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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 8 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 10 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 7 |
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| 1909 | 5 |
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| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 1 |
42 stories matching swindl
- The Governor Would Not Send Loy Sen Back
Washington's governor refused California's requisition for a Chinese woman accused of a $1,000 swindle, a case her friends called persecution.
- The Marked Cards of Walla Walla
A pinochle game and a swindle lead to a high-stakes legal battle over the finer points of gambling law.
- The Portrait Swindle
A crafty con artist used a local shop's reputation to fleece dozens of Seattle residents with a fake photo-enlargement scheme.
- The 'Artistic Swindle' of the Shipbuilding Trust
A scathing editorial denounces the financial manipulation behind the Shipbuilding Trust as a 'bunco game' orchestrated by Gilded Age titans.
- The Gold-Brick Con: A Tacoma Contractor Swindled
A Slavonian contractor loses $550 to two men posing as subcontractors in an elaborate fake-deal scheme.
- Eatonville Doctor Vanishes Amid Fraud Allegations
After swindling the community out of hundreds of dollars, a local physician vanishes into thin air, leaving a trail of bogus checks and empty promises.
- The Rainier-Grand Hotel Swindle
A fugitive gambler arrested in Denver brings to light a high-stakes legal battle over Seattle's gambling dens.
- The Postal Money Order Swindle
A former hostler finds himself in federal custody after allegedly intercepting and cashing a woman's mail.
- The End of the Road for the 'Manitot' Bunco Ring
After weeks of shadowing, Spokane detectives cornered three notorious confidence men in a hotel room, closing the book on a string of swindles that had plagued the city.
- The Bunco Man’s Cold Feet
After swindling a local man out of his savings, a group of confidence men returned the stolen cash in fear of the law.
- The Great Seattle Manhole Swindle
A persistent insurance claim agent uncovers a ring of traveling grifters who fooled the city council into paying thousands for imaginary injuries.
- The Circus Day Swindle
A pair of local men fall prey to traveling confidence men operating under the cover of the circus.
- Fugitive Arrested in Tacoma for California Extortion Scheme
A man accused of swindling a California woman under the false promise of marriage is captured by local detectives.
- The Circus Impostor
A grifter posing as a Ringling Brothers advance man is caught in Astoria after swindling local meat merchants.
- The 'Luck Powder' Swindle
A Seattle man is arrested for selling worthless 'luck powders' to women via mail order—and then suggesting they be used as laundry detergent.
- An Illiterate Man's Ten Acres Stolen for Ten Dollars
A local Indigenous man has sued to reclaim land he says he was swindled out of while intoxicated.
- The Great Walla Walla Manhunt
An elderly convict pulls a vanishing act, leaving local authorities chasing shadows after allegedly swindling locals out of thousands.
- Stranded in Seattle by Fake Alaska Jobs
Two hundred men were swindled by a fake construction company, leaving them stranded without pay or prospects.
- The Forger in the Warehouse
A local farmer-turned-carpenter exploited casual access to grain elevators to swindle regional banks out of hundreds.
- The Sad Tale of a Funeral Con
A man in mourning clothes successfully swindles a local funeral director out of three dollars under the guise of grieving for his dead wife.
- The Great Spokane Labor Carnival Swindle
A labor organization finds themselves penniless after a predatory contract with a traveling carnival company nets them only $6.40 from $18,000 in gross receipts.
- The 'Lumberman' Who Swindled Seattle's Elite
A smooth-talking con man gains the trust of the city’s fashionable society before vanishing with thousands in unpaid debts.
- The Silver-Haired Widow of the Palouse
A charming con artist charmed her way into the best homes of Colfax, only to be undone by a stolen set of hotel silver.
- Detective's Divorce Case Reveals Scandalous Secrets
A former Spokane police detective is caught in a bitter divorce suit after a suspicious photograph is discovered in his watch.
- The Captain of the South Seas Swindle
A smooth-talking grifter poses as a wealthy sea captain in Seattle to fleece hotels and merchants, leaving a trail of unpaid bills and fake credentials.