Norwich bulletin., 1917-01-04
De FaCtO Consul
General Arrested
CHARGED WITH SHIPPING ARMS
INTO MEXICO.
S MEXICANS IMPLICATED
Case Shipped as Building Material"
Fell and Broke Open on the Wharf
at Vera Cruz, Revealing Cartridges
as Its Contents.

New York, Jan. 3.-The arrest here
today by federal officers of John T.
Burns, consul general at New York
for the de facto government of Mexico,
disclosed an alleged conspiracy in
which five Mexicans including Burns,
are charged in three indictments with
shipping arms into Mexico in violation
of President Wilson's embargo proc
lamation of October, 1915. and with
evasion of customs regulations.
Shipped as Building Material"
According to Assistant United States
District Attorney John c. Knox, feder-
al agents first became acquainted with
the alleged plot last November when a
packing case shipped from New York
on board the Ward Line steamship
Esperanza, and manifested as contain
ing building material" fell on the
wharf at Vera Cruz and broke open,
revealing cartridges as its contents.
Investigation by federal agents dis
closed that the box, shipped presuma-
bly, by Pittsburgh hardware COM
pany, had been forwarded from this
port by a firm known as the Adic COM
paI1y, composed of Louis Gotting and
Weneslao Mont. The manifest on which
the box was entered in customs rec
ords was signed by John Gelpi, who,
investigation proved to be Jose de la
Paz, an emp1oye of the firm
Shipments of Cartridges from New
York.
Further investigation revealed, ac-
cording to Mr.. Knox, that other ship
ments or cartridges had been made
from New York under the guise of va
rious kinds of machinery Some of
these shipments. he said, did not go to
Mexico direct, but were sent to Gal
weston, Texas, on board the steamship
Neches of the Mallory Line, the Gal
weston shipments being manifested
anr marked in care of r. Mier.
Three weeks ago GottirlS, Mont and
De La Paz were secretly arrested here
by federal agents and Mier. identified
as 6Reuben Mier. was located at
Houston, Texas, arrested there.
Purchases Made at East Alton.
~ 4 devetopment of the case. -bsszs4a in
part on a statement said to have been
made to the officers by De La Paz, dis
closed, Mr.. Knox said. that purchases
of small ammunition to the probable
value of $40, 900 had been made, prin-
cipally in East Alton, Ills. This am
munition, shipped to New York, was
received by Gotting and Mont. taken
to a storehouse controlled by them and
then prepared for delivery into Mexico
via Ward and Mallory Line steamers.
Ammunition Seized at Galveston.
The implication of Consul-General
Burns came, Mr.. Knox said. when in
vestigations revealed that the money
to pay for this ammunition had come
from him. One of the counts in the
indictments mentions in this connec-
ton the advancing by Burns of $500.
A considerable quantity of the anrnu-
milton found here and al Galveston
has been seized by the federal officers
and isheldas evidenceagainst
and is held as evidence against the
accused.
Burns Protested His Innocence.
Burns was arrested today as he was
leaving his apartment to go to his Of
flee. He protested his 1nnoce8ce and
when arraigned before Federal Judge
Hand entered a plea of not guilty. He
was placed under a bond of $4,000,
which he furnished in cash and was
released.
Later Burns said that the arrest was
a complete surprise to him 81 am en-
tirely innocent of any wrongdoing,"
he declared.