The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-02-04
BANKRUPT IN SIX CITIES.
Says ONE CONSPIRATOR
Plotter in the Million dollar Merchan-
disc Swindle Becomes Witness for
the Governmeut-Fhe Plans Were
Made at Carlisle

/ st. Louis, Feb 4.-The origin of the
alleged conspiracy by which a chain of
stores was established in various cities
Tor the purpose of proiiting by going
INTO bankruptcy was told in the Fed.
eral District Court here yesterday by
Charles l.. Greenfield, one of IL men
indicted IN the so-called "Million dol
lar Swindle and who has turned wit
ness for the government. Three more
/ defendants pleaded guilty in the Dis
tret Court last night of using the mails
IN conspiracy to defraud. They
were Samuel Brown. of Philadelphia,
and Jacob l.. and NJ. NJ. Liebovitz,
orothHs, of East St. Louis, III. Their
oohuS were raised from $1,000 to
! $4,000 each and the men went to iail
for the night.
| All day the men had listened to
oreenheld, confessed ringeader of the
IL defendants, rs he told how Brown
and others had helped him to establish
stores aud within eight months lead
these stores into prcdrable bank
ruptcles. Greenfield and two other de.
PENDANTS at the outset of the trial
agreed to testify for the government
and later to plead guilty. Federal Off
| GERS charge that the IL defendants
within the last few years obtained ap-
I proXimatelv $1,000. 200 worth of mcr-
chandise ON credit and by secret ship
mentS disposed of most OF it before
their strings of department Stores
/ failed.
The plan was organized in Carlisle,
IA. according to Greenfield. on the
eve of his failure in business there.
In the conference were Greenfield,
Sam Brown. Adolph Muscovitz and
Meyer Rotman. Brown and Rotman
had been associated with Greenfield in
/ Philadelphia, he said. and when they
4 failed they concealed $4,000 worth of
merchandise from the bankruptcy trus-
tee and moved this merchandise to Car
| Isle, where they opened another store.
The Carlisle store failed. Greenfield
| stated, and then they started in st.
| Louis. Muscovitz wanted to run the
| business honestly, and when his part
ners refused to incorporate to make
| this possible he Withdrew from the
| firm. Greenfield said that within eight
months the alleged conSpirators set up
| seven stores in six cities aud that all
of them failed. as had been intended.
! y store at Kansas City went into bank
ruptcy within three weeks after it
opened.
Rotman, he said opened store in
! Louisville and later Julius Steinhardt
/ opened another store there, to which
| the stock Of Rotman 5 store was trans
ferred secretly. Rotman then went into
! bankruptcy. Greenfield said that Stein
/ hardts Louisville store then went into
! bankruptcy and that Steinhardt opened
4 store in Baltimore.
Greenfield testified that before he
/ decided that his ST. Louis store should
/ fail he shipped more than 30 cases of
merchandise to Alfred Goldberg aud
! Harry A. Cohan, owners of the Penn
| sylvania Commission Company. in Phil.
adelphia, then went to Philadelphia and
opened the Pennsylvania Salvage Com
| pany, in which Cohan was partner.
They went to Baltimore to buy goods
from Steinhardt. While the men were
operating stores in Philadelphia and
Baltimore the alleged members of the
conspiracy were arrested on evidence
presented bt the St. Louis Association
| of Credit Men.