The Warwickshire Herald. — 1888-11-01 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

ARC 11 SWINDLER'S CAREER.  The life and career of that extraordinary Parisian criminal Prado, the reputed murderer of Marie Aguetan, are most minutely set forth in the indictment which will be probably preferred against him a few days hence. The story reads like a long extract from the pages of Gaboriau. The accused was by turn sailor, soldier, gambler, swindler, atid general ad% enturer. After having served with the Carlists, Prado, alias Count Linska de Cast;lion, went to Peru, and in Lima he married a lady who brought him a dowry of £48,000. The lady died suddenly, and Prado, who had gambled away £16,000 of the dowry, was sent away from Lima by the lady's family. The Count next appeared at Oportc, in Portugal, where he robbed a jeweller's shop, and entered the place again a few week's after in order to leave a letter for the jeweller on his counter, and in which communication the burglar coolly told his victim to look carefully after the place. From Oporto Prado went to Madrid, where he opened a, gambling saloon, cheated a lot of Greeks supposed to be as sharp as himself out of a large sum of money, and got £2,000 from a venerable sedora of 60 to whom he made love. In 1872 he married Dolores Garces y Marcilla, said to be descended from the kings of Arragon. She brought him £7,000, and is now starving in a garret in Madrid. In 1883 Prado came to Paris, where he made the acquaintance of Eugenie Forestier, who has given most incriminating information against him. Marie Aguetan was murdered in circumstances which have already been detailed, in January, 1886, and immediately after the crime Prado left Paris suddenly, Forestier was in the meantime struck by the description of the presumed murderer which was given in the papers, but being fond of the fellow she hesitated before communicating her suspicions to the police. Prado went to Bordeaux, where he met • young woman named Couronneau, whom he seduced under a promise of marriage. In Bordeaux be stole MO from • jeweller, and, returning to Paris, he boldly annexed diamonds and precious stones worth £lO,OOO from M. Lorenzo, also a jeweller. That operation, however, cost Prado his liberty, and perhaps his life, for he was arrested after a struggle with the police, one of whom he wounded. Shortly afterwards a whole band of his accomplices, male and female, and of various nationalities, was likewise captured. Eugenie Forestier gave the police indications respecting Marie Aguetan's jewellery, some of which was given to her by Prado and some sold in Madrid. In December, 1887, Prado wrote from Mama Prison to Forestier, asking her to save him, and promising that he would then devote his life to her. This is regarded by the judges as tantamount to an acknowledgment of the crime; but. in any case, the webs have been drawn tightly around the accused, and he is not likely to be able to clear himself. In the meantime, the detectives have (says the Paris correspondent of a contemporary) arrested 12 swindlers in the South of France who belonged to the Catusse, and probably to the Allmayer, band. Amongst them is a woman named Flora, who was well known to the gamblers of Monte Csrlo. Parisians will therefore have a number of attractions in the shape of sensational trials during :be ensuing month.