Martin V. Biscailuz
Martin V. Biscailuz (1861 – 1899) was an American attorney in
Family
Biscailuz was born in 1861 in France to parents of
Martin Biscailuz was married to Ida Rose Warren, and while living in the
Organizations
Biscailuz was a charter member in November 1883 of the newly formed California Legion No. 1 chapter of the Ancient Order of United Workmen,[7] and May 1884 he was secretary of Signet Chapter No. 57, Royal Arch Masons.[8]
Career
Beginnings
In November 1882, at the age of about 21, Biscailuz was admitted by Judge
While on the council, he was in opposition to Police Chief
Rise
Biscailuz went to a "law college in the
He became a notable attorney and numbered wealthy Basque residents among his clients.[14] The Los Angeles Times recalled that Biscailuz "had a law practice that was the envy of every lawyer in Southern California." He was "Rich, brilliant and skillful in his chosen work," with "more cases than he could attend to." About 1890, he received the largest legal fee ever paid in Los Angeles County up to that time, variously reported as $36,000 or $40,000, in connection with the "Oxarat estate" case.[12][15]
It was reported that "the Los Angeles bar contained no gayer member" than he, that "His
In June 1890 Biscailuz was sued by Jean Leonis in what would become one of many pieces of litigation among various parties over the disposition of the extensive and valuable estate of landowner Miguel Leonis. Jean, who neither spoke nor read English, claimed that he had proposed to pay Biscailuz one thousand dollars to look after Jean's interest in obtaining his proper share of Miguel's estate but that a document drawn up in the English language, which Jean signed, instead stipulated that Biscailuz would be given one-half of anything Jean expected to receive, about $100,000 in all.[16] The trial judge decided in favor of Biscailuz, stating that the agreement was valid and even if the fee were deemed excessive it had been agreed to by both parties.[17]
Decline
The Times reported shortly before Biscailuz's death that:
As administrator of an estate of one of his former clients[,] he became possessed of a fortune of $15,000 or $20,000 about twelve years ago, but he could not stand prosperity. He lived high while the money lasted, and started on a career of dissipation, from which he never recovered. Friends and family forsook him on account of his intemperate habits, and when his money was gone he resorted to pilfering and committing forgery for small sums, in order to eke out a miserable existence. He frequently got into jail on account of these petty crimes.[14]
By 1895, he had been committed at least once to the
He was arrested again in November 1895 on charges of obtaining money on false pretenses,[20] but they were dismissed for lack of evidence.[21] Another arrest came in August 1897 after he was spotted making off with several lawbooks from the office of Major Horace Bell, which he sold before he could be apprehended.[13] He was sent to jail for the last time in October 1898 for "obtaining money from laboring men by fraudulently representing himself as an officer of the city street department, and as such, able to procure work for them for a financial consideration." Despite his plea for mercy because he suffered from Bright's disease and rheumatism, Justice Owens sentenced him to 180 days.[22]
Death
Biscailuz was released from jail on April 13, 1898, and was sent immediately to the
References
- ^ Individual record at Familysearch.org
- ^ Family record at Familysearch.org
- ^ Online Archive of California
- ^ An Unofficial Guide to Los Angeles County Law Enforcement and Fire Department History Through Photos, Badges, and Patches Archived 2012-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "End of Biscailuz," Los Angeles Times, June 23, 1899, page 16
- ^ "The Courts," Los Angeles Herald, July 20, 1893, page 5
- ^ "Select Knights A.O.U.W.," Daily Los Angeles Herald, November 10, 1883, page 3
- ^ "Masonic Notice," Daily Los Angeles Herald, May 17, 1884, page 2
- ^ "The Courts," Los Angeles Times, November 9, 1882, page 4
- ^ Editorial, Los Angeles Times, November 29, 1884, page 1
- ^ "The Anti-Chief Persecution Reaches Its Climax," Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1885, page 4
- ^ a b c "The Passing of an Eccentric Lawyer," Los Angeles Herald, June 23, 1899, page 2
- ^ a b c "Series of Sensations," Los Angeles Times, August 26, 1897, page 7
- ^ a b "Biscailuz Dying," Los Angeles Times, June 21, 1899, page 9
- ^ "A Widow Swindled," Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1896, page 11
- ^ "Around Town: Another Suit About the Leonis Estate," The Los Angeles Herald, July 1, 1890, page 2
- ^ "The Courts," Los Angeles Times, June 24, 1891, page 3
- ^ "Supposed to Be Insane," Los Angeles Times, May 28, 1895, page 8
- ^ "The Courts: A Case of Absinthe and Sheep-herder's Delight," Los Angeles Times, August 2, 1895, page 6
- ^ "Biscailuz In Jail," Los Angeles Times, November 20, 1895, page 6
- ^ "Wiggled Out Again," Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1895, page 7
- ^ "Removed From Temptation," Los Angeles Times, October 11, 1898, page 11
External links
- [1] Biscailuz details at "Southern California's Basque and Bearnaise Immigrant Community 1850–1940"