Society Ladies Swindled.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 242, 18 February 1888, Page 8 (Supplement)

Society Ladies Swindled.

-Another female financier of the same • calibre as the notorious Mrs Howe, who so successfully swindled Boston's fair specu«l&tore out of over half a million dollars & few years ago, has, says tho " New York World," loomed up in New York, and, like tho Boston •woman banker, has come to grief. She is Mdme. Mario La Touche, having ab various periods been known as •Mis Dow and Mrs Ware. " Before coming to this city to victimise women of slender means but ambitious to get rich, Mrs La Touche had successfully pliod her swindling vocation in several other cities, and shad also paid for her nefarious practices by penance behind prison bars. Recently upwards of a dozen ladies, all more or less prominently connected in society, havo complained to Inspector Byrnes that they had been swindled out of large sums of money by Mrs Marie La Touche, who carried on •a brokerage business at No 165, West Twenty-third-street. The woman operated with women only, and by means of flowery advertisements in the newspapers, she managed to luro into her net victims who wrere promised or guaranteed profits of $50 per month on an investment of $500. It was precisely the samo method that had been adopted* by the banking establishment of Mrs F owe in Boston, the principal professing to make the investments in such a manner that largo returns were sure to follow. Mrs La Touche, who is a fine-look-ing woman of abou' 40, is tali and stately in appearance. When brought into the inspector's private office, she stood before him with an air of defiance, and refused to answer any and all questions as to her name, age, residence, fire. A few moments later s>ho wasconfronted by Mrs Johnson and half a dozen more of her fair victims, two of whom, on gazing at the statue-like iiguro of the woman, broke down and wept hysterically, as between their sobs they told how they had been robbed of all their money by the brazen-faced swindler. The latter then also betrayed some womanly feelings, and asked to be taken away. She was accordingly locked up in one of the cells downstairs, and three hours later she sent a note to the inspector offering to answer any questions. Meanwhile, however, the inspector had sent for and brought to head-quarters her alleged husband, Royal La Touche, who has an office on Pine-street, and who, it was ascertained, had been backing his alleged wife in her financial schemes. La Touche is a heavilybuilt man of about 45 years, with a heavy black moustache, and has the appearance of a shrewd business man. From him the inspector learned much of the woman's history, which, summarised, is somewhat as follows: — Her maiden name was Mary Grass, her father, Jacob Grass, being an old New Englander, who, though once an honest farmer, has on more than one occasion figured in swindling schemes with his daughter. She Grst appeared in Boston in 1870 with a man named Warren, whom she claimed to be her husband. They carried on together swindling scheme? similar to that she is now charged -with, and were arrested several times, but on each occasion they managed to escape punishment. In 1875 Warren disappeaied Irom Boston, and, it is said, he died shortly afterwards. A few months later she made her dehut as the wife of a Mr Dow, a prominent business man in Boston, who also died in that city a year or so subsequently. Alpout that time the woman purchased one share of the capital stock of the Michigan Railroad Company, but she forged the certificate to represent 60 shares, which she de posited in one of the city banks. A few days later sh i attempted to procure a loan from the bank on the forged certificate, but the forgery was detected in time, and tho fair forger 'skipped' the town and went to St. John, Now Brunswick. At the latter place she was soon afterwarda arrested, together with her father, Jacob Grass, charged with forging and trying to pass a chequo for 1,700d015, but both managed to escape the vigilance of the authorities. They next turned up in Chicago. In that city, however, after the la use of several weeks, she was discovered under the name of Mrs Mary Ware, and re-arre3ted, taken back to St. John, and tried. On that trial her father, it is said, turned State's evidence against her, but the jury disagreed, and she, being liberated on small bail, soon shook tho dust from her feet, appearing next in this city. Here she engaged in a private banking and brokerage office in Union Square with a Mrs Mclntyre. The firm did a thriving business for a time, but the two partners became involved in a quarrel over the division of the proceeds and they separated. Then the woman went to Philadelphia and engaged in a similar business, under the name of Mrs Brown. She was again taken in hand by the officer of the law for swindling, and after a trial was sent to Movamensing Prison, serving a term of B6VC i months. In the spring of 1883 she returned to this city and opened a brokerage office on Thirby-seventh-street, near Broadway. The following year she was again arrested for having swindled a large number of ladieß out of sums of money ranging from 200dols to 500dols each on bogus s^ock operations, and after three trials, she having appealed her case twice, the Court of Appeals finally concurred in the decision of tho lower court and she was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. She has only been out of prison eight months. In 1881, while in Philadelphia, she became acquainted with Royal La Touche. The latter has been arrested half-a-dozen times in as many cities during the past 10 years for swindling, but has always managed to escape imprisonment. In 1883 he wa3 arrested in this city on the charge of bigamy, and was sentenced in thp Court of General Sessions to three years' imprisonment. It was while he was serving his term in Sing Sing that Mrs La Touche wiB sentenced for swindling here, and when he was liberated she was still a prisoner. When she was released eight months ago, however, the two lived together as man and wife, La Touche telling the inspector that they were married in Jersey City two months ago. They have been associated in business in the Twenty-thu\l-street establishment, and it is alleged that La Touche has been coaching the woman. "