Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-03
2C0UNTERFEITERS Z
ARE CAUGHT HERE
Business Men Arrested and
Copper Plates for Spurious
$40 Notes Seized
BILLS PASSED ON BAN K S

Charged with making spurious $50
bank notes. two business men Of this
city were arrested last night BY Secret
| Service agents and taken to the Fed.
eral Building for a hearing.
The prisoners are Joseph pschicbl. a
niue, and Frank Thoma. a photographer,
173 West Girnrd avenue. They were
held in $500 each BY Commissioner
Mnnley.
The Secret sri".>' mrn arrested the
alleged counterfeiters after a vigil OF
several months. They also found the
plates hidden in a small chimney hole
On June 8, severn, banks in this
city notified Captain Haushton, Of
the Secret Service, that they were
IN possession of several counter
felt $40 notes of the Federal
Reserve Bank Of this city. Captain
Haughton took up the chnsc OF tho
counterfeiters and succeeded In making
an arrest early yesterday. Fifteen
copper engraved plates also were
recovered in Thomas's home.
Experimental for Two Years
In his confession Pschiebl said that
two years ago while business was bad
he conceived the idea he could make
counterfeit notes. He talked the mat :.
ter over with Frank Thoma. a photo
grnpher, and the men decided to make
a $40 Federal Reserve banknote.
Thoma Is alleged to- have made the
negative from a genuine $40 note and
Paschiebl. who Is an excellent artist
and engraver, made the plates and
printed the notes In his shop. To pre-
vent having the note detected through
the paper, Pschiebl bleached one.dol-
lar banknotes and on these he printed
the $50 notes.
For two years. Pschiebl said, he ex.
perimented with the plates, and on
June decided that his notes were per.
feet and that he could begin turning
out a food of spurious money. So
clever did Pschiebl do his work that he
succeeded in rassing n number of the
notes on banks and In department
stores.
Pschiebl passed one Of the counter.
feits on a saloonkeepcr, who in turn
questioned the note and the saloon-
keeper said he Seceived It from
Psrhiebl, who was sent for by the bank
officials to explain how 1t came into
his possession. He declared he received
the bill in n business transaction and
was ignorant Of 1t being q counterfeit
His explanation was accepted. but Cap.
tain Haughton ordered Pschiebl
watched.
Nation. Wide Search for Pschiebl
When the china decorator closed his
shop and disappeared the Secret Scrv-
ice agents knew they were on the trail
OF the right man and Nation wide
search was made for him. He was nr-
rested by Captain Haughton in the
Frelinghuysen Hotel. Newark. n. j.,
where he was employed as q porter.
lie broke down after being questioned
in the Federal Building here and made
complete confession and told of
Thomas part In the plot. Thoma was
then arrested.
\ thorough search Of Thomas home
was made and small chimney hole In
the wall below which was u bricked up
space that had been an open fireplace
attracted attention The agents. armed
with chisels. tore out the brickwOrk
and found a small leather satchel con =
tanning the plates, which showed the
progress toward perfection Of the two
years Of the counterfeitPrs.