The sun., 1918-10-24
HURLEY WILL GIVE
LOTS BACK AT COST
Young Tax Lien Napoleon Of
Nassau County Shields
Others in Deals.
ADMITS USING DUMMIES
Men Who Profited by Igno-
rance Of Real Owners Kept
in Background.

Eugene r. Hurley. the young man who
devised plan OF buying lots at Nassau
county tax sales 80 complex that the
original owners never knew with whom
they were dealing in trying to buy their
property back. agreed yesterday to fore
80 expected profit on the lots no still
holds and to return them TO the original
owners at cost with interest. &C.
Hurley, now a private at Camp Upton,
went to the Office OF the Mayors Com
nittee on Taxation in the Municipal
Building by direction of Capt. Benedict
Of the army and accompanied by Ser
geant Major zarowitz. He seemed more
than willing to help the committee In It's
task of assisting small property owners
to recover titles which they have lost
through carelessness or Ignorance Of the
law.
He said that he and Charles H. Fabens,
his partner In buying tax titles, now
owned about 1000 lots which they would
return to the original owners at cost
plus taxes and 6 per cent interest. He
had bought titles at four annual county
sales employing four or five other per-
SONS to DO the bidding for him and pay
ing these persons IS or $40 a day.
Samuel s. Bresiin, counsel to the
Mayors committee. asked Hurley II any
of these bidders were connected with
the Nassau County Treasurer's Office or
any other office of Nassau county. Hur-
ley replied: 81 must decline to answer
on the ground that 1t might tend to in
criminate or degrade me- He admitted
that some OF the hired bidders had been
employed at some time or another" by
the Title Guarantee and Trust Company
Hurley formerly worked in the Mlneola
Office OF that company. where his uncle.
L. Z. Hurley, is manager. His father,
Frank f. Hurley, is manager OF the COM
pany's Jamaica branch.
The names and addresses OF the origi-
nal owners were obtained from the
county tax books.
DO you know whether anybody in
the Title Guarantee and Trust Com
panys office obtained them?" Breslin
asked. Hurley replied that he preferred
not to answer as he did not want to
embarrass anybody. He said he had
paid about $4,000 for tax titles and
had received about $4,000 from original
owners for that part of his holdings
which he had sold back to them. He
had the names and addresses of only
fifty or sixty of the owners whose lots
he still holds. The Mayors committee
Is anxious to have all owners who have
lost property at tax sales communicate
with It.
Gustave Johanassen. described as a
free lance real estate agent, was held
by Magistrate Appleton In $1,000 hail
for the Grand Jury on a charge OF lar
ceny made by Mrs. Mary Burns OF 55
Rose street. Mrs. Burns. who has three
children, said that Johanassen got her
to buy two lots in South Jamaica for
$3.50. on which she paid $3.50 down and
was to pay 81 month She said he
agreed to have a cottage erected on the
lots by June Is this year. Before NOV
ing she went to South Jamaica to see
the cottage and found a farmer planting
cabbage on "her'' lots. She said she
discovered that Johanassen did not own
the land. In denying a motion for the
dismissal OF the complaint against
Johanassen Magistrate Appleton said:
1T seems to me the whole transac-
t!on was made from n criminal, vicious
design TO obtain money from the poor"