The Beguiling French Forger and the Detectives

One of Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency’s early and highly publicized triumphs was the capture of Jules Imbert, also known as Alexander Gay, the notorious French forger whose artifice had beguiled bankers and swindled sums that would make even the most seasoned of criminals blush. 

At 55 years old, Imbert stood a solid five feet nine and a half inches tall, with a lean, well-proportioned build. He was crowned with slightly curly black hair, and his sallow complexion framed a clean-shaven face, save for a long, heavy mustache twisted at the tips. His black eyes were lively and perceptive, quickly taking in his surroundings. His large mouth, according to Pinkerton’s estimate, was less impressive. His attire was always neat, suggesting a man of considerable ability and wealth. He was charming and engaging in conversation, which, combined with his smart appearance, made him quite captivating.  

In Imbert's own admission to Allan Pinkerton, the Agency's founder, he was aware of his advancing age and that the end of his criminal career was close at hand. He aimed to amass a substantial fortune for his later years, employing his usual methods with some innovative and highly ingenious enhancements. 

The Intriguing Case of the Four-Part Bill

In 1856, Imbert paid $14,000 cash to obtain a four-part bill of exchange from the New York City office of August Belmont, was a German-American financier, diplomat, and politician. Bills of exchange were financial instruments similar to modern-day checks, used to facilitate trade by allowing sellers to receive payment from buyers through a banking intermediary, often over large distances. They were typically issued in "two-part" or "three-part" formats. A two-part bill had an "original" and a "duplicate," while a three-part bill included an "original" and two "duplicates," termed "first," "second," and "third" — and whatever part was presented first was cashed by the issuing bank.  

“If it is not too much trouble,” Imbert said, “be so good as to make the bill out in four parts; as who knows but that the other parts may be lost. If I have a failing, I must say, it is in being over-cautious.”

A four-part bill of exchange was not common; however, the issuing clerk attributed the request to Imbert’s seemingly eccentric nature. He did not suspect any impropriety. 

However, impropriety was afoot. By a series of adroit forgeries, Imbert managed to clear almost double that sum. Yet his actions had become suspicious, and not just in New York.  

Pinkerton's Urgent Call to Action 

A couple of months later in August, Allan Pinkerton had been called to the office of prominent bankers R. K. Swift, Bro. & Johnston in Chicago, not far from Pinkerton’s office. He took with him two of his best detectives, former New York City police officers from the celebrated Crystal Palace Squad, Timothy Webster and George H. Bangs. 

When they neared the location, Pinkerton saw Swift standing in the doorway to his office yelling, “Run, Pinkerton! Run!” He was pointing in the direction of a fleeing man. 

Pinkerton sent Webster in pursuit, following the man on a chase through the city. When Imbert hopped on the Clark Street omnibus, so did Webster, shadowing with precision and secrecy. When the omnibus arrived at the St. Nicholas Hotel, the man (and Webster) departed the omnibus and retired to his room until dinner service in the dining room where he shared a table with Bangs and Webster, who observed him in silence.  

Later that evening, Webster overheard who went be the alias Alexander Gay talking with the clerk about the train schedule and sent Bangs to confer with Pinkerton about his next steps. Pinkerton sent money to Webster and instructed him to follow Imbert as long as his funds held out. 

The next morning, Gay, known for his earlier tasteful attire, drastically altered his appearance to avoid recognition and boarded a Michigan Central train to Detroit. Webster seated himself where he could watch his every movement.  

All the way to Detroit, Gay sat motionless, but, when within a short distance of the depot, he leapt from the train and sprinted away to catch his boat to Canada. Webster, with equal agility, stepped off from the opposite side, remaining in hot pursuit. The chase continued to Windsor and then to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where Webster reported back for further guidance.  

Uncovering a Web of Deceit 

During the chase and over the next few days, Pinkerton dug into the case, unraveling a tangled web of subterfuge. According to Swift, a man calling himself Alexander Gay visited his office on August 7, claiming to be expecting a draft from Detroit. The same day, the firm received a letter from Detroit with Gay's signature. Gay returned in the afternoon, presented a $50 draft from the Peninsula Bank of Detroit, and, after his signature was verified, received the money. Gay impressed the bankers with his knowledge of commerce and presented a £2,800 sterling bill of exchange he wanted to sell for a real estate deal.  

On August 13, Gay reappeared with $14,000 in bills of exchange, looking to buy exchange on England, which raised suspicions. After verifying Gay's story and being convinced by his plausible explanations, the firm agreed to sell him sight bills of exchange. Gay specified how he wanted the bills drawn, and six-parts, made payable to Mouline Button — Gay’s next alias — at the London and Westminster Bank. Despite finalizing the transaction, the bankers' suspicions led him to immediately send for Pinkerton, who arrived just in time to see Gay flee. 

When Webster called Pinkerton from Hamilton, Ontario, for further instructions, Pinkerton recalled him to Chicago. Despite his reluctance to call off the chase, Pinkerton did not have proof of any fraud and had very little support for the case.  

Following the Financial Footprints Across Cities and Countries

In typical fashion, Pinkerton could not rest. He knew there was more to the case and Gay was not who he purported himself to be. Pinkerton followed a winding trail of bills of exchange and banks from New York City to Chicago, St, Louis, London, and Montreal, and discovered evidences of forgery and fraud. 

Armed with evidence, Pinkerton convinced the banks involved to halt any payment on the bills of exchange, and he sent Bangs to bring Gay back to the U.S.  

Bangs located his man in the Canadian town, Port Hope, about 100 miles northeast of Hamilton, Gay’s last known location. Always beguiling, Gay, who had returned to his true name Imbert, pleaded with Bangs to release him.  

“You shall pay dear for this,” said Imbert. “I will show you that a gentleman cannot be insulted with impunity.” 

Bangs was not persuaded. Instead thinking quickly, Bangs told a tale of retribution and incarceration, threatening to have Imbert arrested in Canada. It is important to note that this was not the outcome Pinkerton’s wanted. Canada was a British colony at the time, the Crown would have taken any of Imbert’s assets leaving Pinkerton’s clients without repayment. But the threat was enough. Eliciting a partial admission of guilt, Bangs convinced Gay to return to the U.S. voluntarily in return for the possibility of reduced charges.  

While Bangs was the only Pinkerton in pursuit, he wasn’t the only detective. After eluding a score or more of amateur detectives, Bangs and Imbert hopped on the “cars” and headed the United States. They made a stop in Albany, New York, where Imbert spent a couple of nights in jail—waiting for a warrant from the Governor of Missouri, where Imbert was face trial. It turns out that a bank in St. Louis who was one of the institutions on the losing end of Imbert’s forgery scheme. 

Pinkerton's Persistence: From Albany Jail to a Missouri Trial 

While in New York, Bangs had been called to the bedside of his dying father, in New York, and had become fatigued, through anxiety and watching. And when the order came from Missouri, Bangs immediately started for Chicago with his Imbert, via the Hudson River and the New York Central Railroads, with a connection south to St. Louis. After leaving Albany, the cars rapidly filled with passengers and became quite crowded. Bangs and Imbert occupied a seat near the middle of the car. As a precaution, the detective had handcuffed Imbert's right wrist to his own. 

As night came on, Imbert, who had been very talkative during the first part of the journey, began to slow down, eventually falling asleep. Bangs, also, began to feel the effect of his long series of night-watches. He fought the urge, alert to the responsibility that came with transport — a prisoner in tow, sleep was not an option. Despite his efforts to stay awake, he fell asleep when the train was near Fonda, New York.

A sudden jolt of the rail car woke Bangs him, and to his irritation, he found that Imbert had cleverly picked the lock of the handcuff and escaped. Bangs ran to the baggage car to ask the conductor where the last stop had been made – it was Fonda. There were a number of switch-tracks at the little town of Fonda where the train slackened, in order to pass in safety. One of the passengers sitting near Bangs said that his companion — Imbert — had very considerately climbed out over the seat in front and had jumped onto Fonda depot platform. 

At the next stop, Bangs hopped a freight train back to Fonda. He connected with local law enforcement to conduct a search for Imbert – but no trace could be found. At 2 pm and quite tired, Bangs called off the search, determined to pick up Imbert’s trail in the morning. His fear was, that Imbert had concealed himself on the same freight train by which Bangs had returned to Fonda; in which case, Imbert would be safe in the crowd at Albany before morning.  

Bangs went to Fonda’s leading hotel seeking a bed for the night. The night clerk informed him that the house was full all except one large room with a double bed, which was occupied by a gentleman who had arrived a short time before. Bangs said that he was ready to sleep anywhere and gladly accepted the offer.  

According to an article in the Philadelphia Press, “…he went up to the room and sat down on a chair, overcome with mortification, and after arranging a mental programme for the following day started to go to bed. Turning down the coverlid the detective glanced carelessly at the snoring occupant of the bed. To his surprise and joy beheld the features of Imbert, the forger.”  

Bangs, locked the door, hid the key, secured the window and quietly slipped into the bed. At daybreak, Bangs began nudging his companion in the ribs. Imbert’s rhythmic snoring stopped. He rolled over and yawned. Then his eyes fluttered open to see he found Bangs lying beside him smiling broadly.  

He sat up and exclaimed: “By gar, Mr. Bangs, where did you come from?” 

“Mr. Imbert,” he said, once again thinking quickly, “when I saw you trying to loosen your hand from the hand-cuff, I determined to feign sleep, just to see what you would do. You slipped off the hand-cuff, climbed over the seat in front, and went out upon the platform. As you jumped off on one side, I jumped off on the other. I then followed you to the hotel and requested the landlord to give me the same room as yourself. I hope this little frolic will teach you that it is impossible to escape from a Pinkerton detective.” 

Imbert threw himself back in the bed, saying, “I give it up. I won’t try it again.” The journey to St. Louis was made without further incident, after a brief stop in Chico where Imbert met with Pinkerton, confessed his entire scheme, and complimented Pinkerton and his team on their skill. Imbert, tried and found guilty in St. Louis, received a 10-year prison sentence but passed away after eight years, steadfastly maintaining until his death that Bangs was in league with supernatural forces. 

Epilogue: The Imbert Connection

This was not the last Pinkerton heard from Imbert. He wrote Pinkerton several letters while in prison, and made strenuous efforts to obtain his release. While unsuccessful, Kate Warne posed as Imbert’s wife two years later in 1858, to gain the confidence of Mrs. Nathan Maroney in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and learn where her husband hid the money he stole from the Adam’s Express Company.  

The thorough investigation took nearly a year and a team of 10 operatives — including Allan Pinkerton himself and other well-known Pinkertons George H. Bangs, John White, Adam “The Dutchman” Roche, John Fox, De Forest, and the lively, sarcastic, and prim female operative known only as Miss Johnson. Warne remained in her role as Mrs. Imbert until the money was finally uncovered. She left town without a trace. Read the whole story here.