Kansas City Times, 16 Oct 1881, Sunday, pg. 8 – Blackwell’s Band – A Member

of the Notorious Gang Brought to Kansas City.

Blackwell Gang of Counterfeiters 

A prisoner of considerable note arrived in the city last evening in the care of a deputy United States Marshal and is now in the Second Street Jail. His name is Newton Treece, and he was once a member of the notorious Blackwell Gang of Counterfeiters, which created considerable excitement in the southern part of the state about two years ago.

It is for his crimes of that time that Treece is now receiving the attention of the law. He was arrested about three weeks ago but has since been held at Joplin as a witness against the others of the old gang. At his hearing on the last of September, Treece plead not guilty, and as he could not give bond, will remain in jail until his trial in the United States District Court, which convenes its regular grind on Monday.

Confined in Joplin, Missouri Jail

L.A. Jones, another member of the old gang, was arrested ten days ago and is now in jail at Carthage, Mo.  He had a hearing at Joplin soon after his arrest and made the same plea as Treece. Both of them have been confined to the Carthage jail, as Joplin only boats a calaboose of no great strength. Jones will also be brought up in a few days to the jail here and be tried by the same court as Treece.

A.J. Blackwell, the leader of the old gang, was two years ago one of the most prominent citizens of Joplin. He was running one of the leading banking institutions and was identified with every enterprise that could in any way benefit the city of his choice. The Joplin Opera House was built by him, and he was considered by all citizens the patron and benefactor of the place.

How the Gang Moved Counterfeit Money

At the same time, however, he was the moving spirit of one of the most daring gangs of counterfeiters that ever infested the west, and in time his participation in its operations was discovered. The gang numbered six or eight men, and made Joplin its headquarters, but never passed any of the bogus bills there or in that vicinity. It is not supposed that the Blackwell band manufactured and “queer” but were dealers in the stuff. Their plan of operations is said to have been as follows:

A number of the gang, well supplied with counterfeit money, would make a trip to New York, Chicago, or some other large city, where the bogus cash would be used.

The money would also be used in the purchase of horses in Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri, and after securing as many animals as was desirable, they were taken to Southern Missouri and Kansas and into Arkansas and sole, the unsuspecting purchaser paying a good price for horses which cost the gang almost nothing.

The plan for a long time successfully worked and all the participants in the scheme acquired wealth rapidly. The boldness with which their operations were carried on served as a blind for a time, but at last some of the victims began to comprehend the racket, and measures were at once taken for the apprehension of the rascals.

Detectives Succeeded in Connecting Blackwell

Shrewd detectives worked the matter up and soon succeeded in connecting Blackwell with the scheme. He was arrested about eighteen months ago, and after a trial in the United States Court at Ft. Smith, Ark., was sentenced to nine years in the penitentiary. He is now wearing striped garments and learning a more honest and useful trade than passing counterfeit money.

The arrest and conviction of Blackwell created great excitement in Joplin at the time, but it soon died down. Search for the remainder of the gang was vigorously prosecuted and is still going on. The result has been the arrest of Treece and Jones, and it is expected that the rest will soon be gathered to suffer for their crimes.