St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-06
A SHREWD SWINDLE.
Western Union Wires Tapped
and Gutenberg Races
Nicely Worked.
two Races Manipulated Be-
fore the Operator Was
Pulled Off.
Pool Rooms Hit Hard All Over
This Western Terri
tory.
Frank Shaw Makes a Bluff
and Gets His Money
Back.

Those people who indulge in the
habit known as playing the horses"
know. as does some of the general pub
lie, that frequently the proprietors of
pool rooms and turf exchanges are
swindled by the practice of tapping
the wireS.'' Pool sellers and book
makers are always on the alert against
such impositions, but even their watch
fulneSS is sometimes thwarted by sharp
practice. One of the most general and
successful swindleS ever perpetrated in
this line occurred yesterday, and
the st. Paul ana Minneapolis
pool rooms were among those victim
lied. The track at Gutenberg was
selected for the scene of the operations,
and three races were picked out for
manipulation: two of the three were
successful, but on the third the opera
tiveS failed TO connect. The plan was
very simple. The wire was tapped be-
tween Gutenberg and New York and
wrong winners wired in. the manipula-
tors caShing their tickets before the
fraud was discovered. The operating
gang was widely scattered, and the
plans well laid. St. Paul, Minneapolis,
Kansas City. Omaha, st. Louis and
probably other cities were selected as
the fields of operation. and it is believed
that about S5U.0U0 represents the net
winnings. Three or four men were
sent 10 each of these cities. TO
play the marked horses and
divide the profits. Monday evening
four sporty-lOoking characters turned
up in st. Paul and were seen about the
general resorts of the city They an
nOunced they were from Dakota" but
ii was known soon after that they hailed
from Chicago. Yesterday afternoon
they turned up in the fremont EX-
change, and were Immediately reeog-
niZed by Frank Shaw as characters ia
miliar TO the crooked track at Garfield
Park. They remarked they were Just
passing through ana would take shy
at the horses" They began operations
with the first race at Gutenberg, and
very smoothly it resulted. The second
was passed by. then the third was
worked. When the fourth was tackled
the operator at New Jersey either weak
sned or was pulled off, and the crooked
work ended.
How 1t WAS Done.
When the betting came in on the first
race flambeau was Il favorite at TO l.
endsCongresS, with Penny up, 20 to l
shot. No money went in on Congress
until the second betting, when Flam-
beau went to 5 to : and Congress was
announced as 8 TO l. The stranger
sports then came to the front aud sew
eral hundred dollars went in az that
hgure. The third betting was 2 to on
Congress and Frank Shaw promptly
wiped Congress off the betting boards.
presently the wires announced that
congress had won and bets were paid
Hpc0rGInrtT lf nd
that it was learned that Insight, an to
/ shot. had won the race.
The second race was not ma
hlpulated. In the third Mabelie
was to faVOrite; Mabel, 2 to l, and
Duke John, to l, with seven starters.
The stranger gang put all its money Oil
Aabelle, with odds on, and presently
the wires licked off Mabelle a winner.
of course Mabel was the winner. but
this was not known until long after the
winning tickets had been caShed. The
1ourthrace was the next one tackled and
WoOdcutter was made decOy the duck.
Badge was the favorite at to on the
first betting and even money on the sec
ond. WOodcutter opened at to and
went to y 10 l on the second betting.
The Fraudulent Gang
began pouring in its money on Wood
suspicious and rubbed Woodcutter off
the board. Had he continued the bet
ting, he would have taken back all the
fraudulent winnings, for the operator
either weakened or failed. and Badge,
the real winner, was correctly reported.
1t was not until the last lace was over
that the fraud was discovered. The
fremont operator then received word
over his wires from Chicago that fraud
had been perpetrated; at the same time
a correct list of winners was promul-
gated. There was CONSERVATION in the
pool room. Frank Shaw had been
co0lly confidenced out of about
g. 900, and the information was received
that the Minneapolis exchange had
similarly suffered. The whole scheme
was then developed, and in ten minutes
the police were in possession of the
facts. Detectives secured the city. and
before dark the four gentlemen from
Dakota were located at the Ryan hotel.
Pool selling is licensed under the laws
Of Minnesota. aud it was necessary to
show that this quartette had guilty
knowledge of the fraud, but Frank
Shaw tackled the men. made shrewd
bluff and got his money back, after
which the men Sneaked for Chicago.
Shaw announces that all bets on the
correct winners will be paid today.