Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-01-08
ALLEGED ''PAY-OFF"
MAN FOR RING IS
IN CUSTODY HERE
"Swifty" CIein Arrested Near
Decatur Ala, and Brought
to Atlanta by Solicitor
General Boykin

W. W. Clein. otherwise known as
swiftly" alleged to have been the
"pay-off'' man for the so-called
gambling syndicate" whose opera
tions the Fulton county grand jury
has been investigating for many
! weeks, now is in custody Of the Full
ton county authorities. He was APP
pretended Thursday at his home in
Decatur, Ala, and was brought to
Atlanta Thursday night by Solicitor
General John A. Boykin and Plennie
Minor, assistant in the solicitors Of
flee.
Swiftly Clein, the authorities
say, was one of the prime figures in
the operations of the wire-tappers,
fake horse race swindlers and kin
dred crooks who are said to have
made headquarters in Atlanta for the
past three years until their activities
were broken up by the combined eff
forts Of the state and municipal au-
thorities. It is claimed that Clein
was high in the councils Of the
Syndicate" and that he acted as
pay off, man in distributing the
spoils when victims were f1eeced.
The authorities have been ex-
tremely anxious to get Clein into
custody, believing that he could
throw much light on the operations
of the Syndicate" and could disclose
startling facts in connection with
the organization Of criminals. An
exhaustive search has been in prog
ress for several weeks, ending in the
arrest of Clein in Decatur, Ala.
Others Sought
It Is understood that every effort
is being made to apprehend several
other men wanted in connection with
the gambling investigation and If
they are captured, sensational evil
dence regarding the "syndicate's" OPP
erations in Atlanta is expected.
When the grand jury convenes
again next week to resume its inves-
tigation it is hoped that there
will be on hand two men arrested
Thursday in Memphis, Tenn.
In a raid on a hotel seven men
were arrested on the charge Of hav-
games, Ralph J. Wilson and William
Fletcher are the men now being held
by the Memphis police and Solicitor
General John A. Boykin has tele-
graphed his request that the prison
ers be turned over to the Fulton
county authorities for examination
before the grand jury.
Mr.. PnNlyin will
gain his request seems to be more
or less in doubt, as several other
cities are after Wilson and Fletcher,
according to dispatches from Mem
phis
Similar Ring in Memphis
It is said that the gang of conf
dence men operating in Memphis
leased brokerage office in a prom
inent business block and used it as
headquarters for their operations.
The Memphis police, on raiding the
place, found quantities of stock GER
tificates and bonds of a company al
legged to be fictitious.
That the operations Of the crooks
in Memphis was similar in many de-
tails to- the operations of the gam
bling syndicate" in Atlanta is point
ed out by the local authorities. It
was stated at the solicitor generals
office that Wilson and Fletcher are
not under indictment here and if they
were in Atlanta they used other
names than those they now claim.
The Fulton county authorities
have sent out in all directions to APP
prehend alleged members of the
gambling ring" that operated in At
lanta, SO that police in practically
every large city are on the lookout
for the men wanted hera