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Show Fugitives Who Are Wanted in Salt Lake For Famous Swindle JACK O'BRIEN. LARRY Q'BRIEN O'Brien Brothers, Who Helped Fleece MeWhirters, Charged With Murder. Larry and .Tack O'Brien, two of the fugitives wanted in Salt Lake on the charge of participating in the famous MeWhirtcr swindle, in which the two Scotch brothers were fleeced out of $10,373.. are now in -jail in Mexico on charges of murder. . Sheriff Joseph C. Sharp yesterday yes-terday received a letter from Henry Love Wilson. United States embassador embas-sador at Mexico, advising him of this fact . . Larry O'Brieu is now being tried on the charge of murdering Dr. Clark, an American citizen, temporarilv resident in Mexico. The Intter from . the embassador does not; give tho" dctnils of the murder, but suggests a probability t of the men being released. Jack O'Brien is charged with .being an accomplice in tho murder with which Larry O'Hrieu is charccd. and the embassador 'suggested the likelihood of Jack O'Brien boing freed. Sheriff Sharp will make arrangements arrange-ments for the extradition of tho fugitives fugi-tives in case they are released by the Mexican government, and in that event thev will bo brought, back to Utah for tria'l Application will bo made to Governor Gov-ernor Spry for requisition papers, similar to those isiucd in case a fugi tivc is arrested in another slate. These will be transmitted to the state department, depart-ment, and a request will be made by President Tuft that the Mexican government gov-ernment turn the prisoners over to Utah officers, in conformity with treaty rights existing between the two countries. coun-tries. Then the negotiations will be onencd with President Dc la Barra of Mexico, through the American embassy. em-bassy. If the Mexican government honors the request the prisoners will be turned over to officers from t Utah aud returned to Salt. Lake for trial. Larry O'Brien, "Stearcr." In the famous lcWhirter case Larry O'Brien is said to have been the "."teerer." He met Alexander und William Me"Whirter, tourists from Scot-land, Scot-land, who had recently sold their bakciw in Scotland 'for something more than $10,000. and who were louring Anieiica with a view to locating in the bakery business somewhore in the western west-ern jiart of America. The MeWhirters testified that Larry O "Prion accosted them on the street as fellow tourists, and after showing them some of the sighis of tho city, took them to the Antlprs rooming-house, ostensibly for the purpose of having them meet his uncle, Colonel Rice, who later proved to bo Lnrrv O'Brien's brother, .lack O'Brien. There in a room they found .Jack O'Brien and "Dr." Jim "Donald son playing poker. They induced the MeWhirters to join the game. After tho Continued on Pago Thirteen. SALT LIE FUGITIVES in ji in race Continued From Pago One. Scotchmen had boon fleeced of $2000 in the game, Parrent. and Bell, supposedly police officers, enfered and took the other $S0OO away from the Scotchmen. That evening the McWhirters, after telling the story of the swindle to the police, compromised for $1000, and went to Los Angeles. A week later they returned and took the case up with the county attorney and tho sheriff. The result was the arrest of several persons, including George A. Sheets, Mien chief of police, on charges of complicity in the swindle. Parrent and Bell, the pseudo police officers, of-ficers, were arrested and brought back to Salt Lake to testify agniust Sheets. They did so and as a reward for turning turn-ing state's e.vidence wero released. The evidence against Chief Sheets was practically prac-tically only the unsupported confessions confes-sions of Parrent and Bell, and the jury acquitted him ol" any guilt. Jim Donaldson Don-aldson was convicted of grand larceny for his part in tho robbery and sentenced sen-tenced to ten years in the penitentiary. After serving threo years he was paroled pa-roled and is still in Salt Lako. O'Briens Mako Getawa-y. Larry anu Jack O'Brien, always believed be-lieved 'to have been the principal swindlers swin-dlers in the case, wore the only ones accused of complicity in the affair who were not arrested soon after the swin die occurred. Tho.y went to Denver shortly after the swindle and when tho McWhirters returned to Salt Lake to prosecute the case they left Denver. They were traced to Council Bluffs, where a brother resides. Parley P Christenscn, then county attorney, and 0. Frank Emery, then sheriff, went to Council Bluffs in search of tho fugitives. fugi-tives. The O'Briens learned of the coining of the officers and went to Chicago. Chi-cago. Then all trace of them was lost for a couple of years. Two years ago Sheriff Sharp received a letter from Mexico asking for details de-tails in connection with tho McWhirtcr case. The sheriff suspected that Jack O'Brien was the author of tho letter, and on comparing the handwriting with that which he had of Jack O'Brien's his suspicions wero confirmed. Ilo im-meditely im-meditely wired to the American em bassy at Mexico City asking that tho O'Briena be arrcstod. Soino months Inter he received a letter from the American embassador suggesting that J the matter bo taken up through the, state department nt Washington. I Wrote to Embassador. Last. August Sheriff Sharp wroto Em. bassador Wilson in detail, telling him that warrants for tho arrest of the, O'Brions were held by him and giving his reasons for his belief that the O'Briens were to be found in Moxico. The reply to this letter came from tho embassador yesterday, setting forth the fact that' the O'Briens wero in jail in Mexico. n oaso the O'Briens are brought back to Salt Lake, the famous McWhir-ter McWhir-ter case will be reopened. Sheriff Sharp says that. William McWhirter is now, in Garfield, working in a smelter, and that Alexander McWhirter is oporating a bakery in Seattle. Aftcr'leaving Salt Lako Bell was arrested ar-rested in Colorado Springs on the charge of fleecing an unsophisticated countryman and served eighteen months in the Canyon City penitentiary. Par-rent Par-rent operated as a confidence man in Kansas City for a short time after leaving leav-ing here. After serving his sentence in Colorado Bell joined Parrent in Chicago. Thoy aro now said to be together in Canada. |