The Gentleman Forger of North Seattle
A dapper newcomer claiming to be a real estate mogul is revealed as a wanted Colorado bank swindler.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
About the first of April, a young man arrived in Seattle and registered at the hotel as L. C. Montgomery. He wore fine clothes and rich jewelry, seemed to have plenty of money, and had since connected himself with a gentleman in this city in the real estate business. He also had taken an interest in a grocery store in North Seattle and was preparing to connect himself with several other business ventures here. About a week ago, a large, stern-looking man with a full beard arrived in this city and after being here a few days went to Olympia, returning yesterday. Shortly after his arrival, Chief Woolery went down to North Seattle and arrested Montgomery. A reporter called on the large man for an explanation, and in substance received the following information: 'My name is Captain Aoll and I am a detective for Wells, Fargo & Co., with headquarters in San Francisco. This man Montgomery, whom your Chief of Police has just arrested, is a forger, and his proper name is W. M. Roberts. The particular offense for which he is arrested is a forgery on the First National Bank of Pueblo, Colorado, by which he obtained $7,000 and skipped. He first forged a power of attorney and sold another man's land, and before he got possession of the purchase money, he committed five or six forgeries. When I arrived here, your very worthy Chief of Police rendered me valuable assistance and we soon succeeded in finding our man. I then went to Olympia, with a requisition from the Governor of Colorado, which was promptly granted by Governor Newell, and on my return Chief Woolery arrested our man and locked him up. We think a considerable portion of the money is on deposit in Seattle, and we have garnisheed all the banks here.' Captain Aoll and his prisoner will leave for Colorado via Portland tomorrow.
“Roberts is a lawyer and covered up his tracks very nicely.”
The 'gentleman stranger' scam remains a staple of urban life, though today’s grifters are more likely to run their real estate schemes via digital wire fraud rather than forged paper deeds. It serves as a reminder that Seattle’s 'boomtown' status has long attracted both investment capital and those looking to abscond with it.
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