Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1920-04-15
Judge Fowler at Portage Sentences
w. E. Neal, who Obtained Sum
From Kilbourn Bank
HAS A LONG LIST OF
CRIMES TO HIS NAME
Wife Now Seeks Divorce and AL
legged Draft Raiser Says Wages
of Sin Are Death

Judge Fowler at Portage has sen.
fenced one Of the smoothest criminals
that has ever received his just dues
in the Columbia county courthouse,
Walter Ernest Neal, with aliases ga
j, re. The sentence Of the court was
five years at hard labor in the stale
renitentiary at WIurun
Get Casn in KiIbourn
The crime cor vi III he was sen
fenced was fer altering bank draft
issued by the Citizens Bank of Spen-
Ger, Iowa, for 81 and altering and
raising it to the amount Of $3.50. This
draft he cashed through an accom-
plice at the Farmers and Merchants
Bank of K'lbourn, Wis. Henry Knip-
pie of the same place was also roped
in and cashed another draft origin
ally 81, raised to 200. One F. E.
Cockrell and another party were
Neal's accomplices ,and all were So
journing in the Dells City.
These transactions occurred in the
latter part Of August, 1919. The
drafts were cashed at Kilbourn, upon
receipt of telegram from Neal who
lad gone to Milwaukee. stating 99at
the mother Of one of the accomplices
was very sick and to come home at
once. The two accomplices upon re-
ceived the money Immediately left
Kilbourn, going by auto to Portage
and then taking an auto to Madison.
Waukesha They met Neal in Mil
waukee, from which place they fled
from the state, one of the accomplices
going to Canada and Neal and Cock
rell went to Michigan, Indiana and
Ohio, and along the line of their road
they passed numerous bogus drafts.
Neal went to Kentucky where he
was apprehended by Ohio authorities
on the charge of forgery committed
in Ohio He was taken to Cleve-
land where he was tried and acquit'
ted.
Immediately upon the bank ascer-'
tanning the forgery of the draft, its
officers notified District Attorney
Sanderson at Portage and Sheriff Fred
Schultz was put on the trail. The dis
trict attorney got Neal from Ohio by
wiring the authorities to hold him. He
applied to Governor Cox for extradi-
tion papers ,and Neal fought the ex-
tradition but the governor granted
them and Sheriff Schultz was reward,
ed about Feb. 1 for his efforts in hunt
ing down the trio by bringing Neal to
Portage and finally to justice in
Columbia county court.
Cockrell, when apprehended made
a. complete confession as did the other
accomplice and they are both serving
minor sentences as accomplices.
Neal was the real criminal the others
merely tools.
Reaps The WhirIwind
A few days ago in bitter COM
plant Meals wife served papers on
him for divorce and when the sheriff
served the divorce papers, Neal broke
down and made complete confes-
sion to Dist Atty. Sanderson.
had previously asserted his innocence
Of the charges against him. He cried
and extolled the virtues of his parents
and asserted that the wages of sin is
death, and that he had sowed to the
wind and was reaping the whirlwind.
In his own handwriting he made a
confession and signed the same, ad-
mitting all charges. The trio refer
red to each other as Speed" Pep
and Babe
The American Bankers association
and the Check Protective Co. had
failed after years of effort to get Neal.
The following criminal transactions
are portion at least of NeaPs mis-
doings:
| AS Thomas Manning he was arrest
ed Aug. Is, 1920, at Terry Haute. In
diana: charged with swindle and for
gerry; raised $4 draft OF $4,000 and
secured $500 from the Scottsburg
bank. He pleaded guilty to the charge
Of forgery in the Scottsburg circuit
court, In connection with the matter
and on Apilr 5, 1911 was sentenced
from to Ii years in Indiana reform
atory. The sentence was suspended
and he was put on parole. Broke his
parole and the order suspending sen.
tence was revoked.
/ Neal was arrested April 4, 1914, un-