The New York herald., 1922-05-13
Meteoric Engineer Gets Three
Months Over Hotels In
paid $1O7 Bill.
BROKE AFTER BIG DEALS
Author Of West Side Freight
Plan a Jekyll-Hyde of
Finance and Fraud.

Having gone through several for
tunes in a somewhat romantic career
as the promoter of various engineering
enterprises here and abroad. Dillon 9.
Willoughby, "a, one-time millionaire
and self styled friend of the Duke OF
Manchester. began yesterday a three
months term in the workhouse.
He was sentenced by Justices Moss.
O'Keefe and Herman in the Special
Sessions for having defrauded the Ho-
tel Touraine last October of S107 .56-
an amount that would have been al
most negligible in the days of his affiu-
ence. In contrast to the days when
he was an ardent yachtsman and en-
tertained many prominent friends.
Willoughby admitted his inability to
lpay his hotel bill and expressed his
thanks to the Justices for not sending
him to the penitentiary for longer
term.
Several times willoughby has been ar
rested in this city--once, for contempt in
connection with a dressmakers bill. His
career as an engineer has been marked
bv frequent troubles with authorities in
various cities Another time, when he
was leaving for Europe, he was stopped
at the pier by telegram from the Chief
of Police Of Des Moines, who asked that
he be held in connection with land
promotion scheme in Iowa.
William B. Allis. probation officer. re-
ported tina. wiiloughby also is wanted
in Brookline. Mass. on a charge OF mis-
appropriating 500 and that number
of worthless checks have been passed
recently in various cities.
Willoughby is remembered by engi-
neers in this city principally as the
author of one of the most comprehen-
sive plans ever submitted for the i'm
provement OF the West Side. Some feat
ures of this report. which was made
to the Public Service Commission in
1913, have been Incorporated in the
plan of the Port Authority
William r. Wilcox. who was chair
man of the Public Service Commission
at the time, said he remembered Will
loughby quite well and described him
as bright and entertaining talker."
Since then he has not seen him. but he
recalled the freight terminal plan as
one OF "the best I had ever SEEN" 1t
provided for an expenditure of sS5,000,-
900 and was never adopted.
Willoughby In the old days always
talked in large figures He Is said to
have made his greatest scoop Just be-
fore Charles T.. Yerkes. Chicago traction
man. went to London to build the tubes.
wiloughby. so the story goes. heard
of the nlans for the const tr1,ctlon of the
tunnels and acquired options on property
that was required by the city and later
sold the sites at an enormous profit.
The romantic quality sof his achieve
ments was not lost on the court, Justice
O'Keefe having remarked after a perusal
of the probation officers report: will
oughby, you seem to have a capacity
for large things. This report reads
like magazine article The report
said:
HE has a vision for big things, and
II seems to be agreed that as an in
dustrial engineer he has vision and
grasp of fundamentals which places him
in the forefront of the great engineers
OF our time
In the war, II Is said, he made plans
for the port of entry at Brest. and his
recommendations in a large part were
followed by the army authorities. IL has
been said that he was the model for the
fictional character of Get Rich Quick
Wallingford" but he denied with some
dignity that he knew the author of this
character.
Mr.. WIlloughby was known as a
plunger In real estate in this city from
1894 to 1900. When sentenced he gave
his address as 100 West Twenty-ninth
street