Strange Experience of a Priest
Cleveland clergyman says he was held captive and forced to sign notes worth thousands
A bizarre kidnapping-and-extortion case in which a Catholic priest claimed he was lured to a woman's home, held prisoner for a day, and coerced into signing large financial notes — a strange episode largely lost to history.
NewsPipe summary
Fergus County Argus · August 29, 1905 · Page 1
1 min readCleveland, Aug. 28.
Upon the statement made to the police by Rev. Benedict Rosinsky, a Catholic priest of St. Stanislas church, that he had been held prisoner for 24 hours without food, and forced to sign two notes for $500 each, and two checks for like amounts, which had been since cashed, besides being robbed of $30 and some jewelry, two men and a woman were arrested today.
Rev. Rosinsky says that he received two telephone messages on Thursday urging him to call upon Jennie Oeinski, at No. 389 Cedar avenue.
He had been there but a few moments when Julian Tuszyinski rushed in and, declaring himself to be the woman's fiance, demanded that the priest give up $4,000 for alienating her affections.
His jewelry was taken from him, as well as $30, and he was held a prisoner until he consented to sign the checks and notes. The checks, it is said, were cashed by Tuszynski and the woman.
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