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The Steubenville Counterfeit Money Dealers. Their Examination at the U. S Dis trict Case Case of Tensant Interest—All About the Queer Beings of Queer F People with “Queer” Money—The Testimony Elici ted on Wedmendary. [From Yesterday’s Cleveland Herald. About three weeks ago we gave a de tailed account of the arrest of John Mc Donald, George Brown, John Scarbaugh and John Lyons, alias Boyd, alias Lo gan, at Steubenville and Wheeling, by United States officers from this city, to gether with a description of the manner in which these men conducted their rob bing and swindling operation. Last Friday Officer Whitney of the United States secret service, made the arrest, at Steubenville, of Thomas Martin another member of the gang, and brought him to this city. Another, William Carman, ia in jail at Wheeling. The latter was at one time a detective of the secret ser vice. THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION of the five prisoners here was begun on Wednesday, before United States Com missioner, Bushnell White. Henry S. Sherman, Esq., Assistant District Attor ney, appeared for the United States, and John C. Grannis, Esq., for McDonald, Brown and Lyons. ‘The other two de fendants had no counsel. The following synopsis of the testimony will be read with interest. Two of the witnesses ex amined were victims of the sinful games of these swindlers, and the other, E. J. Maloy, was a member of the gang, and has turned State’s evidence. D. 8. Porter testified: I live in Cadiz, Ohio, and am a stock deaser. I saw John McDonald in January, 1874, at Steubenville. At Pittsburgh I met Martin, and he asked me if never dealt in ‘queer” or counterfeit money. He said he had got into it, and he wanted me to stop in Steubenville, and he would show me some 43 GOOD AS GENUINE. I went to Steubenville and saw Mar tin there. He gave me an introduction to McDonald as ‘his friend.” Martin went off and McDonald asked me if I was talking of dealing with Martin, if I was, to go ahead and it would be all right. He said it was no saw-dust swin dle, but he could ‘‘count the stuff right out to me.” He had spoken of counter feit money as “‘stuff.” Martin came back and we talked of going to McDonald’s house to transact the business. McDon ald said there was company at his house and he proposed to go to Martin’s, and he would bring the stuff there. Martin and I went to Martino’s house, and after we had been there ten or fifteen minutes a man came in—it was not McDonald— and PRESENTED SOME MONEY, thirty-five dollars in fives, and wanted to sell it to me. He said he would let me have money at the rate of fifty per cent, for small sums, for one thousand dollars or over twenty-five per cent. He hand ed over the money and I saw it was counterfeit; greenbacks, a little dark col ored. I handed it back and told him I would not purchase, but he insisted on me buying it, and finally offered to let me have it at twenty-five cents on the dollar. He said if I would take it and try it he would furnish me as much as I wanted, and handed me the money again. Martin told me there would be NO TROUBLE AS ALL IN PASSING IT, and urged me very hard to buy it. I fin ally bought the $35; I paid for it , think $8.75 or $9 in good money. I paid it to this man, Martin being present all the time. After I purchased the money the man left, and in a few minutes two men brought him back as a prisoner. They presented a revolver to me, saying that we had been to unlawful business, and they must arrest us and TAKE US TO CLEVELAND. They also took Martin prisoner. After searching me they took my pocket-book. Brown one of the defendants in the case, was identified by the witnesses as the man who sold him the money in Martin’s room. He was not certain as to Scarbaugh, but recognized Maloy as one of the two men who came in with the revolver and arrested him.] I had I think $870—possibly my expenses were taken out, $850 to 8870—in my book; they threw that on the stand. In my pants pocket they found a pocket book containing the $35 bad money which I had bought, and poasibly some change. They said: “JUST AS WE EXPECTED, now we will go to Cleveland.” I re marked that I wanted to leave, and took hold of the door to go out. They caught hold of me and pushed me down into a chair. Martin said we had better try and compromise this thing. I offer ed them one hundred dollars to let me go, but they refused. One of the men at length proposed to take half the money I had and let me go. I did not want to do it, but finally told them to GO AHEAD AND COUNT IT out. One of them counted the money on the bed. They put $400 back in my pock et-book. They proposed going, and I said I would go first They agreed to it and I went to the hotel When I was first introduced to the defendant I told him there was trouble about handling counterfeit money. The fellows who came in Martin’s room and arrested me gave me the idea that they were United States oficers. [The witness was cross examined by Grannis, but nothing addi tional, of interest, was elicited. j E. J. Maloy testified: I live in Steu benville: keep a billiard hall there. On the 29th day of January last I was at Bellaire. The defendant, McDonald, telegraphed to me to come to Wheeling. I went there and met McDonald and Brown. Mac said he had A GOOD TRICK ON HAND, worth at least a thousand dollars. The sum they obtained would be divided equally between them, except $150 for his board. McDonald, Brown, Scar baugh and myself went up to Steuben ville, where we were to meet a party tricked at Mingo. Scarbaugh and I went to the United States Hotel at Steubenville, where we saw McDonald and Martin passing on the other side of the street. I think they went into a livery stable. Brown had jumped from the train one square from the depot. Scarbaugh and I went into the billiard room. In about half an hour Brown came in and said Martin had the man at his house. We—Scarbaugh, Brown and I—started down the street, for Martin’s house and met the defendant on Third street. McDonald said, ‘‘We've got a man. Martin says he has THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS ON HIM.” We went on with McDonald, making ar rangements to give a sign when the bad money was in the man’s possession. Mac was “boss” of the job and we were under him, working according to his directions. Brown by Mac's order, went into Mar tin’s house. Mac and I went to the up per side of the house and were talking over the matter. Brown was in there half or three-quarters of an hour. When he came out Mac and I started towards him. Then Scarbaugh came up and he said I took Brown back into the room where Porter (the victim, whose testi mony has been given above) and Martin were. I searched Porter. He was angry, and I could not find the bad money on him. I found a POCKET BOOK FULL OF MONEY. I took the money out and handed the book to Porter, saying to him, ‘When we get to Cleveland we will turn this over.” Scarbaugh then searched Porter and found the counterfeit money, I don’t know how much. carbaugh kept it till we went outside. Martin talked to Porter about “hurrying off.” Porter re fused to pay anything at first, and then said he would give one hundred dollars. After a while he offered to give half the money and there was $815. I gave him four hundred and KEPT THE BALANCE. Porter then started out of the door and Scarbaugh and I went off, leaving Brown and Martin there. We went down a feet a little piece and saw Porter coming after us. I started to run, Scarbaugh follow ing behind. He caught up to me and we went off into a lumber yard. We saw McDonald coming up after us, and Scar baugh says, ‘‘Here’s that money; I would NOT CARRY IT FOR THE WORLD.” This was the bad money. I took it and put it in my pocket. Just as McDonald came up I took three ten dollar bills, good money, and stuck them in my fob pocket. McDonald came up then and tried to calm my tears. He told me to go across the river. Scarbaugh and I left McDonald, crossed the river in a skiff, and walked to a hotel. We went in and ordered supper, and while it was being prepared Scarbaugh and I counted over the money we had got from Porter. There was FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN DOLLARS. We kept five dollars of it out for ex penses. In about an hour McDonald, Brown and Martin came over to the ho tel where we were. We went upstairs into a room, and I handed McDonald $410 good money, and then the had money. Mac counted over the good money two or three times, and said ,‘it was queer.” He handed me forty dol lars, Scarbaugh forty and Martin forty, and then said to Brown, ‘‘You and I will FIX THIS BETWEEN OURSELVES.” Then McDonald, Brown and Martin started off. Brown came back in about ten minutes and said he would stay all night. The next day we all went to Wheeling. I have seen McDonald in Steubenville two or three times, having five dollar notes in his possession. This was after the 29th of January, in March or April. There was a man in Bethany I knew about, who wanted some ‘‘queer.” McDonald told me to be careful about it. That same day I saw McDonald with one of those bills in Steubenville He pulled it out of his pocket-book. He said, “I would not let anybody outside of ourselves see this bill on me.” About the first of February, 1874, he sent me one night to his house and told me to tell his wife to send “ONE OF THE NEWEST ONEs,” also some shirts, etc. I went, and she gave me something in an envelope, un sealed. I took it to the United States Hotel, and saw that it was a counterfeit five dollar United States note. It was the same kind, if not one of the same bills, that was put on Porter. He want ed to bring it to Cleveland and get on the detective force. He told me this, and that he was going to “SEIN PORTER OUT OF $10,000.” The cross-examination, by Mr. Gran nis, brought out nothing new except that the witness saw McDonald have coun terfeit money in Wheeling, in March. John Gallagher testified: I live at Cadiz Junction; keep saloon. In March last Maloy showed me some one dollar bills, and I said I would take them at twenty-five cents on the dollar. I took three or four of them. He said he had some fives that were better. He said he would write to me, and then I should meet him in Martinsville. He wrote and according to agreement I went to Martinsville in March. He said he HAD A PACKAGE OF MONEY, but did not show it to me. He intro duced Logan to me as his partner. He (Logan) asked me how much I wanted to invest. I told him I had with me about one hundred and twenty dollars. He said he would not sell so small an amount—not less than five or sx hun dred. He said that if I wanted to I might go home and get the money and they would meet me. I went home and afterwards wrote to them to meet me at Mingo. Maloy met me there. He had a small package of fives, and I BOUGHT $35 WORTH, at twenty-five cents on the dollar. I received the money of Maloy, and paid him for it. Then Brown came up and arrested us both. He took us to the hotel and searched us and found the package of counterfeit money came. I had 8410 good money, including the #85 which Pad paid Maloy. [Witness was shown some counterfeit bills.) These look like some of those bad bls Maloy gave Brown his note for $509, parable at a bank, and the 835, and I compromised by giving him ALL THE MONEY I HAD, except five dollars to get home with. A month afterward I went to see Maloy at Martinsville, and ‘get another deal.” He said his partner had gone east. I went to Altoona but did not meet his partner, and came back to Steubenville, where I met Maloy and Lyons. I had a mortgage I wanted to sell them, but they would not buy it. I had to leave, and I made arrangements to meet Ma loy the next day, if I could sell my mort gage and get the money. I met Maloy and Lyons at Coahcetun. I said we mow
Newspaper Details
Steubenville Daily Herald
Steubenville, Ohio, US
Fri, Aug 14, 1874
Page 4
Full Page
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USA 10 Jun 2026
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