Evening star., 1930-05-11

man Pascal was The records show
that Joseph Eugene Clement Pascal was born
of honest, middle-class parents on November
20, 1892, at st. Denis, his father being a book
keeper. When his son was of an age to be put
to work the father decided to make him a
working engineer.
Trained in the Diderot Professional School
for Engineering Clement Pascal got a good
start in life, married at the age of 20 charm
ing brunette OF ID, and for some years went
straight. Then came the day when, tiring of
Paris and his job, he changed both his place of
residence and his trade.
We find him next in Nantes that beautiful
city on the Loire through which SO many of
the American troops passed during the war.
Pascal here exercised the callings, one after the
other, Of engineer, chemist and veterinary
surgeon. He had never had any training
whatsoever for two of these vocationS, but he
had discovered that he was very adaptable and
could easily impose on people-thanks to an
open countenance a plausible manner and a
ready tongue.
His was the life of the petty swindler of the
provinces, and he once confessed, during po-
lice interrogation, that he would probably
have remained a crook in small way had he
not chanced to meet a woman who put him on
the path that led to the real "big business of
the criminal world.
EARLY in May. 1917, Pascal made the ac-
quaintance of Marie Louise Noirait at a
Montmartre dancing hall. They joined forces,
and Marie Louise changed her name to Car
men Deslys." A little later she became
"Gisele de Gisors." Two other crooks had
been taken into partnership, and q big swindle
connected with the building of motor vans and
other transport material was set on foot
Large sums of money were advanced by
woud-be purchasers on the strength of certain
certificates which Pascal had obtained from
one of the railway companies, through an en-
poye who was an accompiice, and by the end
of the year he had amassed 100000 francs
without delivery of a single vanI The center
of this swindle was Bordeaux, and once the
money had been obtained one need hardly say
that the southern port saw Pascal no more.
Paris and a fine fat on the Boulevard
Perere was his next residence, still in company
with Gisele de Gisors, whose fertile brain was
of considerable value in suggesting further
Swindes She it was who conceived the idea
of big perfume fraud In the South of France
during the Winter season Of 1920.
Clement Pascal had now become Heri de
Vaudrey, with all his papers in order At the
Villa Marguerite, at Hyeres he lived the life
of grand seigneur who was at the same time
a scent manufacturer. In the Avenue du
Casino he had fine laboratory where an ac-
complice named Caillat was supposed to be
working out formulae for the most ravishing
new scents. Two-'Demon glamour" and
"Coeur pame"-were actually launched from a
small factory. All the most modern methods
of advertising were adopted, miniature samples
were sent out by hundreds of thousands and
orders and money-the money always in ad-
vance-began to roll in.
Then Pascal once more disappeared, to turn
up again at Nantes under the name of Gou-
raud. nephew Of the famous general of that
name" He took a smart little fiat In the Rue
Deshoulines and hired q garage in the Rue
Babonneau for the sale of American motor
cars a consignment of which was stated to be
IN route.