100 years ago today in Spokane: Swindler uses sad war story to steal money and then disappears

Alberta E. Olive said she was a war widow and a grieving mother – yet she was actually, according to prosecutors, “one of the cleverest women swindlers” in Spokane.

Mrs. Olive arrived in Spokane from Canada and “told a pitiful story” of the death of her husband “on the battlefields of France” and the subsequent death of her baby.

The “heartbroken” mother was given a room at the Spokane YWCA. Soon, however, the other girls at the YWCA reported money missing from their rooms. Money was also missing from the office desk.

She confessed to these thefts and paid back the money with funds she said she received from relatives in Canada. The YWCA “covered up the matter to give her another chance.”

Unfortunately, her “list of transgressions since she was given her second chance” was even longer, prosecutors said.

She landed a job at a real estate office, where she embezzled several hundred dollars. She also forged deeds to land and then used the deeds to secure loans. She apparently told the bank she was a partner in the real estate company.

At one point, she was given a check for $150 to pay the rent for the company. She disappeared and hadn’t been seen since.

Subsequent investigation found she probably forged her own letter of recommendation to land the job. Warrants were issued for her arrest.

From the theater beat: A reorganization of the Northwest’s touring theatrical circuit meant that Spokane would soon be getting “better productions and bigger stars,” according to the manager of the Auditorium Theater.

Among the shows scheduled to play the Auditorium Theater were “So Long Letty,” “Very Good Eddie,” “Pollyanna,” “Cheating Cheaters,” “Ben Hur,” “Miss Springtime” and “Pom Pom.”