Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-05-23
TRAIN
ARSON CATS TO
UPSET LAMPS
Famous Investigator Bares
Clever Schemes to Defraud
Creditors.
FRAUDS REACH HIGH ART

|
FRAUDS REACH HIGH ART
NEW YORK, May 23.-Declaring that
the present period of industrial depres-
sion and the great wave Of SOCIAL crime
which has been sweeping the country
/ has also been accompanied by an in
crease of what is commonly called com
mercial crime, C. D. West, manager of
the investigation and prosecution de
partment, National Association of Credit
Men. has exposed some Of the schemes
devised to defraud creditors.
During the period of prosperity which
was enjoyed for some years past, the
! professional commercial swindler WAS not
/ engaged in his usual vocation because 1t
was easier to make money honestly. Now
! that business conditions have changed,
/ the trade crooks have returned to their
old games said Mr.. West, who is one
Of the best known investigators in the
country. He has several nicknames,
among them being "Hephon," Deacon
West" Dean West" and "SherlocK
! Holmes" Mr. West has been RESPONSE
/ ble for sending more commercial crooks
10 Jail than any other man in America.
crime are we'll known to the public. the
workings of the commercial criminals
are not familiar to most persons" said
West
( "The latter class deal principally with
/ fraudulent bankruptcies, the mulcting Of
creditors, and often. even, the running OF
honest merchants, as well as the defeat
/ ing of the workings Of the law.
NOT ORDINARY
PICKPOCKETs.
"The commercial criminals would not
pick a mans pockets; they would not do
person bodily harm. All, no! They
ire far too clever for that. They are
polished gentlemen. well educated aAd
extremely smart in devising schemes for
gaining their ends.
THE man who seeks to defraud the
! firms with which he is dealing on credit
does his work carefully. He secures
sm loans, paying the bills usually in
| IN then gradually increases the amount
Of his orders until the sum reaches
high mark. Then is the anticipated time
for the fraudulent bankruptcy or other
scheme.
There are a great many ways in
which these criminals operate. In bank
ruptcy frauds the most common methods
Of beating the law are the concealment
Of assets, transfer Of stock with the aid
OF a false burglary or fire and the dis
honest claims Of debts. contracted ana
paid, usually to relatives.
"Sometimes dishonest lawyers advise
and point out methods Of working fraud
ulent bankruptcy; In some cases dishon-
est referees and attorneys loot bankrupt
estates: occasionally corrupt politics en-
B he nd
credit men them selves. apparently stung
bv the crooks. are in reality working
with the scoundrels to put the fraud
across
often IT is necessary to contend with
an organized gang operating in several
cities throughout the country and con
trolling arson and burglary gangs ship
pers. receivers. lawyers and others.
1T is the man higher up. the mas
ter mind that We are most concerned
in getting Many Of their workers are
merely dupes.
sixteen men higher up in Chicago
were responsible for three failures aggre-
eating 5000, 600 of which $165,OoO has al
ready been recovered.
I'm another case twenty eight failures
have been traced to one Philadelphia
Wholesale house.
/ SHERLOCK ON
THE JOB.
while investigating a case in Pater-
son, \. j., not long ago ! became Inter
ested in the disappearance OF dozen
satchels used for Transporting animals
and I decided TO trace them. found
| that thew had been shipped to Philadel-
phia and then 10 Chester, Pa. To Ches
/ ter I went, to the home of the mans
Z = IN hA -nnflv
interested IN cats.
"But upon further search l discov-
cred the reason. The cats were being
trained to fight lamps and when their
training was completed they were sold
for $3.50 each.
Thus when man wanted fire
In his store all that was necessary was
for him to purchase one Of these ami
mails and leave it in his store with
lighted lamp. then go home and go
to bed, assured that while he slept the
cat would knock over the light and
his shop would be destroyed by fire.
The setting Of fires In a store,
however. does not aid bankrupts in
getting insurance, for the insurance
money is paid 60 the creditors. The
purpose of the ire is to cover up the
removing OF goods or the concealment
ing paid for a fire in one city, often
the same articles are being used in
another city to help stock another
prospective failure or are being sold for
profit, having generally cost their
possessors nothing because of the man.
ner in which the large credit concerns
have been beaten out of their bills.
TALE OF THE BUCKET
OF LARD.
Some time ago I secured an indict-
ment of a man from the East Side of
New York who had one OF the finest
schemes for setting fires that I have
ever encountered. He was head of an
arson gayg which specialized inserting
fires W erever and whenever desirede
HE would set a candle in the center
of an ordinary lard bucket, pack the
top of TIE cover around the candle with
cotton, and then around the outer edge
Of the top would place little sticks
stringing Irvine or thread around these
posts and at regular intervals would
SUSPEND little sacks filled with gasoline
on the string.