Forgery may be considered a “victimless crime” in that usually, there is no physical altercation between criminal and target, but it is a crime that can destroy lives nonetheless. San Mateo County is not immune to such crimes and never has been. The newspaper The Enterprise reported on a notable alleged instance of forgery in their Feb. 25, 1927, edition:
Notice that he contests the purported will of the late James B. Ayres, member of the pioneer family which established Redwood City’s first hotel, the Tremont House, was filed in superior court yesterday by Alfred W. Ayres, a step-nephew.
An estate of approximately $27,000 is at stake. (That is approximately $448,617 in today’s money.).
Ayres died in the Palo Alto Hospital on Feb. 4 … A will in the handwriting of Frieda D. Riekenberg, and bearing Ayres’ alleged mark as signature, was filed for probate on February 7 by Ross & Ross, attorneys for Walter Knight of Woodside, a friend of Ayres, who was granted special letters of administration by Judge George H. Buck the day after Ayres’ death.
The contestant alleges that Ayres was not in sound mind when the will was written, that it was not signed in the presence of Frieda D. Riekenberg and Elina E. Gillespie, whose names are on it; and that the mark X is not Ayres’s.
Specific beneficiaries include: $500 to Mrs. John Penna of Redwood City, $500 to Mrs. A. Bartolucci of Redwood City and $10,000 to said Walter Knight of Woodside.
It provides that a dollar goes to any person proving relationship. If there is a balance left, it is to be divided among the beneficiaries.
When the petition for probate of the will and for letters of administration was heard in Judge George H. Buck’s court today, it was continued to March 3.
Forgery continues to be a problem today. California Penal Code 470 spells out the details of the crime and punishment involving forgery. Cases involving damages of $950 or higher are considered felonies. Anything less than that amount is a misdemeanor. The maximum penalty for felony forgery is 16 months in state prison or 2-3 years in a county jail. There may also be penalty fines of up to $10,000. A misdemeanor conviction results in a year in county jail and a lesser fine.
As for the Ayres situation, The Enterprise never reported on what happened when the case came before Judge Buck on March 3rd, but I can imagine it was contentious.
