Weekly journal-miner., 1918-04-17
NEW YORK PAPER DETAILS CAREER
 OF JOHN FRYE
BANK CLERK WHO CON- MITTED SUICIDE AS OF TIGERS CALLED TO NAB
 HIM, ONCE WORKED IN
 PRESCOTT STATE BANK.

\. Frye, formerly member of the clerical force in the Prescott State Bank in this city, the suicide occur ring in the young mans room at Providence, R. l., after the police had called on the lad for the purpose of arresting him on a charge of forgery. Frye dcfraudcd New York hanks out of S2S,000 by his clever limitations of the signatures of the officials of the local bank. The following story from the New York Sun of recent date gives the complete details of the transactions which led the unfortun- ate youth to finally take his own life rather than pay the penalty demanded by the law.
 John A. Frye was only 20 years old when the detectives closed in on him yesterday. but despite the brevity of his career he had managed to rob ono bank in which he was en- ploycd, next had obtained a position of trust in another bank in the south west and finally had used his last position as a stepping stone toward dcfrauding three of the leading banks in Manhattans downtown financial district of $2S,000 by clever bit of forgery.
 Tucked away in the abnormal mind workings of the youth, who was clear eyed, rosy checked and of lik- able manners, was a warped strain of something approaching respect for the decencics He believed that a little bank out in Seattle, where he had begun his :hcfts by stealing 5000, could not afford the trifling loss as well as the big banks in Manhattan which he had robbed. Wherefore about the first thing he did after get ting the S2S,O00 fraudulently here was to send draft for $500 to the Seattle bank. thus robbing Peter to square himself with Paul
 \ little less than a year ago Frye, who was both bookkccpcr and stcnog- raphcr in the Seattle bank, went into the office of the head of the little bank and announced he had decided 10 come east. where, he said, he hoped to find better chances of advance mcnt in the banking business. His Seattle employers told him sincerely they were sorry to lose his services and wished him luck as he left thenl- He had scarcely gone from Seattle when it was discovered he had taken 5000 of the firms money.
 While the police of eastern cities were on the lookout for him. Frye was living in Prescott, Ariz. At the Prescott State Bank he appeared one day with forged letters of rccom- mcndation and was put to work as correspondence clerk in the bank. His good looks, boyish checrfulncss and energy in short time had won for him warm regard on the part of his new employers.
 Writes to Banks Here
 He began work in the Prescott bank nine months ago. Early last February he wrote three letters to big banks here which have business relations with the Prescott bank. In each of the letters he told the New York banking men that a man named John X. Frye within few days would visit the New York banks and would present checks and drafts. The Prescott bank, he wrote, would apprc- fciatc the favor if the New York banks would honor the paper of their customer" Mir. Frye. The Mir.
 Frye about to appear in New York, f Mir. Frye wrote further, would pre- sent a letter that was a duplicate of the ono the bankers here were re- cciving through the mails from Pres colt
 To this letter Frye forged the sig nature of Cashier Derrick of the
 Prescott State bank. The signature so it was said yesterday by experts at the Pinkcrton National Detective agency, who finally ran Frye to earth was ono of the best pieces of forged pcnmanship they ever had come upon
 Frye arrived in New York Feb. Is
 Immediately he showed he was clever
 in other things beside pcnmanShip ) First Inc went 10 one of the banks
 here on his list and displayed drai'
 on the .Anglo-London and Paris bant of San Francisco for $l5.000. Alsc he presented letter which was duplicate of the letter Inc had writ ) ten to the banks.
 |. The local banks dccming the sig r nature of Cashier Derrick of Prescott $ to be genuine hastened to oblig' , young Frye. In what sized bills dlC l the visitor want his Sl5,00: c At First Draws Only Sll,000 T "Oh, l don't wish to draw Sl5,OOO, ( young Frye interrupted, "I have us' | for only Sll,00O now, and unlcs l things turn out differently than I cN i pcct the $llOO0 is all I'll need while C in town"
 - That first refusal tc accept all Q