The Topeka state journal., 1899-12-18
Lure Victims Into a Wire Tap
ping Scheme.
ALDERMAN LOST $1,000
Plan Outlined Dupes Is to Cheat
in SpeculatiOns.
Money Is ExtOrted to Purchase
Devices For the Work.

Chicago Dec. 1S.-A reputed gang Of
exceptionally clever swindlers, which
needed no easy road to wealth prOspec-
fuses, but instead went forth into the
hotel lobbies and gathered in its vic
Tins, was raided late Saturday after
noon in room 81 Omaha building, 134
Van Buren street, by central station de-
tectives. Three alleged leaders were
captured and three others are being
hunted for. The prisoners were lodged
in the county Jail on capiases. They
were indicted quietly two days ago on
complaint of a victim who since has
given valuable aid to Detective Ser
geants Broderick and Russell in run
ming down the operators.
The men whom the police took into
custody as swindlers are T. c. Diffy,
alias StOeffeI; Daniel Sheffield, alias
Kelly, and Joseph AIoffat- From G. L.
Moore and Irwin +. Palm the three i'm
prisOned men secured sums aggregat-
ing more than $1,000 in a few days, so
the complaints and the police say.
Moore is a hotel proprietor at Bloom
ingdale road and North Forty second
avenue and Palm is in business at 379
West Harrison street.
TAPPING WIRES THE BAIT.
The gangs headquarters contained
chiefly job lots of catalogues describ bing
telegraphic instruments known as re-
were utilized in operating the special
fraud which the police say they have
traced to the men. The schemers rep
resented themselves as able to tap the
private wires of leading Board of Trade
firms and by withholding information
as to stock quotations in far-aWay mar
ket5 to give insiders a chance to make
untold riches through the placing of
timely bets with local brokers, bucket
shops or pOOlrOOms-
There was always a little obstacle
that is, need of mOney-when one of
the unlnltated was being rOped in. It
was represented that big punches of
the secret wires had been located; that
a telegraph operator who had worked
for all the telegraph companies in the
country was ready to do the tapping
that only a resistance box was needed
to insure success and that inaSmuch as
all the men in the scheme were penni-
less the lions share of the profits would
go to the man who first would put UP
the cash to buy the resistance box.
ALLUR1NG EXHIBITS ARE SHOWN
If the prospective victim still resist
ed he was led into a room in a business
block where great bunches of cOiled
wires were in view from the windows
and telegraph ticker attached to an
alleged tapping wire was visible on the
inside of the window sill The exhibit
having been seen, the outlook for easily
gotten supplies of gold were decidedly
alluring. Money for the resistance box
es was paid very readily, but the in
VestOrs never received any tips on the
markets and never again saw thier mon
ey.
Through the operation of this rather
simple appearing scheme a west side
alderman is declared by Sergeant Brod-
er1ck to have been deeced out of about
$1,000 in less than a week. The alder
man would not prosecute, but in the
course Of time there was no lack of
complaints from other victims.
FIND VICTIMS IN HOTELS.
For while the police were mystified
as the gang constantly changed its
headquarters. Sometimes the swindle
was worked from a suite of rooms in
second and third rate hotels. On a few
occasions the swindIers even went to
the extent of impersOnating policemen
IN order to pretend to be on the trail
of the gang. By means of well planned
raids the resistance boxes for which
sWindled persons had paid from 800 to
$500 were taken in charge. Thus the
appliances, according to the police, al
ways found there way back into the
hands of the gang whose chief stock
in trade thus was kept unimpaired.
The exact sum said to have been in
vested in the resistance boxes by Moore
IS given by the police as S345, while
Palm is declared to have given up 1925
1t was Moore who secured the secret
indictments against the gang and Palm
arrived at detective headquarters with
his complaint just in time to identify
Diffy, who had been brought in bv
the detectives. as the man who induced
him to go into the scheme.
MOffat was arrested later in the dav
at the gangs headquarters. He is said
to have provided the resistance boxes
that Moore and Palm paid for. The
part Of Sheffield is said to have been
that OF "introducer' at the hotels. 1t
was through an introduction at the
Saratoga hotel that Moore was roped
in. He has identified Diffy as the man
to whom he was given a friendly intro
ductiOn that was guaranteed to mean
for him the chance of a lifetime in the
matter of making lots of easy money.