@leased under the John F. _ Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 USC 21 DATE: i1- 14- -2017 e > i Bray, who inherited an insurance business from his father, haa @ small company in Illinois called Central Casualty Company, the former LaSalle Insurance Company. He also had an agency, Homer Bray Services, Inc. Central Casualty was unable to be the prime underwriter because it lacked the Treasury list certification required by the Act. Bray arranged fgr United Benefit Fire Insurance Company of Omaha to be the underwriter. Bray's contact in United Benefit was a man named Earl E,ACefry, a vice-president and a director of the company . — fll _ Bray then arranged for,reinsurance up to the first $100,000 with the-following companiess “iri. State Insurance of Tulsa, Oklahoma (30%) 7X United Bonding of fndianapolis, Indiana, (10%); and, ton Fire a Casualty, Port Worth, Texas (15%). United Benefit" was to ; Keep 25% and Gentral Gasu: Casualty, Bray's. company, was to take 20%. The excess over $100,000 up to $500, 000 was to be reinsured with Lloyds of London. Bray's agency, Homer Bray Services, Inc., was designated : thg-eEneral agency for the bonding. Bray also set up a local agency, od acy, itnc., incorporated in Illinois in December, 1959, and 7 Homer Bray Services (Canada), Ltd. Schwartz and Weiner gave Bray the applications that Summit had received before it pulled out. These applications reportedly represented approximately 80% of the Teamster locals throughout the country and an estimated $1, 000,000 in commissions over a three year period. Bray arranged a reinsurance treaty for Central with 9 Bvarcomineeiad Te Insurance. .and Guaranty Company. aname, (later of Nassau, the “Bahamas ) allegedly a Hopps company, with unknown assets. There have been conflicting reports as to the percentage shares of the participants but apparently Schwartz and Weiner were to receive 20% of business they brought. Bray was to get 25% as general agent out of which he would pay his sub agents, and United Benefit was to get 373bfyom the other companies for the reinsurance. = of io Angelo Jy Bianchi, former President of Summit Fidelity, spine Central to supervise bail bond activities which Central was / also assuming along with the Teamster bonding business. It has been vat ' eoros that this was done in order to give Weiner's agency, the (i imerican Ba! Bail Bond Company , nationwide coverage through Central \ ‘Casualty anc and United Benefit. } The business which should have been a highly profitable one crashed in approximately two years. Various reasons have been assigned for the failure - (1) that Bray, relying on Dorfman's ' Docld: 32329636 Page 3
DATE: 11- 14-2017 | - Qo. Q promises to send Central Teamster A & H & Health & Welfare “business, as well as various types of insurance related to loans from the Teamsters Pension Fund, overextended himself in anticipation of the added business which never came; (2) that, although the Teamster and bail bonds were highly profitable, Central wrote high risk auto and taxicab insurance which resulted in heavy losses; (3) that money was diverted from the company to Schwartz, Weiner and Dorfman. In November, 1960, Oxford which had been in Bray's name, was taken over by Schwartz and Weiner and a special account opened at the Exchange Bank in Chicago - with which bank Dorfman and the | racketeers have frequently dealt. ; In 1961, United Benefit was denied a license in the District of Columbia reportedly because of a false filing. United Benefit was shaky and the decision was made to replace it as primary carrier. 2 Company of Providence, Rhode Island, whose pre daent= is Lewiet™ anstern. Resolute-agreed “to 5 become the underwriter. In Septenber, 1961, Central Casualty and / United Bonding were canceled as reinsuring companies retroactive to July. 15 and, in November, Houston Fire and Casualty was canceled and Resolute became the only carrier of the first $100,000. ed also from Oxford The agency for the insurance Was) ¢ einer Company. _ en witan Management Corporation - an Ix In December, the state insurance director, Joseph Gerber (of whom there have been reports of collusion with Dorfman and Hopps) investigated Bray's firm, Central Casualty. In Jamury, 1962, Gerber announced that the firm was short one and one-half million dollars and shortly thereafter the firm was liquidated. According to an anonymous letter to the Department (See Appendix B for copy), in eaply 1962, Bray was summoned to the offices of Bieber and Brodkin, attgrpeys who frequently represent racketeers, add was confronted by Phid/Alderisio who told Bray that he, Alderisio, was interested in seeing £ Bray pay his debts and that Alderisio did -mot go to court to enforce them. veto jgio told Brey that he expected hat Se “James Egan of Denver, ; ate Colorado, an associate of Bray's who is now in business with.Sam. ; \ ee of Miami, was also visited, three days later, in Miami by Santos Docld: 32329636 Page 4 Sfeased under the John FL _Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (47 USC 2107 Hote} .
léaved under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act DATE: 11-14-2017 - ° ° , . ¥ : 2 7 6 . — - ~ Pe | ° . C) “ “ , ©) Toll call studies have revealed that the Dorfmans played &@ prominent role in the Bonding Program though nominally not officers of the companies. It is requested that Charles Bray and James Eagan be interviewed and an investigation be instituted to trace the money that went from the Teamster Locals for bonding premiums through the various companies in order to determine whether or not the’ funds may have been diverted to Chicago racketeers or Teamsters officials. This investigation should include a determination of the amount of commissions received"by Weiner, Schwartz and Bray - and the identity of the bonding agents. The investigation should also determine the recipients of the profits of the bail bond business since this is alleged to . be in the control, he racketeers. In that connection, it should _/ / be noted that the4Cosmopolitan Company.of.Chicago took over Central's——- bail bond businéss in early 1962 and has since acquired control of United Benefit Fire of Omaha. Cosmopolitan officers and directors include the names of Volin and Bergman. Determination should be made if the Volin is the same person who was in the Weiner-Volin agency and if the Bergman is related to the Bergman-Lefkow agency . frequently used by Dorfman. Perhaps significant is the fact that Savina on the Illinois state insurance investigator in charge of the Central — Casualty review, has since taken a position with Cosmopolitan. Toll call records are available in many instances relevant to the proposed examination. A chronology of known events in the bonding scheme is attached (Appendix C). | Potential violation include § 13({c) of the Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act, violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001 in connection with filings required by Treasury and Interstate Commerce Comnission, and other Government agencies, tax evasions, mail fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property. i Attachments Docld:32329636 Page 5
eleased under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Reeords Collection DATE: gi- 14-2017: wee | © ° ° a 5 . , ; | APPENDIX A _ BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON STEWART HOPPS Stew pps is an international highbinder of the Lowell Seer? . “Allegedly he at one time had some connection with Lloyds of London, and he may be British born. The State | Insurance Commissioner of Idaho lists Hopps' associates as: Lowell Birrell, Carl Betts, P. R. Cairns, Roy H. Callahan, O. B. Calloway, Virgil. Dardi, G. lL. Gotz, Louis B. Nagi, Mrs. M. Birrell Pryor, Walter Ricker, Paul M. Roca, Mrs. B. HE. Shoglund, and Robert F. Six. And companies as: American Leduc Petrol Ltd. | Arizona West Insurance Co. Bonami Co. (N. Y.) . Cent Standard Insurance Co. (S. D.) Doeskin Products (N. Y.) Greater New York Industries (N. Y.) Guardian Insurance Co. (S. D, Inland Empire Insurance Co. (Boise, Taeho) in Utah and Arizona Louisville Fire Marine Co. (Ky.) Pioneer Equitable Insurance Co. . | Rhode Island Insurance Co. (Providence) Royal American Insurance Co. (Ala.) Swan Finch Oil Corp. (N. Y.) Trans-Pacific Insurance Co. (Ariz.) ; United Dye and Chemical Co. (N. Y.) William Penn Fire Insurance Co. (Pa.) Practically all have since been liquidated. Others who have been associated with Hopps are Robert Hopps; Geraldine Hopps (Stewart's wife), Nadine Offenbach, Ida Strombach, Robert Gotz, J. W. Ehrlich, Harold C. Ridlick, and Stanley Borgenight. Hopps has allegedly used the alias of Van Galder in running the International Guarantee and Insurance Company. Many of the Hopps' companies have similar names; the last named company is believed to be identical with the International Guarantee and Trust Company of Tangiers, a company in which Hopps and Ehrlich were officers and the assets of which were seized by \ California. It appears that several companies connected with Hopps and/or figuring in the bonding situation were incorporated in rane) an NOLS tl ( %- 144-3 Noe Docld:32329636 Page 6