The Washington herald., 1920-04-11
FLORIDA FIELD
FOR BUNCO men
Syndicate of Confidence
Sharks Said to Be
AT Work.
HAVE WOMEN AS AIDS
Number of Fair Sex Used
To Fleece Gullible
Tourists.
HAVE WOMEN AS AIDS

Jacksonville. Fla, April 10.-As
wolves Or the Western plains
watched the buffalo herds in the old
days, marking down the laggards for
their prey, so keen-eyed scouts OF a
great swindling syndicate stationed
here tag their victims among the
tourist hordes pouring through this
city on their way to the east and
west coast resort regions.
This season surpasses all others in
the volume of south-bound migrants
and IL Is the richest harvest the
confidence men have ever known.
Warning Notices Posted.
Attorney General Van G. Swear
irgen has asked the Florida Legis-
Iature to appropriate a fund for the
employment of special State detec-
tives to combat the crooks.
Warning notices are posted In
stores and hotels. newspapers have
printed full pages of pictures and
descriptions of some OF the most
prominent of the plausible rascals.
The headquarters OF the syndicate
are in Denver. with branches in
Chicago and New York. Its opera
tors arc financed from n treasury
containing hundreds of thousands of
I dollars. Strict business rules gov
ern the activities of the various
gangs.
The toll levied on this seasons
tourists will amount to several mill
lions Of dollars. it Is estimated by
Chief of Police Reach.
Few Victims Complain.
Efforts to check the cheaters Sare
only partially successful. In the first
place, the victims are enticed into a
game by which they hope to make
big money through crooked meth
DDS.
When they are stung, they seldom,
complain. Many of them would be
ruined in their home communities
II it became known that they had
become involved in a gambling pro-
Ject.
In the second place. the crooks
caught in raids quietly give what
ever is required in the way of cash
bonds, and disappear.
Four men are under arrest in
Tampa. They were caught as they
were about to take" ]. z. Starr. a
retired Nebraska farmer, for $4,000
Starr recalls that he was spotted
before he started South: that artful
smoking car conversation regarding
real estate seduced him into reveal
ing the fact that he sold his prop
erty and had a comfortable fortune
His description was flashed ahead
until, when he arrived in Jackson
vile, the steerer of the gang made
his acquaintance, and proved to be
the ideal sort of companion for a
midole-aEed man. travelling alone
They made side trips together and
Starr was convinced that his new
friend was absolutely reliable.
Was Let In On 1t.
Then they met the slick stranger
whom STAIRS friends knew. This was
the successful gambler who, by
means of a tapped wire, was max
ing big killings on race betting.
He generously let Starr's friend
in on the good thing and Starr saw
many thousands of easy money de-
livered. Finally he was taken to
the fake poolroom in a residence on
the outskirts of Tampa
A small machine operated by a
pedal realistically produced the clat-
ter of telegraph instruments and
terse messages from the tracks were
being received over telephones
whose wires Welt no further than
the desks they stood on.
Packages ostensibly containing
thousands in bank notes were visi-
BILE. The Tampa police descended
Just in time to save Starts $25,000
The books of this gang showed that
they had taken S165,OOO in nine
days.
The swindlers are capably aided
by their women associates. These
are by no means of the stage vam-
pire type. They are gracious, quiet
ly-dressed ladies. who do not direct
IL attempt the ailurement of suscep-
tible men, but use their charms in
winning the confidence of the wives
and children Cf tourists.
Ex-Chief Falls.
A few days ago the police Of Tam.
pa rescued from the clutches of q
confidence woman the eX-chief OF
police of Cne of tho largest cities
on the Pacific Coast.
The aStutc veteran in crime pre-
vention would not believ that the
Inatron who had been so kind to his
wife would be the accomplice OF
wirc-tappers.
He continued the acquaintance
and was not convinced until Tam
Pa detective pointed her out in con-
ference with some Of the men in
the mob"
Business men and lawyers OF
Florida are much aroused by pres
ent conditions.