Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-03-21
FLORIDA BANKERS
AID BOOTLEGGERS.
DRY AGENTS CLAIM
|, G, Mutt, Chief Of Narcotic
Division, Internal Revenue
Office, Makes Charges Af-
ter Raids ..

y
prohibition agents, acting under oil
r. elton Of Colonel L. G. Mutt, chief
of the narcotic division Of the in
ternal revenue department had made
eleven liquor raids here up to noon.
The raiding parties started their
work this morning.
Evidence that bootleggers along
the Florida coast, especially at Mi
ami. are being assisted in their oper-
atoms by certain Miami bankers,
has been uncovered by prohibition
officers working here under the d.
rection of Colonel Mutt, according to
the latter's report to Federal Pro
hibition Commissioner Haynes at
Washington, made public here to-
day. Colonel Nuts report follows:
''It did not take long, after enc
days investigation CT conditions in
Florida. especially iii Miami, to de-
termine that a solution of the SNUG
Cling problem lay in cleaning up
certain sections Of Florida.
"Smash Shore Market"
'I found that conveying liquor
from nearby foreign shores was
minor transaction, compared with
the program of bringing it ashore
and shipping to northern points.
Terminate the existing facilities for
shipping, smash the shore line mar
ket, was the solution as our train
| ed men saw it, and with that end
in view we went Systematically to
work.
I'VE were startled by the revela'
lions. We found a sort of cooperate
plan among operators. Our lnVeSu-
gators were directed to operators
with the same frankness that
stranger receives directions from a
corner policeman. Operators dls'
cussed transactions like bankers: N
| deed, several of them gave bankers
as references, and in two instances,
after negotiations were closed, hao
leading bankers hold the purchase
price in trust and sign contracts 10
| that effect.
"In substance, the, operators braz'
an1v proposed: we will contract
for ali the liquor you want-Scotch
| Irish. or champagne. We will GO
and fetch it in "a hours and deliver
| it wherever you say-at your hotel'
at the courthouse, or at the post
office. We will deliver it at the
railway station, if you wish 1t snip
| bed, and will attend to placing 1t IN
cars and will buy the necessary
grapefruit Or tomatoes to cover II
IN. That is all that is necessary
inst pile it into refrigerator cars,
with a camouflage of fruit or vege'
| tables and with the cars sealed, the
shipment will go wherever you
wish
Say Bankers Aided
"More than a dozen of our IN
vestigators, on the first days op'
Grafton reported propositions OF the
above character, and in two IN
stances negotiations were closed
with the aid of bankers, all of which
will be revealed shortly in court
| procedure.
"Our investigators discovered that
many of the operators owned their
own smuggling ships, would make
night voyages to point near Mas
sau, Bimini or Gunkey, meet a
schooner laden with liquor, make
| purchases at the average price OF
| SIS per case, return the next night
and receive double the price from
their purchasers, also make snug
profit on the fruit and vegetables
| for packing. They would explain
| that by diluting the consignment
| could be doubled and even trebled
| in quantity and sold up north for
at least $500 case, in all tempt
| ing proposition.
"All of this our investigators more
| than verified and continued for more
| than a week to carry on negotia-
tons for big and little shipments
without the slightest trouble. Our
men saw the smuggling vessels go
north, saw them return, well laden
with liquor, and in one instance
witnessed a flying boat used for the
purpose. They had no trouble in
having prominent banks act as
trustees for purchase funds, even
after explaining that it was a IL
quor deal.
Liquor as Prize
$50 brazenly was the law Violat-
ed in the city of Miami that in sew
| eral instances the principal prizes
on punch boards operated in promi-
nent cigar stands were bottles of
| liquor. Our investigators not only
made winnings of Gordon gin, John.
ny Walker Scotch and Bushnell
rye, but carried away the punch
boards as souvenirs.
with the avenue Sof transporta-
ton, distribution and marketing cut
off, especially along the coast line,
the smuggling problem will solve it.
self, for the simple reason that
| liquor will not be brought in if dis
tribution is prevented and this can
and will be done.
"Smuggled liquor for the past
several months has constituted the
source of supply except un-drinkable
| moonshine, and now that there is
fear of synthetic and rectified con-
coctions, the bootlegger sees his
doom.
Concentration of warehouse
| liquor, to be released to bona fide
| concerns, properly certified, for
medicinal purposes only, coupled
with other restrictive methods. is
bringing about real enforcement to
an extreme that is amazing. even
!