The Customs Inspector with a Paper Trail

The official record of Customs Inspector F. V. Loftus is being inspected by friends of E. Earle, the baggage master on the City of Kingston, whom Loftus and Collector Saunders 'jobbed' last week. Loftus is an inspector on the Kingston, whose duty it is to examine goods entering the United States from foreign territory. Earle and his friends allege that he solicited an opportunity in Victoria to be allowed to pass opium into the United States. Loftus, in his own defense, claims that Earle offered to introduce him to opium dealers in Victoria with whom he could 'do business,' that he informed Saunders of the scheme, and that Saunders told him to go ahead and entice the smugglers and the opium over on this side into a trap and arrest the participants. Although Loftus has drawn public salary continuously for nine years, he has no clean official record. He was appointed deputy United States marshal in 1884, but was later removed from the marshal’s office because he allowed eight contraband Chinese to escape without an apparent effort to capture them. In May 1890, after Collector Bradshaw’s new officers had taken charge of the district, Loftus was given a check for $100, his salary for the preceding month. A few days later, the customs auditor asked Loftus if he had been paid and he replied no. A second check was given him at the same bank for a like amount. He receipted for and cashed both checks. Subsequently, the error was detected while the office was being checked up. At first, Loftus denied receiving or cashing more than one check. When confronted with the two cancelled checks, he broke down, cried, and confessed his duplicity. Collector Bradshaw, out of respect for his family, allowed him to resign.