FAMOUS FOREIGN POLICE CHIEFS IN LONDON.

Otago Witness, Issue 3673, 5 August 1924, Page 68

FAMOUS FOREIGN POLICE CHIEFS IN LONDON.

CAREER OF A BEAUTIFUL ADVENTURESS. AN APACHE LOVE AFFAIR WITH TRAGIC SEQUEL.

Uy

Vincent Wray.

(For the Witness.) It was by chance that I came across M. Paul Duprez, of the burete —the Scotland Yard of Paris—as he was strolling along the Strand in the company of no less a personage than Dr Simon, the millionaire police chief of New York. The last time I had met Duprez was when he was assisting in the investigation of the murders committed by Landru, in the lonely village of Gambais. He recalled me to memory, and suggested that we should visit a cafe in Soho which he knew, and where we could chat together in uninterrupted comfort. Dr Simon, to whom I was introduced, left us. He was on his way to Wembley, where he had an appointment with a man from the Yard. Incidentally, I may remark, that he is over here in connection with the war against “dopers,” and is in constant consultation with heads of police departments of other countries. Duprez, however, upon whom the mantle of the mighty Bertillon has fallen, is in England on another mission, the details of which he gave me with a candour that added to the intense interest of his story. He is trying to lay his hands on a woman whom he describes as “the most dangerous adventuress of modern times”—a woman who is without scruple, and who is responsible for the downfall of many men and the ruin of many families. It may be that a charge of murder will be one of these that she will be called upon to answer. Her name is Marie Des Forges, and she is possessed in a high degree of the fatal gift of beauty. Let me quote the detective’s own words: “This woman, slightly under the average height, has wonderful grace of movement, a clear complexion, eyes of the lightest blue, and a charm of manner that her acquaintances find irresistible. She was at one time a flowerseller in the streets of Paris, where she attracted the attention of an elderly man —a retired merchant —who paid for her education, and took an intense interest in her welfare. This kindness Marie repaid by robbing her benefactor, and eloping with a young and good-looking teacher of music. They left together for London, but she soon wearied of her amour, and joined a cosmopolitan swindler, named Steihhart, whose aliases are as innumerable as his crimes. From this time her career has a striking resemblance to that of the notorious “Chicago May.” From the police reports of this Frenchwoman there could be constructed an amazing narrative of real life, embracing many of the capitals of Europe, and a fleeting visit, to the United States of America. Steinhart, who is at present serving a long sentence for fraud of the most audacious character, made up his mind to use Marie’s undoubted loveliness to bis own -financial advantage. And he opened a gaming den in Knightsbridge, London. Marie’s part of the business was to visit the restaurants of leading fashionable hotels, scrape up an acquaintance with susceptible young and old men, and by her wiles induce them to visit the gaining house,' where they were plucked as thoroughly as a pigeon made ready for the dinner t-able. It is not an easy tiling to keep a gambling den running in London, however, as Steinhart was soon to discover. On one occasion shortly after midnight the police raided the mansion which had been rented, thrust aside those who would have resisted, and found in two rooms what one of the officers styled “a miniature Monte Carlo casino. ” The names and addresses of ail those who were present were taken, and the heads of the establishment were marched to the police station, and were eventually heavily fined. Steinhart did not leave England, but started on a career of blackmail of a particular infamous kind. Marie would form a friendship with a man of substance, lead him on to make love to her, and, when the amours had sufficiently advanced, Steinhart would appear as the injured and indignant husband, demand money under threats of exposure, and squeeze his victims out of the last possible penny. Duprez showed me a photograph of the woman swindler, and I instantly recognised it as one of a young woman who captivated a rich ironmaster from the Midlands, when he was staying at one of our big hotels. This man complained to the police that he had been swindled out of more than two thousand pounds. When they asked for details, lie admitted that he had fallen a victim to the charms of a “goodlooking young woman who spoke with a pretty foreign accent,” and that he had paid the large sum mentioned to avoid exposure. It was not long before the pair of blackmailers were trailed down, but, as often happens in such cases, the victim was terrified at the bare thought of the publicity that was’ likely to follow any prosecution, and refused to give evidence. Tie had accomplished one good thing. He had put. the police on the scent cf a couple of pitiless scoundrels, .and it was not long before the man was arrested for swindling by the use of a particularly skilful variation of the confidence trick. He was convicted, received imprisonment, and, when he was liberated, thought it advisable to cross the Atlantic. He reached Denver, where lie was again arrested and received a sentence that will check his criminal activities for many years to come. Marie des Forges after her associate was sent to an English prison, was told in the cleverest and most emphatic manner

possible that she was not wanted in this country, and that, if she persisted in remaining, her life was not likely to be smooth or comfortable. Accordingly, she returned to Paris, where it was not long before she had secured in the toils of her infatuation the son of a prosperous jeweller with an establishment in the Rue de Madelaine. ‘'Exactly how the two met I cannot say,” said M. Duprez, “but they appear to have had a notorious time together, including a trip to Nice, and an orgy of gambling at Monte Carlo. One morning we were sent for to the father’s shop, and were informed that there had been a burglary. There was every evidence of one having occurred, it appeared as though the plac-e had been entered through a smashed window, the sate had been opened, and jewellery to the value of a considerable sum had vanished. The man whom I sent to carry on. the investigations reported that the work was amateurish, arid that it had certainly not been done by any expert cracksmen. Eventually some of the jewellery was found. It had been pledged by a woman. V e had no difficulty "in tracing her, and she proved to he none other than Marie Des Forges. She was arrested, and did not hesitate to give her companion away. He also was: captured, when he admitted that, as they had become short cf funds, they had arranged a mock burglary. “For this offence both the man and the woman were sentenced, although the man’s father urged and, indeed, begged, for leniency. Both did their time in gaol, and on his release the man was sent by bis father into: the provinces. The woman was soon at her old games, and picked up an Italian, who was on a visit- to Paris, and who was soon to regret liis association with his captivator- She robbed him of every penny he. possesed, and then fled to Marseilles, where she was soon associating with the officers of ships which called at the port. There were many complaints, and at last Marie was again brought to book, and sent to prison/’ When she came out once more Marie left the district, and, after many more affairs of the heart, as Duprez called them, returned to Paris. Here, wonderful to relate, the girl appears really to have fallen in love with an Apache, who was as repulsive in appearance as lie was repellent in habits and manner. ITe lived in the neighbourhood of Les Halles, frequented dancing saloons, and was generally of so aggressive a character that he was feared and hated by most of his associates.

And in this brute Marie Des Forges found her master. Like Steinhart, he used her as a decoy, though in an even lower and more detestable fashion. He bullied and beat her. Indeed, as Duprez put it, she must have had a. terrible time of it. Strangely enough, she endured it until the Apache turned his attentions to another .girl. Then it seems that jealousy fired the faggots of anger. There were frequent quarrels, and in the end the Apache was found dead in the room the two had occupied. He had been stabbed to the heart, and, according to M. Duprez, all the evidence points to the woman as the aggressor. Marie. Des Forges disappeared, and careful enquiry led the people at the Surete to believe that she had, under an assumed name, and in the company of a young Frenchman, crossed the Channel. “That is what we believe,” said Duprez, “and we shall never rest until she is under lock and key. There are many charges against her, apart from the one associated with the violent- death of her Apache associate. Of, course, it may be that, we are on the wrong track, and "that she has gone in scone "other direction. One thing is certain, she has left Paris.” Such, in brief, is the history of this strange woman of the underworld, and the reason for the great detective's present visit to London. M. Duprez assured me that there is now cordial- and energetic co-operation between the police of all civilised countries, and that the possibility of the ultimate escape of Marie Des Forges is exceedingly remote. It is noteworthy that there are many other famous detectives, of other lands than ours over here, keeping a sharp look-out for crooks who might intend to reap a golden harvest amongst the thousands of visitors to the Empire Exhibition. There is in fact established what is neither more or less than a force of international police.