Nero Faneuil, William Scott, and Thomas Archibald were arrested in December 1784 for breaking and entering and stealing loan office certificates from James Lovell, the Continental treasurer in Massachusetts. The three men were indicted and pleaded not guilty. Faneuil turned state’s evidence and was not charged for breaking and entering, but Scot and Archibald went to trial on March 3, 1785, and were found guilty and sentenced to death.