone to Mr.. Ford in an ef
fort to have him sell the lands for
him. Mr.. Ford, ! learn Ia a very repu-
table broker, and Adams said that
Ford had Informed him that his deals
were Of n larger caliber than tho one
offered and that IL would be impos-
sihle for him to handle the land unless
it We're increased 10 about ga, 900 acres
Adams said that he had induced Ford
to give him "a note for $4,000 which
Ford had Endorsed in order that tho
additional property might be secured
Adams claiming that he had put all
Of the money he could raise into the
land on which he had secured options
1t was at this point that Adams
made me tho proposition which made
ne suspect the entire transaction He
desired me to advance him the money
on the note which Ford was said to
have indorsed and explained that as
the land could he purcha sed for Sc
an acre and could be sold for Sl2 there
would be profit of s3f0.OOO. Half Of
this sum was to be mine If I would al
vance him the $4,000 on the note
After ] had told him that ! thought
the offer a most generous one and was
thinking that II was really too good
to be true, Adams. noticing my hesta :
ton. inquired If knew Mr.. Moncure.
When l Informed him that he was n
very good friend of mine. he said that
he would like to have him come into
the deal IL I thought 1t too big for me
to handle alone, or IL I would prefer
not putting the entire $4,000 into IL.