The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-01-11
INSURANCE SWINDLERS TRAF-
FIG IN CORPsEs.
EDITOR ONE Of PLo1TERs
Policies Issued to Mythical Persons
Represented by Cadavers
from Hospitals.

New York, Jan. 1O-The Evening
journal says: Warrants have been
issued for the arrest of four persons
accused Of swindling the Colonial In
surance company of jersey City by Sc
curing insurance on lives Of persons
about to die and by other methods.
The four accused include a news
paper editor, who was the beneficiary
under one policy, a medical examiner,
an undertaken and a prize fighter, who
acted as agent for the company. 1t is
said the company has been swindled
out of large sums and that wholesale
traffic in dead bodies has been carried
on.
Thomas Kelly, said to be the agent
of the company, has been arrested.
The first clew to the methods Of the
plotters was discovered shortly after
the death of Thos. Moran, who died
Of consumption in October, Of last
year.
Moran had a policy with the Col
onial company for $27O and this sum
was paid to the beneficiary. Moran
had been suffering with consumption
for months before his policy was
written. Both his father and mother
had died of tuberculosis and there
were other deaths in the family from
the same cause. When the insur-
c people had paid the amount Of
Moran's policy to the beneficiary
search Of the %company's books was
made and it was discovered that not
one or two, but many policies had been
written for persons whose identity was
doubtful and many times entirely
lacking.
It is true that dead bodies had
been placed in evidence whenever
claims were made, but it has been
discovered that these bodies were
nothing more nor less than common
hospital bodies which had been
brought into Union Hill, many Of
them from Bellevue, for the purpose
of aiding the insurance swindlers in
obtaining their plumber.
An official of the company says it
was discovered that Kelly had been
writing bad risks and he was dis
charged. In several cases, 1t is said,
he grossly misrepresented the facts
concerning persons whose lives he in
sured. The official interviewed said
that three cases OF fraud had come to
the knowledge Of the company and it
was suspected that many more would
be unearthed. In the three cases re-
ferred to all the persons insured died
soon after the policies on their lives
had been issued.
In addition to Kelly, Edward Jahr
Of West Hoboken; Thomas Martin a
newspaper editor, and William
Neckar, an undertaken, were arrested.
Both Martin and Nectar live in Union
Hill. The former were released in
81, 600 bail, each. Neckar said he had
not been guilty of wrong doing and
that his only competition with the
matter was that he had buried one of
the persons whose life had been in
sured. DR.. John Nevin, chief medical
examiner for the Colonial Life Insur.
ance company, said today: "The ap'
pointment of medical examiners 70,
our company devolves upon me. l ap.
pointed, among others, DR.. Edward
Jahr for the Union Hill district.
Several months ago my suspicious
were aroused and I started an investi,
cation. L learned that he had passed
two women in Union Hill without
even examining them. l at once dis
charged Jahr. Since then subsequent
investigations revealed a plot that W.
had dreamed Of. The company
intends to prosecute to the end"