Counterfeiting was quite a popular crime in the late
19th century—it was
easy to do. But imagine the embarrassment when it turns out said perpetrator is
the son of a District Attorney who was in the process of prosecuting a ring of
counterfeiters. OOPS!
The Western New Yorker (Warsaw, Wyoming County, NY)
January 27, 1857
ARRESTED FOR COUNTERFEITING.—It is one of the most painful duties of a journalist to record crime committed by a fellow townsman, especially when such record cannot fail to give renewed pain to the intimate friends and relatives of the culprit. In this community such instances have been of infrequent occurrences, and it is therefore with the greater regret that we copy the following from the Buffalo Express of Thursday last:
The person on whom an individual passed six ten-dollar notes, of spurious Midland District money, was on his track on Saturday, the day following the transactions. Officer Lake was put upon the scent and before night had the presumed offender in charge. He gave his name is McKay and said that he came from Warsaw Wyoming County.
The Western New Yorker (Warsaw, Wyoming County, NY)
January 27, 1857
ARRESTED FOR COUNTERFEITING.—It is one of the most painful duties of a journalist to record crime committed by a fellow townsman, especially when such record cannot fail to give renewed pain to the intimate friends and relatives of the culprit. In this community such instances have been of infrequent occurrences, and it is therefore with the greater regret that we copy the following from the Buffalo Express of Thursday last:
The person on whom an individual passed six ten-dollar notes, of spurious Midland District money, was on his track on Saturday, the day following the transactions. Officer Lake was put upon the scent and before night had the presumed offender in charge. He gave his name is McKay and said that he came from Warsaw Wyoming County.
On this person were found a large number of counterfeited
notes of the same character as those passed the previous night, and dies for
striking bogus quarters. The evidence is probably sufficient to ensure his conviction.
The arrested man was examined before Justice Drullard and pleaded guilty.
There are pretty well grounded suspicions that the notes and dies found upon this young man was stolen from his father's office, where they were deposited as evidence to be used against counterfeiters now in custody in this and Genesee County. Young McKay was taken to Albany for trial before the United States District Court.
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Counterfeiting, or any white collar crime fascinates me because it is more about intelligence, and less about gore. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDamyanti Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2014, Latest Post
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Great idea for the A to Z Challenge. I will without a doubt be back again.
ReplyDeleteRobin
My A-Z group blog is www.writeonsisters.com
ah, so that was it eh? lol, well done.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun topic! And I love reading how "old journalism" was written. Fascinating! ~ Angela, A to Z participant from Web Writing Advice (http://www.webwritingadvice.com/) and Whole Foods Living (http://wholefoodsliving.blogspot.com/)
ReplyDeleteOh boy, daddy's gonna be mad and ashamed. Kid made him look bad!
ReplyDeleteThat was one interesting story about the counter fitter! Surprise, Dad.
ReplyDelete