SEIZURE OF FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IN SPURIOUS POSTAL CURRENCY--ARREST
OF THE COUNTERFEITER--HIS CONFESSION.
In the New York Times of November 20, 1865, we find an article with the
above caption, and which we copy as below. The arrest therein spoken of
created much sensation at the time, as well it might. Officer McWatters
acted in the matter, not only as an ordinary member of the police
force, but in the capacity of a detective, and won great credit by his
sagacity.
"An important arrest was effected in Brooklyn last Tuesday, the
particulars of which have been suppressed up to the present time. The
Treasury Department at Washington have long been aware that the
business of counterfeiting greenbacks and postal currency has been
carried on to an alarming extent at different points throughout the
country, but their endeavors to arrest the guilty parties have, with a
few exceptions, been attended with failure, or only partial success.
One exceedingly skilful engraver of bogus postal currency has been
especially marked as the most dangerous operator, inasmuch as his
execution was so perfect as frequently to deceive even the Government
officials; and the boldness of the counterfeiter was almost as great as
his skill. The man in question is an English engraver, by the name of
Charles J. Roberts. The best Government detectives have been on his
track for six months, without succeeding in finding him, until last
Tuesday, when his arrest was effected in Brooklyn, by Messrs. R. R.
Lowell and A. J. Otto, detectives in the service of the Treasury
Department, with the assistance of Officer McWatters, of the
Twenty-Sixth Metropolitan Precinct.
"The operations of Roberts have been mainly confined to Philadelphia,
in the suburbs of which city his "money mill" was situated. The last
counterfeit pieces which he made, and which, in an indirect manner, led
to his arrest, were copies of the latest issue of fifty cent postal
currency. They are of steel, and the impression from them is so
beautiful and perfect, as to be entirely undistinguishable from that of
the genuine plates. Upon this counterfeit the criminal artist had
exerted his skill with the most elaborate patience and precision,
intending to make it, in every sense, a _perfect_ resemblance, which
would even escape the suspicion of the Government detectives.
"But though an engraver, Roberts was not a printer. His plate was
perfection, but unaided, or assisted only by mediocre printers, he
could not produce an impression equally perfect. He therefore left
Philadelphia a short time ago to seek the services of a Brooklyn
printer, whom he understood to have been in the counterfeiting
business, and who was well known to be a mechanic of extraordinary
skill. Unluckily for the English operator, this printer was in the
service of the Government detectives, who were, therefore, promptly
informed of the whereabouts of the game for which they had so long been
in pursuit.
"Messrs. Lowell and Otto, McWatters and others, accordingly surprised
Roberts in his Brooklyn retreat, on Tuesday morning last, at 9-30. The
counterfeiter made a desperate resistance, swearing that he would die
sooner than be taken; but the detectives were too many for him. He was
knocked down, disarmed, and speedily lodged in the Raymond Street jail.
"The arrest was kept a profound secret, to allow the detectives time to
effect the seizure of the plates and counterfeit money already
manufactured in Philadelphia, which they were unable to do prior to the
arrest. They also knew of twenty thousand dollars in the fraudulent
currency, which the manufacturer had brought with him to Brooklyn, and
which they hoped to procure. After lodging their prisoner in
confinement, they immediately set out for Philadelphia, found the mill,
and seized its contents, comprising the plates, tools, presses, fifty
thousand dollars' worth of the fraudulent currency, all in fifty cent
postage stamps. Some of it was in an unfinished state, but the
detectives declare that the completed issues would have deceived them
instantly; that they would never have doubted their genuineness. But
they were outwitted by the prisoner, so far as the counterfeits in
Brooklyn were concerned. During the absence of his captors, Roberts
managed to have the following letter conveyed to his mistress and
confederate:--
"'BROOKLYN, November --, 1865.
"'MARY: Please go at once, when you receive this, and tell
Louisa to come and see me at once. _Tell her to clean things
away._ I am at Raymond Street jail. Please go some roundabout
way, and take care nobody follows you. Tell Louisa to keep
cool. I am all right. Do this right away, please, to-night, and
oblige,
"'Yours,