The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-07-14
EX-RFC CLERK
TRAILED
FORGER
BY EARL GOODWIN

A young employe OF Ine Recon
struction Finance Corporation
forged about $4,000 worth of Gov.
eminent pay checks-and from
now on until he is caught will
know that every step he takes is
logged by the Governments never
failing Secret Service operatives.
The employee was last heard OF
in Chicago, where he went to at
tend the Louis-Braddock fight.
At the time he left he was SuS-
pected of being a bit off-color.
Since he landed at the ringSide it
has been definitely proved that
he has cheated one of his close
friends out of at least $770 through
the medium of spurious checks
and that several merchants in the
city have been "gypped" in the
same way in sums ranging from
$55 to 500.
Secret Service Acts
The Secret Service is on his trail.
Operatives of the service say very
little about this or any other SIM
liar case but they are sure they
will catch him as they have caught
every other criminal who has lied
to live the life of Riley on a
handful of stolen blank Govern
ment vouchers. A Secret Service
operative explained:
"ThiS man might as well give
up and come on in now. If any
one knows who this story is all
about and knows where the man
il, it would be favor to him to
advise the boy to quit trying to
get away with it and come on in
now. In the end he will be
caught. Meantime he leads a
sad life, perpetually in the
shadow of the law, always wait
ing for that tap on the Shout
der"
Government checks are almost
their own identity. They are
cashed almost anywhere by any
body. For that reason crooks who
can pick up a handful of Govern
ment checks can fool almost any
ordinary small retail merchant
and many of the large ones. He
can always fool his friends if he
is OF the sort who would pass a
forged voucher on a friend.
Got Blank Checks
In the case of the RFC employee,
he managed to get 20 blank checks
Of series now current and so
blank checks Of a series not yet in
use and which were locked up in
an office safe. Out of the batch
of 20 current series checks he
managed to pass an even dozen
here on merchants in the District
Of Columbia, in sums ranging from
$50 to 500. Then he tried slick
trick on friend with IL checks
from the batch of the series not
yet being used.
He made them all out to him.
self, used office check marking,
dating devices, etc. They were il.
the amount of SIS each which was
the amount of his Semimonthly
pay, and they ran from January
through June. They looked like
a Sheaf Of pay checks to him. He
explained to a friend that he was
saving these checks on a bet-ne
had Wagered, he said, with his boss
that he could hold on to his pay
checks without caShing them for
several months. That's why he
had so many, he explained.
Friend Cashed Checks
The friend is presumed to have
cashed them all-and got a little
slice Of the money in the way of a
fee. Two other checks out of this
batch of IA were foisted on mer-
chants.
These forgeries were so excel
lent that actually two employees
of the Treasurer'S office in the
Treasury let two or three slip
through unnoticed. Close mouthed
Treasury officials will not admit
it but the employees at fault are
said to have been denoted for their
lack of discernment. However, the
alarm is out against this youth
who riSked his freedom for a few
years for short fling among the
sports. Every bank knows the
numbers on the checks. Pretty
soon the youth will be known by
number in a Federal penitentiary.