The evening world., 1921-04-01
DIVORCE MILL"
SIGNS FOUND IN
BROOKLYN COURT
Requests for ''Lawyer Miller
Lead to Investigation Of
All Records.

investigation Of the West saith
Street divorce mill" instituted BY
District Attorney Davis of Westches-
ter County, who admitted to-day he is
seeking Herbert f Miller, e. two
years known in tho White Plans Su-
preme Court as lttorney OF No. 40
Wost Sith Street extended To this
city to-day when officials and clerks
in the undefendcd divorce part of
the Brooklyn supreme Court eX-
pressed belief the mill had been OPP
Grating in that borough.
Acting upon many recent in juiries
for Lawyer Miller" County Clerk
Kelly directed to-day all undetended
divorce cases for the past two years
be investigated
Miller. Prosecutor DAVIS said, has
toeen missing since Jan. 70, when Su-
preme Court Justice Secger wrote to
him. asking him to appear in court
to explain certain charges in connec-
ton with divorce case.
According TO Mr.. Davis. investiga-
ton OF all available records fails to
show that Miller was ever admitted
to the bar in this State. although he
was licensed to practise in Vermont
and in Indiana.
Another revelation made by Mr..
Davis was That five to eight women
were employed on the STAFF OF the
lawyer operating the divorce mill"
According 10 Mr.. Davis, the lawyer
used these women as witnesses in
such cases as ne actually brought TO
trial. Two or three of the women
would go along with the attorney,
Mr.. Davis said, so that if the Judge
sitting on the bench had heard one
Of them testify before. another Of
the group could be put on the stand.
According to Mr.. Davis, this ID
vorcc specialist" whom he accuses Of
forging signatures of supreme Court
Justices TO bogus divorce DEGREES,
operated his mill 50 cleNerly and
so boldly that there IS no means Of
finding out how many fake divorce
DEGREES and DEGREES OF annulment are
on file in this county"
So difficult OF detection were the
frauds he perpetrated that Supreme
Court Justice Tompkins unsuspect-
ingly signed final decree Of annul-
ment in a case where his signature
to the introductory decree was
forged.
AS a result of his Investigations
and those carried on by Assistant
District Attorney Walter A Ferris
for the past two months. District d.
torney Davis has announced that he
would go before the Grand Jury in
White Plains next Thursday and ask
for the lawyers indictment on the
charge Of forgery in the second de-
gree and on a number OF additional
| counts.
in all my experience before the
criminal bar" he said, II have never
been so anxious to get a criminal as
am 70 land this man. There is no
| telling how far this affair extends
or whom II affects. Our evidence
shows that he has been active for
two years at least.
There is no means OF telling how
many people have obtained false de-
crees through him during that time
and have since illegally remarked
and brought illegitimate children into
the world.
Suspicion first attached to the law
yer in January when Mrs. Ethel ].
! Totten OF New York, accompanied by
James f. Wilkinson, Miller's former
law partner at the West saith Street
| address, went before Supreme Court
Justice Seeger in White Plains and
| confessed TO irregularities in the
divorce proceedings which her hus-
band, Samuel Totten, had brought
against her and which had Leen tried
before Justice Seeger on Nov. 9, 1920.
The case in which Justice Tomp-
kins signed a final decree OF annul-
ment under the mistaken impression
he had Issued an interlocutory de-
cree was that of Mrs Florence T. Nc
Clelland against Thomas f. McClel-
land.