Evening star., 1909-05-11
NEW CUSTOMS FRAUD BOYLE TELLS STORY
Scandal Shifts to Figs and Accuses Whia Relative as
Cheese, and Loeb Acts. Chief Kidnaper.
FIVE MEN ARE DISMISSED CHARGES ARE DlSCREDITED
Weghers Claims Promised Immunity
Involved in Conspiracy by Boys Father
TREASURY LOST THOUSANDS LETTERS USED TO BLACKMAIL
Are
to Money to
Huntf Higher Boyle
Scandal Shifts to Figs and
Cheese, and Loeb Acts.
FIVE MEN ARE DISMISSED
Four Weighers and One Inspector
Involved in Conspiracy.
TREASURY LOST THOUSANDS
Importers Are Accused-False In
voices Made Out on Other Side.
Hunt for Men Higher Up"

NEW YORK, May 1.-Another govern
ment customs weighing scandal has been
brought to light. involving several large
importers of figs and cheese in this city
as we'll as several employees of the
Treasury Department.
As a result four of the government s
assistant weighers and one customs in
spector were removed from the service
Yesterday by Collector Loeb. Other dis
missals are expected.
Two of the discharged employees are now
the subjects of charges submitted to the
federal grand jury. and the indictment
of several has been asked for.
One importer of cheese and figs is al
ready under indictment for conspiring to
defraud the government. Two govern
ment weighers. formerly employed on the
Brooklyn piers of several of the Medi-
terranean steamship lines, are also under
indictments brought against them sew
eral months ago.
Thousands Lost to Government.
Although the amount of money involved
in the figs and cheese Weighing frauds is
not so large as that of the sugar cases,
which recently cost the Sugar Trust
s.. 100000 in back duties and resulted in
the indictment of seven of the sugar COM
pany's former employees on the sugar re-
finery piers of Havemeyer Elder, the
federal authorities say that the govern
ment has been defrau uded of many thou
sands of dollars by the recording of short
weight on imported cheese and figs from
Greece and other European ports.
An investigation of these weighing
frauds has been in progress several
months by w. Wickham Smith. special
assistant to the United States district at
torney, aided by Assistant Federal Dis
trict Attorney Bucker
Inc customs employees who were re-
moved yesterday are Assistant Weighers
Joseph L. Quinn, Simon J. Mescall,
Charles W. Bligh and Thomas {. Gid
dings, and Inspector Joseph Mcmahon
Inspector Mcmahon was an assistant
weigher at the time of the alleged frauds
in the weighing of cheese and figs, but
had been promoted since.
Removal for Incompetence.
Collector Loeb had little to say in com
menting on the removal of the five men.
They have been removed for incom-
petence," he said, and for the good OF
the service
He added that none of the five dis
charged employees had ever been asso-
ciated with the weighing of sugar. and
that their removal had nothing to do
With the sugar lnVeStlSatlOn.
The frauds in weighing cheese and figs
came to the attention of the Treasury
officials in December of 1907. The in
vestigation has been going on at intervals
ever since.
A representative of cheese and fig i'm
porter went one day to the office of the
Treasury agents in Brooklyn and wanted
10 know what was the reason for an ad-
vance in weight over the invoice weight
on a cargo, of figs and cheese from Greece.
He asked the Treasury agent if report
was ready.
The representative of the importer was
entitled to no report, so the Treasury
agents suspicious were aroused He Went
out on the pier and had the entire cargo
reweighed.
The result was surprising. The weight
corresponded neither with the invoice
weight nor the weight recorded by the
government weighers. incidentally it
was found that the weight recorded in
the books of the government weighers
corresponded with the invoice weight
Results of Investigation
An investigation was begun at once. 1t
disclosed that in several other cases false
invoice weights had been sent on here
from the other side, and that In almost
every instance the weight recorded by the
government weighers corresponded to the
invoice weight
1t was discovered that, the federal
authorities assert the importers would in
form the government weighers Of the
number of pounds called for in the invoice
and that, although the true weight of a
cargo was far greater than the invoice
weight, the government weighers would
enter in their books the weight called for
in the invoice.
There is a duty of cents a pound on
cheese imported to this country and that
on figs cents. In all about fifty cargoes
of figs and cheese are said to have en-
tered at this port without the government
having received it's full payment in
duties.
These fifty cargoes figure in the inves-
legations of the federal authorities. The
frauds may have been going on for sew
eral years. they say. \ weigher would
simply record, say 100 pounds 1000
pounds of cheese or figs.
In their Investigations the federal au-
thorities have had access to the books of
the city Weighers. who are stationed on
the Brooklyn piers TO check up the
weights of the government weighers. The
city Weighers are stationed there by the
firms who receive the imported cheese
and figs.
The federal authorities say that some
one is responsible on the other side for
the making out of false invoices for
cheese and figs. for they have discovered
many such false invoices since the in
vestigation began.
While the names of the importers who
figure III the cheese and fig frauds have
not been made public, it was learned yes
who have been in business in Manhattan
and BROOKLYN for several wears