Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-12-16
ARRESTED IN NEW YORK
Through Action of Windham
County Men.

Insurance SwindIers Had Operated all
over the COuntry--NnOwn Rs the 'An-
thony Gang"--secured Sl2O at Bellows
Falls.
The New York daily papers of Saturday
and Sunday contained extended accounts
of the arrest of two members of a gang of
five insurance swinders, who are repre-
scented to have been operating in every
state in the Union, and quite extensively
in Canada.
1t is what has been known to the insur-
ance departments and principal fire insur-
ance agents in the country as the AN
thony Gang" and has had its offices in
New York and Brooklyn. The leader of
these swindlers has been fOI some years f.
w. Anthony, and earlier his father, now
deceased, was engaged in the same dis
reputable business Anthony and one OF
his fellow consprators, Chas. j. Conway,
have been confined in the Brooklyn Ill
the past week
Their method of procedure has been to
send circulars to insurance agents all over
the United States and Canada offering fire
insurance policies in companies represent
ed by them to be reliable, at low rates and
high commissions.
These companies either had no actual eX
istence or were irresponsible and unable to
pay losses They carefully avoided insur-
ing property in the state of New York
because of the watChfulness of the insur-
ance department there, but preyed upon
citizens of other localities When losses
occurred, doing business as they did,
wholly by correspondence, their offices were
hard to locate and their replies by mail
would be "We will forward the proofs to
the Cos, and this was usually the last that
could be heard from them.
Anthony, having been indicted by the
federal courts for using the mails for this
fraudulent purpose, had been doing bust
ness in Brooklyn in the name of Chas. j.
Conway, and in New York in the name of
Chas. Nugent Others are suspected of
completely in the transactions.
Last summer they succeeded in placin G
an insurance on the woodworking shop of
II f. Cox in Bellows Falls. The policies
were nicely executed and purported to be
in the Great Britain Insurance corpora
ton, the British and American Exchange
association. both of London, and the Com
mercal Fire Insurance company of Will
mington Del.
About a month ago Mr. Cox learned
that his insurance was worthless, although
he had paid Sl20 for 1t. He brought it to
the attention of J. w. Shelley of Putney,
who had acted as broker in procuring it.
Mr.. Shelley at once took action in the matter
and the insurance was replaced in respon-
sible companies.
Mr.. Shelley, not being able to hear from
the parties, and the state superintendent
of insurance of New York informing him
of their unreliability employed l.. 5.
Hayes, the insurance adjuster of Bellows
Falls to go to New York with him and
see if he could run the rasCals down and
break up the nefarious business.
The different reports in the New York
papers vary as to how this was accom-
plished by them, but all agree in the import
ance of the arrests made, and that the
rounding up of the gang has been q
clever piece of work. Particularly the In.
surance press is loud in its praise of the
prospect that the practices which have
been in vogue under various names and in
different offices by this Anthony are prob
ably stopped and prospect of his impris-
onment as well as others who have assist
ed him.
The arrest of the two above mentioned
parties was made last week Friday. Their
hearing was set for Monday morning in
Judge Nostrand's Adams street court,
Brooklyn. Fourth Assistant District Attor
ney VIM Van Wyck, who is son of Judge
Van Wyck, late Democratic candidate for
governor of New York, was assigned By
the court to represent the state in the
prosecution. Monday Mr.. Van Wyck
asked for continuance of the case, be
cause of its Importance and his inability tC
give it requisite earlier.