Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-12-04
SAYS HE PAID POLICE
TO PROJECT BUSINESS
Alleged Head Of Clairvoyant Ring in
Chicago Parted With
$500 a Month.

CHICAGO, December I'm spite OF
the $500 monthly payment for police
protection. Frank Ryan. alleged head
OF clairvoyant ring that operated In
Chicago until recently. had a rather
good thing of it here. and his personal
share of the swindling receipts aver
aged from $4,000 to $4,000 a month, he
told Maclay Hoyne. states attorney, In
a written confession made public last
night. In addition to the regular
monthly police payments. Ryan said. he
paid an average of s25 to 800 weekly
TO help buy flowers for some policeman
who had lost member of his family.
He also said it took a neat sum to en-
tertain properly out-of-town policemen
who frequently came with warrants for
members of the clairvoyant squad
Reason for Disclosure.
Ryan was captured in Detroit a few
weeks ago. He Is very Ill of tubercu-
Hoyne said. on the promise that 1t
would keep him from dying in the peni-
Tertiary. 1t was partly on the strength
of Ryan's confession. according to the
states attorney. that Hoyne offered
Capt. Halpin, former chief of detec-
tives. and a score of his men a chance
to resign.
said. through Barney Bertsche, a Chi
cago ward politician, recently shot In
a downtown revolver fight with two
detectives When 1 first came to Chi
cago in 1911 I paid $500 a month for
police protection" he said. For my
monthly. Once ! cleaned UP $4,000 in
three months. Business slumped dur
ing the newspaper strike because the
newspapers wouldn't print our adver.
them
"Fixed It" With Detectives.
Detectives came here from New
York that year and showed me a coun-
terfeit warrant that they said they
were going to take me back on unless
1 settled on a $4,000 bond had jumped.
That was from a job 1 did in Boston.
When the detectives from Boston came
for me in New York, / fixed 1t so 1
was arrested by the New York police
on manufactured charge SO l
wouldn't have to go back to Boston
and probably go to the penitentiary.
1 was released on $4,000 bond and
skipped to Chicago.
Those New York fellows knew
had jumped a bond and knew it would
ii was.
when I refused to pay up. they
threatened to tell the states attorney,
so in the end I gave them $4,000, the
$4,000 they asked and $500 for ex-
penses. That bond hasn't been settled
yet
Il can't kick on the police not giving
me the protection I paid for, though
During the year and half I was in
business here ! never had to go to a
police station Whenever there was a
complaint against me. the police al
ways telephoned they were coming
over with the complainant and / would
take the afternoon off. A partner
would be shown, and of course the
complainant couldn't Identify him.
Partner Serves as Dummy.
Sometimes to make it appear that
they were trying to catch the CON
man, the police would take the partner
to the station. Then when he wasn't
identified. he would be turned loose"
Ryan's brother James, a member of
the so-called trust, was convicted here
on O charge of working confidence
game as a clairvoyant. Bertsche is I'M
der Indictment in connection with the
same cases.
Ryan's confession required several
hours and was made with numerous
references to his books kept during
the busy clairvoyant days. During 1911
and 1912, he said, he had always en-
ployed a bookkeeper and stenographer.