Colonial Bank - New York, NY

Bank Information

Episode Type: Run Only
Bank Type: state
Start Date: March 21, 1914
Location: New York, New York (40.714, -74.006)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: f3fbdcbb

Response Measures

None

Description

Article describes a panic among depositors in the Colonial Bank after detectives arrested suspected forgers inside the bank; no suspension or closure is mentioned. OCR seems correct for names and location. The trigger was a criminal incident inside the bank rather than insolvency or systemic news, so treated as 'other' cause.

Events (1)

1. March 21, 1914 Run

Cause Details: Detectives arrested suspected forgers in the bank; struggle and arrest inside the bank produced a panic among depositors leading to heavy withdrawals/commotion.
Newspaper Excerpt: The arrest was not made without a struggle and a consequent panic among the depositors.
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. March 21, 1914 The Evening World New York, NY

Article from The Evening World, March 21, 1914

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

Rounded Up With Three of the Gang After Attempt to Cash Raised Check. EXCITEMENT IN BANK Two Old Offenders Put Up a Fight When Detectives Trap Them. Confronted with conviction as an habitual criminal, which would put him away for life, since his record of forgery and theft goes back to 1871 and he has already been convicted of felony three times, Charles Fisher was arraigned in the West Side Court to-day as one of a gang of four which, the police assert, has obtained more than $300,000 on forged checks and bond certificates within the last few months. The men arraigned with him were "Doc" Doyle, whose right name is John W. Doyle, Louis P. Wendall and Robert Thomas. Thomas and Fisher were arrested in the Colonial Bank at Broadway and One Hundred and Third street, whether they had gone with a check given by Charles Brandstatter of No. 902 Amsterdam avenue for $1.28 and which had been raised to $128. The arrest was not made without a struggle and a consequent panic among the depositors. Fisher, Doyle and Thomas were held in $5,000 bail each by Magistrate Simms after Fisher and Thomas had pleaded guilty to a charge of forgery in concert. Doyle demanded an adjournment for consultation with a lawyer. A hearing was set for Tuesday. Clerks from Thomas Cook and Sons, tourist agents, identified Thomas as the man. who, under the name of J. J. Armsby, obtained $900 worth of traveller's checks and a ticket for Europe on them on a forged check in December. The check was from the cashier of a Perth Amboy bank on the United States Mortgage and Trust Company. It had been raised from a $9 check so skilfully that the trust company certified it.