New-York tribune., 1921-11-04
EnfOrcers Foil
Liquor Frauds
OF $6,668,40O
Check-Up of Federal Agents
Discloses Vast Bootleg
Plot Based on Theft of
247,OOO Permits in July
Four More Are Indicted
Hundred Under Scrutiny !;
Dentist As Held in. Con-
nection With Bribe Case

Four more indictments were returne ed
by the Federal grand jury yesterday
involving two drug companies and five
individuals who are alleged to have
been connected with the presentation
of the 800 liquor withdrawal permits
in Series 247,000 stolen from Federal
Prohibition Commissioner Hart's Of
fee last July. Later in the day the
enforcement agents made public sta
tistics showing that if deliveries had
been made on all the forged permits
which were presented whisky valued at
bootleggers' prices at $6,66S, 400 would
have been obtained by the ring.
figures that each permit had value of
$S3,342 to any man who succeeded in
cashing it.
The defendants under yesterdays in
dictments are the Central Drug Com
pany. the S. and B. Drug Company, with
which Herman Levin. Max Gordon and
Barney Bruston are copnected; Nathan
Field and Barfglio Venusti.
Charged With Forgery
AS in the case Of LIE Penna, who was
indicted Wednesday, they are charged,
not with violation Of the enforcement
act. but with violation of the penal
code in uttering forged documents. hav-
ing forged documents in their posses
sion with intent to utter them, and
having in their possession stolen gov
eminent property.
1t is alleged that all the defendants
attempted to use the forged signature
OF T. NJ Reddy, who was in charge of
the permit Office at the time of the
theft, and obtained confirmation Of
their acquisitions by illegal means.
In addition to this, according to
Maxwell S. Mattuck, the Federal prose
cutor who went before the grand jury
Venusti and FIELD used the name of the
l.. E. Widder Company on the permits
they presented. The government, Mr.
that this concern had anything to do
with the alleged frauds, and it is
thought that it's name was used to con-
ceal the identity of the real holders OF
the permits, as well as because they
themselves had no basic withdrawal
permits.
In tracing the stolen forms, accord
ing to the figures given out yesterday
it was found that in fifty-four cases
out of total of 208 the name of the
Widder Company had been used.
More Indictments Expected
In the remaining 154 instances the
government records show that fifty
two permits were presented in the
name of the S. and B. Drug Company and
thirty~four by the Central Drug Com
pany. These are the two concerns
. which were indicted yesterday. Arrests
already have been made in connection
with all the other companies and in
dictments are expected in the near
future.
Government agents reported that de-
spite the fact that the forged permits
called for liquor valued at bootleggers'
prices at nearly seven million dollars,
the Withdrawals were checked so
quickly that practically no deliveries
have yet come to light.
In some cases, the stolen forms were
filed in to call for $500 gallons of
whiskey. On the average about $50 gal
Ions were asked for.
DR.. W. F. Garner, dentist living al
1869 Broadway and having Offices al
81 Fifth Avenue, was arrested on the
corner Of Sixth Avenue and Thirty.
third Street at o'clock yesterday aft.
ernoon in conection with two arrests
made an hour earlier in Newark. Ir
that city Louis C. La Brecque, presi.
dente of the La Brecque Warehous
Corporation, and Joseph Epifanti, 6
New York banker living at 600 River
side drive, were arrested on charges