Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-09-16

MEANS IN EMPLOY
OF GERMAN ENVOY
District Attorney Says He Ad-
mitted Receipt of 100000
From Won Papen.
MURDER PLOT is REVEALED
Evidence Shows Preparation for
Killing of Mrs. King and
Motive for Crime.

~. C., admitted the receipt Of 5000, 900
for services rendered to the German
government, according to District At
torney Swami tonight. The evidence,
1t is said. showed that this money was
paid to Means by Captain Franz Won
Papen. whose recall to Germany was
demanded by the United States. Won
Papen was military attache at the
German embassy in Washington.
Beyond admitting that tho witness
who supplied this information is a
New York business man of prominence.
and a former visitor upon Mrs. King
the district attorney declined to dis
cues the matter. Assistant District
Attorney Dooling was not so reticent.
I'VE have a Witness" he said to-
night, who overheard CASTOR Means
while in New York few weeks ago
state that he had made over 500, 900
last year. intimating that 1t came from
the German government. He dis
played huge roll Of bills, which the
witness described as sufficient to choke
a horse And Means had great diff
Guilty In finding any bill as small as
500 in denomination. After the An
coma was sunk. Means boasted to a
man in New York. indicating he knew
she was sunk by an internal explosio :"
BROTHER NOT ALLOWED
TO SHIP FURNITURE
The district attorney refused per-
mission to Alton Means to ship the
furniture from CASTOR bIeans's apart
ments to North Carolina. He agreed
that the furniture might be stored
within the Jurisdiction of the prosecu-
tor.
Detectives from tho district attor-
ney's staff visited the storeroom of the
building at 1155 Park Avenue. where
the three apartments OF Mrs. King.
Mrs. Melvin and CASTOR B. Means were
located. They found there a large
painting ofy,kaiser Wilhelm. presented
to Means by Captain Boy-Ed.
1t was apparent to-day that an ac-
tive defense Is being prepared for Cas-
ton Means. A well-known agency has
detectives at work in his behalf here.
George Gordon Battle. retained by
Alton Means. will take over the af-
fairs OF CASTOR B. Means on Monday.
Visits OF Mrs. King to places al
legged to be prominent gambling houses
In New YORK. where she was conducted
by CASTOR Means. were revealed to
the district attorney to-day.
I'VE have one item showing that
Mrs. King lost $4,000 in this gam
bling" said the prosecutor. She In
variably lost. OF course. we do not
houses, but she was led to believe that
they were"
PLOT HATCHED IN NEW YORK,
SAYS DIsTRICT ATTORNEY
District Attorney Swami announced
this afternoon that he now has
positive information that the plot
for the murder of Mrs. Maude
A. King at Concord, N. c., was
hatched in New York. He stated
further the evidence showed not only
that preparation for the crime was
made here. but revealed the motive.
Asked what the motive disclosed.
the prosecutor replied:
We'll. it could be one Of several
1t could be for the covering Of an en-
bezzlement, Il desire to get more money
from some one, or 1t could have been
to hide the forgery of will"
Judge Swami said he was ready to
forward important papers to Solicitor
Clement in North Carolina. If the
latter asks it, Judge Swami said he
would dispatch Assistant District At
torney Dooling to Concord to aid in
the handling Of the inquiry into Mrs.
Kings death.
Should the North Carolina prosecutor
regard another examination of Mrs.
Kings body necessary, District Attor-
ney Swami said he would be glad to
have it done by DR.. Schultz, of his
office. "the most experienced man in
that line in the United States"
Martin Van Buren, who is repre-
senting P. G. McDufle, counsel for
Mrs. Kings mother. to-day gave out
a long statement on the case. lie de-
ciared he has found vault in bank
in this city belonging to Mrs. King
which he hopes to have opened by a
court order.
van Buren also stated that he has
discovered that Mrs. King was SEN
arated from an Italian she desired to
marry by man very close to her"
Later this same man represented tho
italian to the wealthy widow as an
adVenturer. whose sole purpose was
to get her money.
INTRODUCED TO MRS. KING
BY HER SISTER. nIRS. MELVIN
According to Van Buren,, he has In
formation that CASTOR B. Means was
first introduced to Mrs. King by her
sister, Mrs. Melvin. who previously had
known Means's wife. This was be-
fore Means became associated with tho
Burns Detective Agency.
Heretofore it has been the UNDER
standing that Means first met Mrs.
King after he had been associated
with the Burns agency.
Among the effects taken from the
room Of CASTOR B. Means here, repre-
sentatives Of the district attorney to-
day ran across booklet, entitled
Fundamental Requisites for Success
in Lite" 1t was written by Means
when he was nineteen years old.
(Continued ON Second PaCe0