New Britain herald., 1920-07-26

jury to tell how they were victimized out of their hard earned pensions by patriots in the Bureau Of War RISK Insurance.
 These veterans, every one of whom lost either one or both eyes, one or both arms. or legs, had parts of their faces and bodies shot away while fighting the Germans in the Ar gonne or some other front in France. will testify against fourteen young men charged with defrauding them out of sums totaliing more than st0O.O0o. Tho evidence will be pre- sentcd to the grand jury by District Attorney John r.. Laskey.
 3S.spcciHc Cases Found.
 Thirty-five specific cases of sol diers having been victimized will be presented. although there arc seven ty-two cases in which veterans of tho war have been defrauded. and only tho top of the conspiracy has heen scraped.' according to Secret Service officials. X big force Of Secret Service operatives arc working on the plot and 1s.0OO claims are being in- vrstigated on the suspicion that sev- eral thousand more victims of the alleged swindIcrs may he found.
 ft Is the expectation of the prose- eBtors to have the grand jury return an indictment containing thirty-flve counts against the defendants. Such an indictment would mean a possible maximum penalty of seventy years imprisonment for the defendants in tho event of their conviction. And the secret Service has strong evidence to support each count. u is claimed. Other arrests are expected during the week. as the Secret Service has trailed q number of suspects to the most re- mote sections of the country. X mum her of the former employees against whom there is either proof or sus- ptrinn are voluntarily returning tO Washington for examination by the Secret Service as to their part in the gigantic plot.
 None shall escape" declared w
 IT, Moran, chief of the Secret Service
 who chnractcrizes the conspiracy as , one of the most reyolting crime:
 that ever came to my notice" No Safety in Flight. There is no safety in the flight oi | the accused or the suspected. ac' , cording 10 Chief Moran. who has In. .. formation about the intention of z 1 number of young college men to fie' 1 to Mexico. At least two who planned l to escape the penalty by fleeing tn, | United States have already been ap 1 prehcnded.
 One young woman employed a ' the War Risk Bureau was taken into | custody by the Secret Service on tn, | information Of one of the younl men arrested. but shc proved tha | she had been party unwittingly tt | several transactions, having beel
 merely a tool.
 | A remarkable feature. of the inVes ! tigution is that a mujority of th l young men ready arrested are for | mer college men. a number of then , taking law courses in Washington schools while working for the gov crnment. Most Of th. men urreste, ] come from what are described a good families" their fathers beiuI prominent in their home towns. Indicate Desire To "SqueaL" several of the defendants have in dtcHted u desirc ;o 'squeal' on thei alleged accomplices, but the govern ! ment authorities believe that the ] have a strong case against the ganl
 and are not inclined to listen to an
 pleas for mercy.
 | Two soldiers whose Jaws were sho away In France arrived here yestcr
 day from the Columbus barracks [
 testIfy. More. than a dozen of tn Hnx uhouI 5lu -