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40 stories matching check

  1. The Laborer Who Wasn't

    A clever con man successfully targets Tacoma merchants by impersonating a well-known local contractor and paying with forged checks.

    Feb 3, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyScandal

  2. Legislative Crackdown on 'Bar-Check' Fraud

    A new proposal in the state house seeks to hold saloon-keepers accountable for cashing checks for intoxicated patrons, a practice contributing to high forgery rates.

    Feb 19, 1909The Tacoma TimesOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

  3. A Case of Bad Checks and Regret

    M. O. Sinderude is sentenced to prison after passing a worthless check at a local business, citing intoxication as his defense.

    Mar 2, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  4. John L. Sullivan’s Gift of Gratitude

    A famous prize-fighter leaves a $25 gold penknife for the Tacoma theater manager who returned his lost $135 check.

    Mar 22, 1909The Tacoma TimesPantages Theater, Tacoma, Pierce CountyStrange But True

  5. The Case of the Missing Suitcase

    A boarder takes his landlords to court after his luggage mysteriously disappears from a local lodging house.

    Apr 9, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyHousing & Rent

  6. Guilty Conscience Returns Satchel

    A thief in Bellingham experiences a change of heart, leaving a stolen satchel full of cash and checks in the victim's yard.

    Jan 22, 1909The Tacoma TimesBellingham, Whatcom CountyTrue Crime

  7. The Wanted Kidnaper Who Once Walked Our Streets

    A Tacoma detective identifies a notorious kidnaper as a local con man who scammed city businessmen a year prior.

    Apr 1, 1909The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  8. Housekeeper Faces Years in Prison Over Forged Check

    A Spokane woman, pressed into service as a housekeeper for a local millionaire, finds herself sentenced to years in prison for a modest $54 forgery.

    Feb 27, 1909The Tacoma TimesSpokane, Spokane CountyTrue Crime

  9. Forging Checks for Unrequited Love

    A local laborer's desperate attempt to cope with a broken heart leads to a criminal spree.

    Feb 18, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  10. Two Revolvers, One Patrolman, and a $25 Thank-You

    A Tacoma streetcar robbery ends in a downtown saloon gunfight — and the motorman's employer rewards the officer who walked into it.

    Feb 12, 1909The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  11. The Fugitive Physician of Eatonville

    After vanishing in January with a trail of forged warrants, a former Eatonville doctor is apprehended working as a cook in Texas.

    Sep 10, 1904The Tacoma TimesEatonville, Pierce CountyCity Hall · True Crime

  12. 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.

    Jan 27, 1904The Tacoma TimesBlock 19, Eatonville, Eatonville, Pierce CountyScandal

  13. A Dramatic Arrest and a 'Whisky Fit' at the Police Station

    A suspect arrested for jumping a boarding house bill and passing bogus checks collapses in his wife's arms while in police custody.

    Feb 9, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  14. The Disappearing Developer

    A local real estate operator vanishes, leaving behind a trail of dishonored checks, uncompleted houses, and angry creditors across Tacoma.

    Apr 23, 1909The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyBoom & Bust · True Crime

  15. Safecrackers Blow Kapowsin's Only Safe and Ride the Rails Out

    A nitroglycerine charge, a stolen handcar and a $1,200 haul: Pierce County's small-town robbery baffles the sheriff.

    Feb 15, 1909The Tacoma TimesKapowsin, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  16. The Passing of Pearl Fitzsimmons

    A young child’s life is claimed by diphtheria in a brief and tragic illness.

    Jul 9, 1904The Tacoma Times402 1/2 East 26th Street, Tacoma, Pierce CountyHousing & Rent

  17. A Jailhouse Editor's Final Chance

    A young man, jailed for forgery, finds redemption through his artistry and an ultimatum from his father.

    Apr 12, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyStrange But True

  18. The Human Cost of the Exclusion Act

    A Chinese crew member is jailed in Seattle immediately upon arrival, highlighting the harsh enforcement of exclusionary laws.

    Jan 19, 1904The Tacoma TimesSeattle, King CountyExclusion & Resistance

  19. The Confederate Counterfeiters

    A local drifter finds himself behind bars after attempting to pass a reassembled Confederate bank note at a city saloon.

    Jan 15, 1909The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  20. Expert Safe-Cracker Cleans Out Local Dry Goods Store

    A thief bypassed heavy security and locks without force, leaving police baffled.

    Mar 13, 1909The Tacoma Times939 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  21. The Town That Was Blown Up to Save Itself

    Leavenworth citizens dynamited the Cascade Hotel to halt a massive inferno, narrowly avoiding a secondary disaster.

    Jun 8, 1904The Tacoma TimesLeavenworth, Chelan CountyDisasters

  22. The Tragedian and the Seventy-Cent Bill

    A famous actor finds himself haunted by a small, unpaid restaurant check that follows him across the country like a bad omen.

    Feb 11, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyStrange But True

  23. A Desperate Act at the St. Elmo

    A Seattle electrician is hospitalized in Vancouver after a suicide attempt follows significant gambling losses.

    Mar 22, 1909The Tacoma TimesVancouver, Clark CountyNightlife

  24. A Year's Wages Stolen at Gunpoint in Electron

    A laborer, having saved nearly a thousand dollars from his hard work at the Columbia Improvement Company, is held up at the point of a pistol while waiting for his train.

    Dec 28, 1903The Tacoma TimesElectron, Eatonville, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

  25. The Great Bed-Sheet Debate

    Legislators in Olympia waste the public's time by bickering over the legal length of hotel linens.

    Feb 23, 1909The Tacoma TimesOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

Download all 40 as a spreadsheet (CSV)