The New York herald., 1921-05-15
TRACE 5 MURDERS
TO DE- LUKE CROOKS
Revelations in AtlantaShOW
Existence of Gang Of
Piunderers.
$2,00O,00O TAKEN IN
Wealthy Men Lured tORich-
ly Appointed Dens and
Ruined Over Night.
IN GUISE OF GAMBLING
Killing Of 'Waco Kid and Ed
Mills Leads to Exposure Of
Huge Operations.

Special Despatch TO THE New York HERALD.
ATLANTA, May 14-By going back to
Col. Bob Ammon, the original Wall
ingford: to Goslin and TO the others
who operated twenty odd years ago in
Wall Street, on Broadway and in $50
Per Cent Millers shack IL Greenpoipt,
New York can get an idea of the ex-
ploits OF a well organized gang Of con-
fidence men that has been plundering
the South for the last five years
Here and in other cities stories are
coming to light daily of new swindles.
Of bribery and corruption on the part
Of the authorities, of suicide and Of
murder. From office buildings and
hotel apartments the trail has led to
the famous resorts Of Florida. There,
i'll magnificent houses converted into
Exclusive clubs these bunco men
would entertain their guests and send
them out into the night to start life
\ anew in poverty or to blow out their
brains
Five murders, one of the victims being
u woman, have been traced directly to
the band A prominent banker of Milan,
Ca who got into Its tolls, has vanished.
Among the suicides was DR.. Blan-
chard. son OF former Governor of
Louisiana
The adages, Murder will out" and
When thieves fall out, &C." held good
iu this instance. for it was through the
murders Of Claude Willard Powell. the
Waco Kid" in st. Augustine, and Ed
| Minis in Atlanta that the confidence
men have been exposed with crash
| that is shaking the entire South and
| which is instructing thousands OF tour
lists as to why they had such cursed
run Of luck at the card table or on the
| Wheel In that castlelike club in Daytona,
orlando Palm Beach, Tampa or st.
augustine.
$4,000, 900 in Three Months.
In the sales de jeu of st. Augustine
aud other Florida resort towns the
winnings" of the fleecers are estimated
L. exceed $4,000. 900 in a scant three
months and would have been much larg-
Of had not untimely murder stopped
the play at its height.
In the gilded palaces of protected
Florida-casinos known in the argot of
con" as "stores"-the victim was given
no chance. In Monte Carlo tho "viati-
.cum fund" provides for the safe trans
port Of the loser back to his home. Here
I Els Only T6IuIl lOi lilo ioSo ~ q Aoa saaS
was a sneer from tho fleecer3 and dis
.ouraging comment from the police.
While the S2,000,000 figure may
sound astounding. 1t would not seem so
If the reader could visualize the mag
nificent chain of homes throughout the
state which had been rented by wealthy
tourists" and then fitted into sum- .uous
clubs" where the ICON men" operated
without molestation from authorities.
"a
architecture without, and within the
roulette wheels, the card tables, discon-
nected telephones and Goddess telegraph.
the cashiers cage with Its stack OF
.rrands" in view, and the blackboard
IN which the winning" horses were
chalked duplicated just on the OUT
skirts OF New Augustine. short motor
spin from the oldest city In the Ian
rlage of the ''con men," this Is
store"
II was TO this store" that the Waco
Kid" paid his first visit several times
i day and night. To the sucker" whom
lie accidentally met on the sea wall or In
Plaza Park he was often the lonesome
Texas rancher In this role the Waco
kid" slipped with a natural ease. lie
a.. one time shipped live stock TO the
packers in legitimate enterprise. Or.
n he was a race hoss man." he could
talt the moon out of Matanzas Bay on
horses. 1t was as an owner of thorough
breds that he first became known to tho
sporting world
Members of the Gang.
And here the pals or the Waco
Kid" who witnessed his murder that
brought sudden end TO this lucra-
tive season in St. Augustine, could be
seen at work.
French Henry, because of his Van
dyke beard and portly waistline. was
inc cashier who paid ont and took In
packages OF $1,000 bills as George
Hassie, Eddie Hayes. Harry Morrie
and others won. lost heavily and won
more heavily still.
As the races" wore on down the
card TO the moro important events
the excitement grew. Bob Day APP
reared on deck 10 help French Henry
toss the "grands" $1,000 bills) around
in magnificent display. Dick Turpin
was telegraphing with his hand, an
swering himself with his foot on an
other key under the desk and yelling
tho results to Deacon Wheeler. who
was singing the chalk on the black
hoard. And tho sucker" was cheering
his head off when his horse won" !"
Then follows the plan for the big
Killing" the suckers trip homo to
set the money. which is brought back,
nut up and stays put. Sooner or later
he comes out OF the trance. appeals 70
tho authorities and the appeal goes
unheeded.
= D. Es3ffnson OF Detroit visited
xis store learned or the ways OF
the "con men," insisted TO Chief OF
Police G. ID. Coke that they be ar
rested and for his pains he was
openly assaulted by this con men
and forced to flee from the city, while
the police refused to take action
Ku-KIux shoots Up Club.
w. c. Kreul wealthy Milwaukee Q
grain broker. wes saved at the last
minute from the grasp OF the 'con men"
after his visit TO this limitless treasury
resulted in 100000 deal. OF which he
was to put up $4,000. And there were
others.
The Oliver residence, In Peninsula
drive. at Daytonn, sixty miles south OF
Aere, was as expensvely procured and
rigged out as the one Of which you have
read. 1t, too. was operated under Of
ficial protection until Mrs A. G.. Krebs.
n widow of Tamaqua. Pa, was feeced Of
St2, 900 a few weeks ago. Then the
xu-Klux Klan took hand and riddlod
the house with bullets. Tho midnight
attack Of the 15o masked men on tho
awindlers' palace Was witnessed bv FOR
,ner Judge Nathaniel C Sears or Chi-