Omaha daily bee., 1919-02-04

was badly in need OF repairs. for
which afterwards a bill of $500 was
submitted. The car then was sold
TO the company, and the agent re-
mitted TO the company $3.50, The
insurance company received con-
siderable less than the repair bill
amounted TO.
Insurance Man Made $3.50.
Another example which has come
TO the notice of the Investigators IS
a case where a Maxwell car, owned
by an insurance agent, was reported
stolen. When the insurance COM
pany RENTED 5000 on the policy the
agent sold the automobile for $3.50.
This represents a net profit of $3.50.
OF the 1909 automobiles stolen
in Omaha during the year ended
December 81, 1918, go machines
were recovered. Rewards were col
leeted on nearly all Of these, it was
said, through a conspiracy between
the thieves who held the machines
for the rewards and the double
dealing of insurance agents, aided
by the activity of the men in the
general Offices of the company. The
men at headquarters are said to
pass vouchers and claims supported
by false afhdavits, which would be
caught almost Immediately were
they checked with a purpose of e
tecting irregularities. These men
are believed to have been reaping
a large share OF the plumber be-
cause OF the advantage given them
by their official connections.
The man whose brain has evolved
the system OF operations in the field
is the agent, it was declared, who is
in position to keep in close touch
with the activities of the thieves.
The men who commit the actual
thefts simply execute the orders of
the agent who engineers practically
every deal, according TO information
which has come to the investigators
They steal the automobiles from the
street or from garages, take :hem
to a place indicated by the agent d.
recting the deal and are given their
share of the spoils when final dis
position is made. Very few auto
mobile thieves in this section of the
country are operating on their own
responsibility, it is said. Occasion
ally, however. a thief will dispose OF
car TO a fence, which is run in
connection with the trust. There
are few of these independent thieves
in the middle west, it is pointed out.
Arrest Non-Trust Thieves.
Where police departments have
become involved in the affairs of
the syndicate. it is said their con-
nection with the system has usually
terminated with an agreement not
to modest the thief when he steals
an automobile, or sometimes the
policeman, detective, agrees to go
with an insurance representative to
arrest a thief who does not belong
to the trust. If an automobile is
recovered on a mission of this char
acter the reward usually is divided
with the policeman, and the indie
pendent thief is prosecuted to the
full extent of the law.
AT the first intimation of wrong
doing on the part of one of these
high up manipulators." said a local
automobile man. These fellows
Immediately will begin to point out
q number Of just such cases. where
they have attempted TO kill two
birds with one stone. ....-s
I'VE have been told by a man
who knows that in every town of
any size in the middle west there are
crooked insurance men, who have
friends on the police department
with whom they can work by paying
a fair share Of the booty"