Disputed Handwriting Part 13

"The opinions of experts on the question whether the two doc.u.ments were written by the same person, or by different persons, are deemed to be relevant."

Article LI: "When there is a question as to the person by whom any doc.u.ment was written or signed, the opinion of any person acquainted with the handwriting of the supposed writer that it was or was not written or signed by him, is deemed to be a relevant fact.

"A person is deemed to be acquainted with the handwriting of another person when he has at any time seen that person write, or when he has received doc.u.ments purporting to be written by that person in answer to doc.u.ments written by himself or under his authority, and addressed to that person, or when in the ordinary course of business, doc.u.ments purporting to be written by that person have been habitually submitted to him.

"Ill.u.s.tration: The question is, whether a given letter is in the handwriting of A, a merchant in Calcutta.

"B is a merchant in London, who has written letters addressed to A, and received in answer letters purporting to be written by him. C is B's clerk, whose duty it was to examine and file B's correspondence. D is B's broker, to whom B habitually submitted the letters purporting to be written by A for the purpose of advising with him thereon.

"The opinions of B, C, and D on the question whether the letter is in the handwriting of A are relevant, though neither B, C, or D ever saw A write.

"The opinion of E, who saw A write once twenty years ago, is also relevant."

Article LI I: "Comparisons of a disputed handwriting with any writing proved to the satisfaction of the judge to be genuine is permitted to be made by witnesses, and such writings, and the evidence of witnesses respecting the same, may be submitted to the court and jury as evidence of the genuineness or otherwise of the writing in dispute.

This paragraph applies to all courts of judicature, criminal or civil, and to all persons having by law, or by consent of parties, authority to hear, receive, and examine evidence."

CHAPTER XX

TAMPERED, ERASED, AND MANIPULATED PAPER

Sure Rules for the Detection of Forged and Fraudulent Writing of Any Kind--A European Professor Gives Rules for Detecting Fraud--How to Tell Alterations Made on Checks, Drafts, and Business Paper--An Infallible System Discovered--Results Always Satisfactory--Can Be Used by Anyone--Vapor of Iodine a Valuable Agent--Paper That Has Been Wet or Moistened--Colors That Tampered Paper a.s.sumes--Tracing Written Characters with Water--Making Writing Legible--How to Tell Paper That Has Been Erased or Rubbed--What a Light Will Disclose--Erasing with Bread Crumbs--Hard to Detect--How to Discover Traces of Manipulation--Erased Surface Made Legible--Treating Partially Erased Paper--Detecting Nature of Substance Used for Erasing--Use of Bread Crumbs Colors Paper--Tracing Writing with a Gla.s.s Rod--Tracing Writing Under Paper--Writing With Gla.s.s Tubes Instead of Pens--What Physical Examination Reveals--Erasing Substance of Paper--Reproducing Pencil Writing in a Letter Press--Kind of Paper to Use in Making Experiments--Detecting Fraud in Old Papers--The Rubbing and Writing Method.

Prof. G. Brynlants of the Belgian Academy of Sciences, who has made the detecting of forgery and disputed handwriting a study for twenty years, recently made public an account of the researches he had made and deductions arrived at with a view of making known how frauds and alterations are made on checks, drafts, and business paper generally and how same can easily be detected. The system he recommends is now in use in nearly every bank in Europe and the result of his work and his recommendations should be carefully read and the system applied by the banks and business houses of the United States, when occasion requires.

The following article has been specially prepared for this work; and if its recommendations are carefully carried out it will prove a sure rule for the detection of forged and fraudulent handwriting:

"Although my experiments were not always carried on under the most favorable circ.u.mstances, their results were eminently satisfactory and will prove a boon to the banking and business world. A piece of paper was handed to me for the purpose of determining if part of it had been wet and if another part of it had been manipulated for the purpose of erasing marks upon it; in other words, whether this part had been rubbed. The sample I had to work upon had already gone through several experiments. I had remarked that the tint of the paper exposed to the vapor of iodine differs from that which this same paper a.s.sumes when it has been wet first and dried afterwards. In addition to this I realized that when sized and calendered paper, first partially wet and then dried, is subjected to the action of iodine vapor, the parts which have been wet take on a violet tint, while those which had not been moistened became either discolored or brown. The intensity of the coloration naturally varied according to the length of time for which the paper was exposed to the iodine.

"There is a very striking difference also when the water is sprinkled on the paper and the drops are left to dry off by themselves in order not to alter the surface of the paper.

"Thorough wetting of the paper will cause the sprinkled spots to turn a heavy violet-blue color when exposed to vapor while the parts which are untouched by the water will become blue.

"If, after sprinkling upon a piece of paper and evaporating the drops thereon, this piece of paper is thoroughly wet, then dried and subjected to the action of iodine, the traces of the first drops will remain distinguishable whether the paper is dry or not. In the latter case the trace of the first sprinkling will hardly be distinguishable so long as the moisture is not entirely got rid of; but as soon as complete dryness is effected their outlines, although very faint, will show plainly on the darker ground surrounding the spot covered by the first drop.

"In this reaction, water plays virtually the part of a sympathetic fluid, and tracing the characters with water on sized and calendered paper, the writing will show perfectly plain when the paper is dried and exposed to action of iodine vapor. The brownish violet shade on a yellowish ground will evolve to a dark blue on a light blue ground after wetting. These characters disappear immediately under the action of sulphurous acid, but will reappear after the first discoloration provided the paper has not been wet and the discoloration has been effected by the use of sulphurous acid gas.

"The process, therefore, affords means for tracing characters which become legible and can be caused to disappear, but at will to reappear again, or which can be used for one time only and be canceled forever afterwards.

"The usual method of verifying whether paper has been rubbed is to examine it as to its transparency. If the erasure has been so great as to remove a considerable portion of the paper, the erased surface is of greater translucency; but if the erasure has been effected with great care, examining same close to a light will disclose it; the erased part being duller than the surrounding surface because of the partial upheaval of the fibers.

"If an erasure is effected by means of bread crumbs instead of India rubber, and care is taken to erase in one direction the change escapes notice; and it is generally impossible to detect it, should the paper thus handled be written upon again.

"Iodine vapors, however, show all traces of these manipulations very plainly giving their location with perfect certainty. The erased surfaces a.s.sume a yellow brown or brownish tint. If, after being subjected to the action of the iodine, the paper on which an erasure has been made is wet, it becomes of a blue color the intensity of which is commensurate with the length of time to which it has been under the action of the iodine, and when the paper is again dried the erased portions are more or less darker than the remainder of the sheet. On the other hand when the erasure has been so rough as to take off an important part of the material exposure to iodine, wetting, and drying result in less intensity to coloration on the parts erased, because the erasing in its mechanical action of carrying off parts of the paper removes also parts of the substance which in combination with iodine give birth to the blue tint. Consequently the action of the iodine differs according to the extent of the erasure.

"When paper is partially erased and wet, as when letters are copied, the same result although not so striking follows upon exposing it to the iodine vapor after letting it dry thoroughly.

"Iodine affords in certain cases the means of detecting the nature of the substance used for erasing. Bread crumbs or India rubber turn yellow or brownish yellow tints and these are distinguished by more intense coloration; erasure by means of bread crumbs causing the paper to take a violet shade of great uniformity. These peculiarities are due to the upheaval of the fibers caused by rubbing. In fact this upheaval creates a larger absorbing surface and consequently a larger proportion of iodine can cover the rubbed parts than it would if there had been no friction.

"When paper upon which writing has been traced with a gla.s.s rod, the tip of which is perfectly round and smooth, is exposed to iodine vapor, the characters appear brown on yellow ground which wetting turns to blue. This change also occurs when the paper written upon has been run through a super-calender. If the paper is not wet the characters can be made to appear or be blotted by the successive action of sulphurous and iodine vapor.

"Writing done by means of gla.s.s tips instead of pens will show very little, especially when traced between the lines written in ink. The reaction, however, is of such sensitiveness that where characters have been traced on a piece of paper under others they appear very plainly, although physical examination would fail to reveal their existence, but a somewhat lengthy exposure to iodine vapors will suffice to show them.

"If the wrong side of the paper is exposed to the iodine vapor the characters are visible; but of course in their inverted position.

"If the erasure has been so great as to take off a part of the substance of the paper the reconstruction of the writing, so as to make it legible, may be regarded as impossible. But in this case subjecting the reverse side of the paper to the influence of the iodine will bring out the reverse outlines of the blotted-out characters so plainly that they can be read, especially if the paper is placed before a mirror. In some instances, when pencil writing has been strong enough, its traces can be reproduced in a letter press by wetting a sheet of sized and calendered paper in the usual way that press copies are taken, placing it on paper saturated with iodine and putting the two sheets in a letter book under the press, copies being run off as is usual in copying letters. The operation, however, must be very rapidly carried out to be successful. As a matter of fact the certainty of these reactions depends entirely upon the cla.s.s of paper used. Paper slightly sized or poorly calendered will not show them.

"Another point consists in knowing how long paper will contain these reactive properties. In my own experience the fact has been demonstrated that irregular wetting and rubbing three months old can be plainly shown after this lapse of time. Characters traced with gla.s.s rod tips could be made conspicuous. I have noticed that immersing the written paper in a water bath for three to six hours will secure better reactions, but although these reactions are very characteristic they are considerably weaker."

CHAPTER XXI

FORGERY AS A PROFESSION

How Professional Forgers Work--Valuable Points for Bankers and Business Men--Personnel of a Professional Forgery Gang--The Scratcher, Layer-down, Presenter and Middleman--How Banks Are Defrauded by Raised and Forged Paper--Detailed Method of the Work--Dividing the Spoils--Action in Case of Arrest--Employing Attorneys--What "Fall"

Money Is--Fixing a Jury--Politicians with a Pull--Protecting Criminals--Full Description of How Checks and Drafts Are Altered--Alterations, Erasures and Chemicals--Raising Any Paper--Alert Cas.h.i.+ers and Tellers--Different Methods of Protection.

[This Chapter was written for this work by the manager of one of the largest detective agencies in the United States. They make a specialty of bank work and from the number of forgers apprehended and convicted know just how the work is done. A careful reading of this chapter will put bankers and the public on their guard against the most pestiferous rascals they have to deal with.]

Professional forgers usually make their homes in large cities. They are constantly studying schemes and organizing gangs of men to defraud banks, trust companies and money lenders by means of forged checks, notes, drafts, bills of exchange, letters of credit, and in some instances altering registered government and other bonds, and counterfeitering the bonds of corporations. These bonds they dispose of or hypothecate to obtain loans on.

A professional forgery gang consists of: First, a capitalist or backer; second, the actual forger, who is known among his a.s.sociates as the "scratcher"; third, the man who acts as confidential agent for the forger, who is known as the "middleman" or the "go-between"; fourth, the man who presents the forged paper at the bank for payment, who is known as the "layer-down" or "presenter."

The duties of the "middleman" or "go-between" are to receive from the forger or his confidential agent the altered or forged paper. He finds the man to "present" the same, accompanies his confederates on their forgery trips throughout the country, acts as the agent of the backer in dealing out money for expenses, sees that their plan of operations is carried out, and, in fact, becomes the general manager of the band.

He is in full control of the men who act as "presenters" of the forged paper. If there be more than one man to "present" the paper, the middleman, as a rule, will not allow them to become known to each other. He meets them in secluded places, generally in little out-of-the-way saloons. In summer time a favorite meeting place is some secluded spot in the public parks. At one meeting he makes an appointment for the next meeting. He uses great care in making these appointments, so that the different "presenters" do not come together and thereby become known to each other. The middleman is usually selected for his firmness of character. He must be a man known among criminals as a "staunch" man, one who cannot be easily frightened by detectives when arrested, no matter what pressure may be brought to bear upon him. He must have such an acquaintances.h.i.+p among criminals as will enable him to select other men who are "staunch" and who are not apt to talk and tell their business, whether sober or under the influence of liquor. It is from among this cla.s.s of acquaintances that he selects the men to "present" the forged paper. It is an invariable rule followed by the backer and the forger that in selecting a middleman they select one who not only has the reputation of being a "staunch" man, but he must also be a man who has at least one record of conviction standing against him. This is for the additional protection of the backer and forger, as they know that in law the testimony of an accomplice who is also an ex-convict, should he conclude to become a state's witness, would have to be strongly corroborated before a court or jury in order to be believed.

As the capitalist and forger, for self-protection, use great care in selecting a "middleman," the middleman to protect himself also uses the same care in the selection of men to "present" the forged paper.

He endeavors, like the backer and forger, to throw as much protection around himself as possible, and for the same reasons he also uses ex-convicts as the men to "present" the forged paper at the banks. The "presenters" are of all ages and appearances, from the party who will pa.s.s as an errand boy, messenger, porter, or clerk, to the prosperous business man, horse trader, stock buyer, or farmer. When a presenter enters a bank to "lay down" a forged paper, the "go-between" will sometimes enter the bank with him and stand outside the counter, noting carefully if there is any suspicious action on the part of the paying teller when the forged paper is presented to him, and whether the "presenter" carries himself properly and does his part well. But usually the middleman prefers waiting outside the bank for the "presenter," possibly watching him through a window from the street.

If the "presenter" is successful and gets the money on the forged paper, the middleman will follow him when he leaves the bank to some convenient spot where, without attracting attention, he receives the money. He then gives the presenter another piece of forged paper, drawn on some neighboring bank. They go from bank to bank, usually victimizing from three to five banks in each city, their work being completed generally in less than an hour's time. All money obtained from the various banks on the forged paper is immediately turned over to the middleman, who furnishes all the money for current expenses.

After the work is completed the presenters leave the city by different routes, first having agreed on a meeting point in some neighboring city. The "presenters" frequently walk out of the city to some outlying station on the line of the road they propose to take to their next destination. This precaution is taken to avoid arrest at the depot in case the forgery is discovered before they can leave the city. At the next meeting-point the middleman, having deducted the expenses advanced, pays the "presenters" their percentage of the money obtained on the forged paper.

A band of professional forgers before starting out always agree on a basis of division of all moneys obtained on their forged paper. This division might be about as follows: For a presenter where the amount to be drawn does not exceed $2,000, 15 to 25 per cent; but where the amount to be drawn is from $3,000 to $5,000 and upwards, the "presenter" receives from 35 to 45 per cent. The price is raised as the risk increases, and it is generally considered a greater risk to attempt to pa.s.s a check or draft of a large denomination than a smaller one. The middleman gets from 15 to 25 per cent. His work is more, and his responsibility is greater, but the risk is less. There are plenty of middlemen to be had, but the "presenters" are scarce.

The "shadow," when one accompanies the band, is sometimes paid a salary by the middleman and his expenses, but at other times, he is allowed a small percentage, not to exceed 5 per cent, and his expenses, as with ordinary care his risk is very slight. The backer and forger get the balance, which usually amounts to from 50 to 60 per cent. The expenses that have been advanced the men who go out on the road are usually deducted at the final division.

In case of the arrest of one of the "presenters" in the act of "laying down" forged paper, the middleman or shadow immediately notifies other members of the band who may be in the city. All attempts to get money from the other banks are stopped, and the other members of the band leave the city as best they can to meet at some designated point in a near-by city. Out of their first successful forgeries a certain sum from each man's share is held by the "middleman" to be used in the defense of any member of the band who may be arrested on the trip.

This money is called "fall money," and is used to employ counsel for the men under arrest, or to do anything for them that may be for their interest. Any part of this money not used is paid back in proportion to the amount advanced to the various members of the band from whose share it has been retained. Sometimes, however, in forming a band of forgers there is an understanding or agreement entered into at the outset that each man "stand on his own bottom"--that is, if arrested, take care of himself. When this is agreed to, the men arrested must get out as best they can. Under these circ.u.mstances there is no a.s.sessment for "fall money," but usually the men who present the paper insist on "fall money" being put up, as it a.s.sures them the aid of some one of the band working earnestly in their behalf and watching their interests, outside of the attorney retained.

When one of the party is arrested, an attorney is at once sent to him.

As a rule, in selecting an attorney, one is employed who is known as a good criminal lawyer. It is also preferred that he should be a lawyer who has some political weight. The middleman employs the attorney, and pays him out of the "fall money." The arrested man is strictly instructed by the attorney to do no talking, and is usually encouraged by the promise that they will have him out in a short time. In order to keep him quiet, this promise is frequently renewed by the attorney acting for the "middleman." This is done to prevent a confession being made in case the arrested man should show signs of weakening. Finally, when he is forced to stand trial, if the case is one certain of conviction, the attorney will get him to plead guilty, with the promise of a short sentence, and will then bargain to this end with the court or prosecutor. Thus guided by the attorney selected and acting for the "middleman" and his a.s.sociates, the prisoner pleads guilty, and frequently discovers, when it is too late, that he has been tricked into keeping his mouth shut in the interests of his a.s.sociates. It is but fair to state, however, that if money can save an arrested party, and if his a.s.sociates have it, they will use it freely among attorneys or "jury fixers," where the latter can be made use of, and frequently it is paid to politicians who make a pretense of having a "pull" with the prosecuting officers of the court.

In most instances when checks are sent out they are not seen again by the maker for a period of days. As business houses of any considerable magnitude always have a comfortable balance with their bankers, ample time and an abundance of cash are thus placed at the disposal of the check-raisers.

As to the best methods of raising checks so that the fraud will not be readily detected, much depends upon the way in which they are written.