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96 stories matching swindler
- The Shipbuilder Who Wasn't: A Swindler’s Bogus Checks and a Wife’s Shame
Captain John E. Higgins arrives in Seattle posing as a respected Bath, Maine shipbuilder, only to be exposed by Harbor Police Officer Metzler after cashing forged checks on local merchants.
- The Circus Crooks Meet Chief Rogers' Shadow
Seattle police pair a detective with every known short-change and gim-flam man at the circus, but not before an old islander is nearly taken for $60.
- The Timber Land Swindlers of Seattle
A new arrival in Seattle narrowly escapes a sophisticated land scam operating out of the Seattle National Bank building.
- The End of the Road for a Timber Swindler
A notorious operator who preyed on hopeful settlers finally lands behind bars after a farmer refuses to be cheated.
- The Hobo 'Capitalist' Who Ran Palouse on Credit
A smooth-talking Swiss convinced butchers, brewers and saloon men to hand over shops and goods — some $1,200 worth — on the promise of a fortune still sitting back in Switzerland.
- The Iron Hotel: Seattle's Jail Let Convicted Killers Wait Out the Law
A 1905 exposé inside the King County jail found convicted murderers lingering for years in a steel cage while appeals stalled, one prisoner fashioning a pistol from a shoe shank and escaping, and taxpayers footing the bill.
- The Bullet and the Bankroll: A Saloon Feud on Pike Street
A Seattle land swindler survived an assassination attempt at the Abbott House, thanks to a well-placed $20 gold piece in his vest pocket.
- A Judge's Declaration of War Against Corporate Corruption
Federal Judge Grosscup denounces the 'polite swindlers' of Wall Street, sparking a local debate on the influence of railroad lobbyists in Washington state.
- The Land Locators Who Left Town on a Fraudulent Fortune
A band of swindlers targeting Seattle settlers skipped town, leaving behind forged documents and a trail of broken promises that the law couldn't quite reach.
- The Art of the Con: How a Swindler Sold 'Rare' Books to Seattle’s Elite
A clever grifter conned prominent Seattle society women into buying ordinary books at exorbitant markups by selling them on a false promise of exclusivity and 'easy' monthly payments.
- The Gold Brick Swindler Faces Trial
A notorious 'gold brick' confidence man is headed to the superior court after a dramatic legal clash in the courtroom.
- The Persistent Barber Who Conned the City
A petty swindler known as 'Clark' or 'Rieff' spent weeks running up tabs at local drugstores and shops by impersonating city employees and prominent businessmen.
- The Lumber Land Swindle
A band of unscrupulous swindlers is targeting the local labor force with promises of massive returns on timber land investments.
- A Night of Political Chaos in Ballard
A routine city council meeting in Ballard spirals into personal attacks, accusations of corruption, and a public name-calling match between council members.
- The Street Swindler's Bad Day
A carnival-style street hawker is mobbed and arrested after selling worthless watch chains to an angry Tacoma crowd.
- Notorious Land Swindler Gets Prison Sentence
Federal judge sentences N. H. McLean to one year in prison for subornation of perjury in a major land fraud case.
- The Bold Swindler of Port Angeles Captured in St. Louis
After organizing fraudulent banks and fleeing his legal consequences, Benjamin P. Schwartz has been finally apprehended through the diligent reporting of the Post-Intelligencer.
- The Con Man Who Wore a Partner's Identity
A clever grifter posed as a prominent Seattle businessman to swindle New York merchants, leaving local partners to clean up the mess.
- The Saintly Swindler of Burlington
A charismatic conman charmed his way through Skagit County, leading church hymns and social teas before vanishing with the town’s funds.
- The Counterfeiters Caught with Pasted-Together Bills
A clever scheme involving glued-together fragments of old bank notes meets an end after a sharp-eyed Seattle policeman spots a boy making change.
- The Swindler Who Stole More Than Just Cash
A prolific con artist wreaking havoc across the Pacific Coast has taken a final, strange step: assuming the identity of the very man he swindled.
- The Ghost of the Sound: A Swindler’s Vanishing Act
A glib salesman charms his way into the good graces of a prominent Seattle firm, only to disappear with their funds and a trail of aliases.
- The Smooth Swindler of Springbrook
A serial con artist attempts to swindle hotel keepers and produce merchants with worthless paper.
- The Fake Auditor of J. Pierpont Morgan
A Seattle hotel swindler successfully impersonates a corporate auditor to extract cash.
- The One-Armed Commission Man Who Took Yakima Farmers for $4,000
A Selah farmer travels to Seattle's federal grand jury to haul a smooth-talking produce swindler back from California — and the stationery he left behind may be the evidence that hangs him.
Also about this, in other words
- The Swindler in the Customs House
A former customs official turned smuggling mastermind uses a fake 'special detective' scheme to trick colleagues and line his own pockets with molasses-filled trunks.
- The Swindler Who Tried to Sell Insurance to a Ghost
A Seattle man attempts to scam his brother in California with a fake insurance policy, only to be outsmarted by a skeptical editor.
- The Swindled Investor and the 'Silver Mine' Scam
A Seattle real estate dealer is arrested after selling fake claims to a nonexistent silver mine, sparking a heated legal battle and a courtroom confrontation.
- The Irrigation Land Swindle
A confidence man posing as a land agent scams thirty-five laborers out of their hard-earned wages.
- The Artist and the Swindler
A Swedish immigrant artist is allegedly swindled out of his property by a local man who promised to help him return home.
- The Elusive 'Seattle Swindler' Disappears Again
A young attorney leaves a trail of bad checks across the Pacific Coast, sparking confusion in the San Francisco police force.
- The Real Estate Swindler Who Fooled Seattle
A smooth-talking con artist masquerading as an 'Eastern capitalist' swindled multiple Seattle banks by weaving himself into the city's booming real estate market.
- The Swindler with the Golden Brick
A local confidence man allegedly fleeced hotels and saloons by leaving behind fake gold bricks as temporary collateral.