Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 August 1895 — THE CROOK OF THE CENTURY. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE CROOK OF THE CENTURY.

An Unsnrpasßed Counterfeiter Captured at Last. It was very efficient work on the part of the New York secret service men which succeeded in breaking up a gang of counterfeiters, seizing their plant at Hoboken, N. J., and capturing their head, William E. Brockway. It was long known that counterfeit gold certificates for SSOO and SIOO were being issued, but it was hard to track up the criminals. Valuable plates were taken and Canadian notes, half printed, for $200,000, together with fibre paper and many United States notes. No plant of such magnitude and so complete in every feature ,has t secured by secret service men for years? ' r'v Besides Brockway. who is regarded as the most expert counterfeiter in the country. and who" is 73 years old, O. E. Bradford, Libbie and Sidney Smith and William E. Wagner were also taken. These others are comparatively little known, bat Brockway has lived a life filled with deeds of, crime and adventure. In many respects ho is one of the most notorious criminals of this class this country has produced, —QnJy._Qae-Cro.ok overshadowed him in point of skillful work as a counterfeiter, and he .was Torn Ballard, who, it was said, possessed a better formula for making paper for greenbacks than the Government. Only one man may be said to have been his peer as a forger, and he also bore tho name of Brockway. Brockway started on his career in New Haven about.lß4s—He was a Connect!- - cut boy, and found employment as a printer. Later ho learned engraving and, becoming an expert, he made good wages and saved sufficient money to pay for a special course in electro-chemistry in Yale. This technical knowledge he applied to the production of electrotypes. From almost the day he left Yale his career as a counterfeiter and forger dates. His first trick, so far as any record goes, was to take an impression in soft metal of a plate which two directors of a bank had brought into the shop in which he worked to have certificates struck from. Really his first important crime was committed soon after the war broke out. When the Government began to issue bonds Brockwav thought he saw his opportunity. On the 7-30 bond his. work of , such .exceptional-.cleverness that $90,000 of the issue got into the Government vaults before any suspicion was aroused. Brockway was arrested, but was permitted to go on surrendering the

plates. Broekway was arrested in 1880 for counterfeiting and fhrging SI,OOO G per cent. United States coupon bonds. Two crooks, Smith and Doyle, were also arrested at the same time for complicity. The finished bonds and plates were all seized. Brockway was sentenced for thirty years and Doyle for twelve. Broekway did not serve a day of this sentence. He managed to arrange a compromise with the Government. By consent of Judge Benedict the sentence was suspended on condition that other platet be surrendered. It was said at the time that, if ho wore again enught tampering with the United States securities, the sentence would stand. He was caughtjigain, but for some reason best known to the authorities the sentence of thirty years was not Broekway was arrested this time in New York, in November, 1883, for forging Morris & Essex Railroad bonds. Two others were taken into custody at the same time. Ho pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to Sing Sing for five years hy Recorder Smyth. He was discharged on Aug. 4, 1887. Since then he has gone free until just now. The Finance Committee of the New York Board of Aldermen has prepared the report on the tax rate for the year fixing it at 1.92, an increase of 13 points over the rate last year. The total amount of money to be raised is $38,470,000.

WILLIAM E. BROCKWAY.