Evening star., 1922-12-22
COUNTERFEIT GANG
FALLS |NTOU. S. NET
Forged Money Orders and
Bogus Travellers Cheques
Held Evidence.
ARRESTS IN TWO CITIES
Engraver Taken With Goods" at
Asbury Park, Two at New
Orleans.
ARRESTS IN TWO CITIES
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
ASBURY PARK. n. j., December %.
"A long search by federal agents
and private detectives for counter
feiters. who have been flooding the
| country with forged American Rail-
| way Express money orders. has been
ended with the arrest here Of Giles NJ.
Ranney. an engraver, and the arrests
| in New Orleans Of James Watson and
| Walter X. Nolan, 1t was disclosed to-
! day.
Ranney, who was said to be New
Yorker. was arrested several days
however. until the other alleged plot
ters were taken into custody.
County Detective Davenport, who
arrested Ranney said the activities
of the band had been carried on all
operated including New York. Phila-
delphia. Pittsburgh. New Orleans.
Birmingham and Cincinnati.
First In Thirty Years.
The men are alleged to have passed
counterfeits Of the blue travellers
checks of the American Railway Ex-
press in denominations of $50 and
800. How many they succeeded in
disposing Of could not be learned. Of
ficials Of the express company declar-
ed that this was the first successful
attempt in thirty years to pass forged
travellers checks.
The trail of the alleged counterfeit
ers was struck in New York last No
vember when bank teller. checking
his accounts. noticed something
wrong with the texture Of one of the
checks which he had cashed. An
alarm was Immediately sent out and
investigation showed that $500 worth
Of the bogus paper already had been
passed in New York. Every bank.
railroad ticket Office and express office
on the lookout for the counterfeits.
short time later Detective Daven-
port received a mysterious tip that the
counterfeits were being made in
Asbury Park by Ranney. He trailed
the man to small printing shop here.
where. the detective says. he found
him comparing some of the bogus
checks with authentic paper. Ranney
was arrested.
Working on information they OBJ
tained in a manner as yet undiSciosed.
federal agents and private detectives
~
They were guided in their search by
reports which piled up from various
cities of the passing Of similar worth
less paper.
Operated in Philadelphia.
Tho trial led first to Philadelphia.
but when the detectives arrived the
ccunterfeiters had passed $400 In
counterfeit checks and moved on to
Pittsburgh.
A trap was laid for them in Pitts
burgh. but, apparently getting wind
Of 1t. the counterfeiters again moved
on. The next stop was Birmingham.
where they were recognized by a fed
eral agent and were trailed to New
Orleans. There, 1t was alleged. they
were caught in the act Of passing
some Of the worthless paper They
had $4,000 in bogus checks on their
persons when they were arrested, it
Is alleged. They were taken to Gin
cinnati, where they now are held.
Detective Davenport said one of
the band had confessed and had told
the authorities the plate which the
counterfeiters had made was thrown
in the Hudson river at New York, a
second plate along with $4,000 in
checks was said to have been de-
stroyed in Asbury Park.
Ranney. who Is alleged to have been
the brains of the plot, Is declared by
Der of gang of postage stamp coun-
terfeiters several of whom were cap
tured at West Allenhurst las. year.
He has served time in the federal
penitentiaries at Atlanta and Calves
ton, Detective Davenport said.