Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1916-10-28

distractions The bookkeeper would
give a check against his own account
10 some individual in Boston and that
| individual would deposit it for collec-
tion. Il would be sent through the
! clearing house and eventually reach
the bank in cambridge The book.
/ keeper was always early al the bank
| when any such checks were expected
/ from the clearing house. ffe opened
/ The letters transmitting them. turn
/ ac tho statement Of the total amount
! represented over to the cashier. that
! a check might be sent by him to the
/ clearing house. II was the province OF
! jhc hookkeeUcr TO enter the iudivid-
/ nal checks against the accounts rep
/ resented. When he reached his own
| personal check, he charged it to some
J one Of the inactive accounts instead
| Of his own and destroyed it. So had
/ he taken SOC 600.
But the immediate task in hand fell
/ to BILLY Gard. II was the apprchon-
/ sion Of the fugitive and the recovery,
/ If possible, of all or part of the money
taken. It was in the course of the
! performance of this duty that the
| ramitiCatiOns OF this case which give
| it place among the most unique and
complete crimes of the age were dc
vcioped
While accountants were revealing
the methods used inside the bank in
| getting hold Of the money Gard was
busy outside. TolIman. having dis
appeared, was to he traced. The first
step was to establish his habits. to
find his associates. To the expert
cnced special agent the groundwork
Of A case Of this sort unf0lds almost
OF itself There were the people who
knew him best in cambridge, for in
stance. They told Gard that the Young
ster had broken away. OF late. from
the friends of his youth He was be-
iicved to have gone TO Boston for his
pleasures. He had a big red autOmo-
bile which. il was supposed. he had
bought with the money Of his inherit
anCe and in which he drove away praC-
tically every night. Through the whole
TOllman. the twelvc-dollar-a-w
clork drove regularly 20 his work at
the bank in this car.
In Boston Gard picked up the clues
Tolimau was we'll known al certain hO-
tolls AID cafes. At one hotel which
vas . rendezvous for sporting peo-
Pie lie .egularly called upon a very
dashing young woman who was regis
tered as Laura GatewoOd II was at
this same hotel that he became &C
quainted with an accomplished indi-
Vidual known "a John K. Mansfield,
who was well known about McDou-
gals TAP. in Columbia avenue, and
whose livelihood was secured through
alleged games of chance. Miss Gate
wood also introduced Tollman 10 a
Mrs. Siddons. an especial friend of
Mansfield. who maintained a coy lit
| tie apartment in a respectable part
| Of Boston, and who had, in Il dress
suit case, portable faro outfit which
could he set UP IN her rooms upOn oc-
I CasiCn. There was also Edward r.
! Walls. a large and dominant man.
| w.o had. OF late, found poker playing
on transatlantic liners a rather pre-
| carious calling. But. finally. Miss
/ Gatcwuod arranged meetings between
! Tollman and '8ig Bin Kelliner. who
| lived in Winthrop, not far away, was
in the Wholesale liquor business,
| in rJlitiCS, and as afterward de
veloped. was a dominating spirit in the
faro gang
With the Development of the friend
ship with Kellner began the trips to
New York These two would meet
two or three times a week at the
Back Bay station and together take
the train for New York. SO fire.
quent were these trips that the mem
berS OF the tram crews came to be
well acquainted with the men, and TO
know something OF their movements.
They gave clues to the hotels in New
York AZ which these travellers stayed.
and this led to their identification by
hotel clerks and ether facts as to
their associates Eventually all this
led to a certain house in West TWEEN
! tr-cighth street and a consultation
with the New York police as to it's
character.
1t developed that in this house there
was always running, on evenings when
K"lliner and TOllman came to New
FORK. faro game. Here Kclliner
gambled and at first won and induced
Toilman TO tr. his luck. The young
ster was allowed to win prodigiously.
Again he would lose. but not enough
10 brighten him away. So was the
craze for gambling developed in the
bOOkkeeper. But eventually he lost
what was left Of his inheritance. Up
20 this tim" Nc was honest But AZ
the suggestion Of Kelliner he stole
from the bank to make good his losses.
He lost again. and was III the mill
There was no chance of escape but
through stealing more Of the banks
funds and gambling in the hope Of
eventually winning out. The book,
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