BOGUS MILLIONAIRE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14531, 19 November 1910, Page 2 (Supplement)

BOGUS MILLIONAIRE.

. DUPES \ MAN * CAREER OP PAPERHANGER.' 'l Whilst he performs the bard Uk ?'SI lotted to him in prisonj James °^';i Smythe, a papcrhanger, of S New Brighton, will have amolfr 1 reflect upon the brief period £' w Sj .Hi was abje to pass himself off /-'! aire Smythe, who wag helped ? *?' ? l gentlemanly appearance .)« j] 7 ' 1 ® St. Helens (Lanes.), and let it k i Up ° a - < that he was ,<k Col"lT mm k "™"' M He obtained advances from iJSSoj tradesmen to whom he showed bZ 113 # for shares, and "flasE" 5 for considerable sum- on *r 16 M banks. The police discovered utotT* S certificates, but as the 1-.*t ' 689 vV* 2205, ho nkt C 3 aj-d^p i other documents to lend an air , 34 '& to his statement that he was a ver! I f;; thy man. One tradesman, Hy ThJ?' ' ' parted with goods to the valJe of X t on Smythe s representations, and in!? 1 he is said to have obtained £500 L it&H goods. Wta, b. ' SS- otafatag th« goods from M, I Thewlis, the chief constable said tK Z : mstoad of being . „miondre, -J world except tha £1 iv w i , him, and that m 6 part of a lM ™ obt S - it Wi<ran . f of a loau obtained',,? VVi o an a few.-days-pifeviousiy.-:'-.- ; Afte* a remand prisoner pleaded guilty "toS charges of obtaining £264 4s 2d "by faka C pretences, and obtaining £75 by far £lMbv S f f r m ]iHrr y Thewlig j obtaining £100 by false pretences from William Wil- ' son Crompton; obtaining £37 by falsa sTV'r Jceeph wnc <*: <**§! Wall y If 3 "- pretences from Laurenc« Wall, obtaining £20 10 s bv false prefences from William Bolton. It was stated lhat, some months ago, accS " , 1, , ~ LUS a go, accused Hotel I d ° nCe at 1516 Wellington! Hotel, St Helens. .He said he had come < to England to obtain the controlling inter- v cet m a mine m Denver, Colorado, and in order to avoid running up the shares on the Stock Exchange, he had to do bus-*- ; ness as secretly as possible. By this means lie got into the confidence of local gentlemen, from whom ho obtained E '• Bums of money. He induced Mr. Snow. croft to give up the Wellington Hotel . and accept, at a salary of £1000 ik* ' secretaryship of the Nevada Mine, which ' aid not exist. In July Mr. J. C. Snowcroft went to America, and had since written to prisoner, asking what he was : - to do as he had pawned all hi could. M trie chief constable told an amazing story V-j of prisoner's career. He w;w born at : iS Castle Eden, Durham, in 1865. v ~ ■ * -'3 HE DID LABOURING WORK I " -7: after leaving school until he was 16, an! then became in turn railway porter and - signalman. In 1887 he married Margaret . f : Smith, at St. Catherine's Church, W'gaa v ' (who was present on Court), and " her - 3 mother advanced £90 for him to : start J business as a stationer and fancy good* j? dealer at Seaforth, which shop he ocft. ?i j pied only a short time, when a fflysterw I ous fir 3 occurred aad the business ceased. The loan of £90 is still unpaid. In 18B8g 1 having obtained sufficient money from wife, he went to Boston, U.S.A. Anting in Boston he obtained tjnployjsiat'Jß,;fireman and janitor at thfe: Hotel Kempton, Barkley-strset, where he : remain; for two years. He then returned to Engjsi-; land, and visited his wife at Wigao.lv].' Whilst he was there she discovered,-iss'. means of a blotting-pad, that he had befit"?:-;' in secret communication with a young ladyf,.-.;• in America, with a, view to matriag&j|'. - This lady was • informed by 'thati' prisoner was already, married, a fact which ' she appeared to have doubted, as a letfefHS was received from her stating that sha .' could hardly believe : prisoner wae such $ y - - scoundrel as to deceive hei aaid to fcrife with her affections. Not feeling : satisfied, this lady communicated with the vicar oS . - Wigan, who in return supplied her with full particulars of prisoner's marriage asti~P, 3 Wigan. Returning to Boston, he was-aa ;, vf institute caretaker, and, after extenem/i"' travels, became a painter and decorator*. Nothing was heard of him until '1606,'jii? when he was seen by his brother-in-laMf|i n leaving the Midland Hotel, : He. told his brother-in-law that so' far a*g." he was concerned his wife was : dead, »j§|jfcl jthev were not meant for one another. In December, 1898, he married 'Mary. Chnjrj^. Tina Topham, of Willow Court, Dorchester, America, and there are three children who are now residing in Boston. Ip 1903 ; he began to study mining, and t sobse* . quently became shareholder and presides! tj,#, of the Queen Bee mine. State-street; 'Bc«kf|p| ton, but owing to want of capital * - tMbZ THE WHOLE THING FELL TH2OCG2. About 1909, Mr. Levenstone, barrister,! Toronto, was scouring England in. search aifp of prisoner, in order , to. wring from': hint v' £3000, which he had obtained from-liev®->Sg; stone and a client in : connection with a bogus mine. He found prisoner, who M said that, if he could only get the eigna- >' ture of a gentleman on the Continent, he would have no difficulty in getting.||||f £6000, which money would be 'divided;: be- jr twean Mr. Levenstone and his client., < This story was swallowed, strange to say, and another £30 was actually advanced to enable prisoner to proceed" to the Contim ./ ent to interview the peifion he bad men- "y-^i tioned. He left for the Continent, anafrom Lucerne he wrote informing then* " , that the person whose signature he required, hadl eft, and his whereabouts was unknown for a time. Some 18' months ago he went to St. Helena. At the tune ; of his arrest prisoner was living with a. j Miss Davies, 18, ; and .their. child, agefl three months, in Duke street, New -Brighton. He first represented this lady to be . bis niece, and they spent a good deal or , time motoring about the country and at*' tending the principal race meetings. As his apartments were found three gentle- ? men's dressing and travelling bags, " - cost of which would range from £25 to £50, and they contained books and letters, referring to mines out West, and some 014 the letters he had typed himself. "j Amongst his letters was one fro® * ' Mr. Barber, as follows:— " "July 25, 1908, R.M.S. Lusitaaia. : Smythe, Esq.—Dear Sir,— will • senfS to note the understanding that I am awaiting your instructions at New : York, to use letters that you may direct • and a according to - circumstances. very. . v truly, T. H. Basses." /■ : " siThere was also a cablegram sent August, as follows :— ' . S'gfe 'Toronto, to Smythe, Hotel : Victona, * Lucerne, Stranded. * Waiting"your reply^ ' —Barber." '' Prisoner stated that Barber was now iB t New Zealand. Inquiries showed that soner lias been passing between and America vary frequently for the eight vears, staving at the leading .hotel |§g|j in both countries, and paying hotel bills, including one of £68 at tne 0 Hotel Cecil. London, against which these were letters, purporting to be from , wife, stating that she and her children we - practically starving and bootless in_ * - ton. After a short consultation, was sentenced to six' montns on -M,"j charges and three months on : four, , r4pl ; il consecutively, making two ycara 1 Prisoner accepted his sentence q«"t ■} : concernedly, and left the docK without af word. . ? |p