Evening star., 1933-02-08
LILLE WILL FACE
FIVE CHARGES IN
COUNTERFEIT CASE
Two Policemen Wounded In
Arresting Youth Reported
Recovering.
ACTIVITIES ARE FOUND
TO HAVE BEEN MINOR
Amateur Engraver Who Perfected
Own System Said to Have
Made Few Bills.

OSiAP4SbAl5 VIC al lllfCSbASdLlOu
into the counterfeiting activities of
Lester L. Lille, IS, confessed engraver
Of spurious money, the Government
moved swiftly today to prepare the case
for prosecution on three charges Of
counterfeiting and two Of assault with
intent to kill
Lille, arrested Monday night after a
desperate fight with two third precinct
policemen, whom he shot before finally
being subdued by crowd of spectators
at Eighteenth street and Columbia road,
will be arraigned tomorrow or Friday,
either before United States Commits
sloner Needham G. Turnage or In Dis
trict Police Court.
If brought before Turnage, the Fed
eral counterfeiting charge would be used
as the basis of holding him for grand
jury action, while in Police Court the
assault charges would be heard.
Had Made Little Money.
From Secret Service Chief William
Moran, meanwhile, came the announce
ment that Lilies career as a counter
feiter was not so spectacular as at first
believed. Moran and Assistant Chief
Joseph E. Murphy disclosed that only
about $50 or $50 of the money Lille had
manufactured at his engraving plant"
in the 1900 block Twelfth street had
been passed, while only about $217 more
in 81, $40 and $40 bills had been turned
out preparatory to being distributed.
Four new $40 bills also were recovered
from Lilies car.
He was only an amateur" said
Moran, land his money could only be
described as pretty good If he hadn't
a mi l1ox q
loitered around the neighborhoed where
he planned to pass some of his money"
Murphy also revealed that most of
the $50 or $50" circulated by Lille has
been traced. Both Federal agents and
District police expressed the belief Lille
had told the truth in saying he worked
alone and was not connected with any
large "counterfeiting ring" Murphy
said that only few hours after the
youths arrest Ninth street merchant
called the secret service Office here and
said he believed Lille was the same
man who a few days before had passed
bogus $40 note on him.
Intensive Drive Denied.
Although several other alleged coun-
terfeiterS have been arrested recently
by secret service operatives, Moran and
Murphy denied any intensive drive to
rid the East of counterfeiting rings"
was underway
Among those taken in custody were
Theodore Roosevelt Grant, SO, colored,
of the 300 block r street, arrested here
Saturday night, and Clyde Brasher,
also OF this city, apprehended in Har.
r1scnburg, Va, after he and two other
men allegedly attempted to pass bogus
$40 bill Brasher's companions escaped,
but he is being held in the Harrisonburg
jail pending grand jury action
Although $40 note, resembling the
Federal Reserve issue of 1923 and bear
ing the likeness of Andrew jackson.
Is the most common counterfeit bill
which has been circulated in the East
recently, secret service officials do not
believe this fact proves existence of any
central manufacturing agency. Like
wise, they denied that counterfeiting
activities have been increasing recently.
Less than "a hours after Lilies ar
rest, ninth precinct police discovered
another counterfeit bill and arrested
Orsal Anna Stevenson, 25, colored, 14OO
block OF Duncan street northeast. after
clerk IN 5 and 10 cent store be-
came suspicious and called police. Sc
cret service agents expressed the opin-
ION the woman acquired the bill inno-
Gently and are attempting to trace it to
its source.
Policemen Are Improving.
The two policemen shot by Lille
n. L. Lay and Arthur Gernhofer-were
reported in satisfactory condition to-
DAY. Lay was the most seriously wound
ed, the large bone in his leg, between
the knee and the hip, being shattered
by bullet from Lilies gun, which he
nred through his OVercO9t nocket TT
was first feared that the leg would
have to be ampUtated, but today physi-
clans at Emergency Hospital said they
expected to save the limb. Gernhofer
suffered only flesh wound and after
receiving treatment was permitted to
go to his home.
Lille talked freely last night of how
he almost mastered in six months an
art which usually takes others wears to
grasp. Without previous technical ex-
perlence, the youth had turned out
money which only expert handlers
could detect as spurious.
:! developed it all in six months" he
SAID. ITS a new process-at least I
tnlnK IL Is. There were few books
on engraving in the library SO I stud
led them, set up my plant and started
experimenting
"A lew weeks ago 7 began turning
out bills that thought were all right.
"a can now make a plate in two hours,
but the ink was bad, so was the paper
in the bills"
The youth said he had had no pre-
vlouS experience in engraving, except
that he once studied for a while in
an engraving school in New York. but
gave up the course because I didn't
like it."