ECHO OF KOEPENICK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13674, 15 February 1908, Page 2 (Supplement)

ECHO OF KOEPENICK.

• . .. '."■-- ■ ;- ; JJtMYc:GiSHBGXvBIELED- ; BY BOGUS ' . ; . ■ ;_, OFFICIAL. , ' ' Whks" 'the shoemaker -Voigt, posing as »' -.Pxnaihui - capt*in, ,made .the, htitgona&k'i" ■ j of Koepenick the laughing-stock" of Europe, the; Austrian papers were foremost in their criticism. Now the tables are turned. A , swindler: attired in. tilt, uniform of a lieutenant succeeded, in obtain- . injr £.1200 d rem the regimental cashlx-c of the 12nd Regiment of Artillery. A young man wearing the uniform of a lieutenant'accountant drove v.;*, to Vien- . na arsenal in a- cab at nine o'clock in the "morning, and entered the adjutant's office, which'was crowded at the time. He introduced himself as Lieutenant Goldbacher, and representing himself to be a member of the Control: Commission, two other members of which were waiting in the courtyard, demanded the keys of the strong-room, as th© commission wanted to examine the -strong-box of : the 2nd Artillery Regiment. ' ' The adjutant, without a moment's hesitation, handed over the desired bunch of keys, and the lieutenant gravely; signed the receipt. Then: he withdrew, and ;• opened without question, -.and in the presence of the; sentinel stationed " before it, the fives heavy, doors leading to the strong- ■ room, in which were deposited one iron and eight wooden strong-boxes, contain-ing-the funds of- the; arsenal and the regi- * ments quartered therein. The total amount; , of-! money, in these boxes was about ; '£40,000. Once in the strong-room the bogus lieu-, : tenant, with a /crowbar," hidden' under his tunic, forced open one ;of the wooden boxes, and appropriated .£I3OO in bank•notes and the bank-book.' He did not infere: with any other boxes, but quietly withdrew, got into the cab in which he arrived, and drove off. He drove away in the same: cab to the savings bank, and withdrew tlie deposits of £200. .! The reason why the ; adjutant was so : ready to give the keys' was that he expectl ed a committee of the Control Commission. His astonishment may well be . imagined when an hour later the genuine Control Commission came and - discovered • the burglary. The police have , ascertained that the ■ -burglary who is still at: large, was formerly, a commissariat sergeant named IGoldschmidt,, who, after embezzling £200 of public money several .months ago, deserted from the army, bought a uniform at an old clothes shop, and immediately ; after the burglary cashed the money at a i bank.. ■ -■'■": The .adjutant; who disobeyed his in-' structions by delivering the keys without requiring the man to establish his identity, will be tried before a court-martial.