Lincoln Reward Money Fraud?

[maharba]

That I can tell, Boston Corbett got $1,000 for shooting John Wilkes Boothe (or John Boyd or whoever) in the back "as god directed him to do". I can't tell the full amount paid out for 'capturing' Booth/Boyd. Old clippings I have say that the insane Boston Corbett was soon robbed by Southern oriented veterans, probably just thieves, who took his money and his pistol. The socalled "horse pistol" and other weapons that Corbett carried later, are not supposed to be the murder weapon used on Booth. I don't know if ALL the official govt reward money was paid out (as advertised) for the capture of John Wilkes Booth. The reason I mention is that much later, the lawyer and promoter Finis Bates appeared to have petitioned the U.S. government for the reward money on capturing JWBooth. The stories vary on this, but Finis Bates
appeared first to have 'turned in' John St.Helen --circa 1875 WHILE living in Texas-- as being JWBooth. Then it appears after the death of David George in Enid OK, again, that Finis Bates filed to receive the reward money on JWBooth from the government. I think he either got no reply, or a one-liner reply to the effect that 'the files are closed on Booth'. It always seemed unusual to me that Federal soldiers doing the job they were hired to do (capture an assassin) should even believe that they were qualified to put in for a Bounty or Reward --beyond the simple pay of their jobs. For instance, a cop today arresting a Wanted Man, I don't believe the policeman can receive any Reward money outstanding on the man.