New-York tribune., 1922-07-27
|sootleg Rings Alleged to
Have Corrupted Fed.
,eral Aids and Looted
Warehouses of Stocks
|gig Scandal Caused
Embargo ON Imports
Thousands of Barrels Are
Emptied, Reflled and
Sent Back to Shipper

sp,eords of the intelligence division
gtss Internal Revenue Department in
~ York City, together with those
s..bs eustems division, revealed yes
s,asy the reasons for the liquor i'm
,ors.ion embargo order issued by
f,nuissioner Blair in Washington.
tak Of convicting evidence alone, it
NV develops, prevents the govern
mt from officially revealing one Of
Il. biggest liquor scandals since pro-
istion.
/; became known yesterday that
ss.ss rings are suspected Of corrupt
i government employees in various
sasshes Of the revenue service in a
s.sssful plot to divert millions Of
tairs worth Of liquor i,nportations
sg in bonded warehouses and that
IL liquor warehouses which had
afed with imported wines and
s.akes now bulge with barrels Of
u.s.. In an effort to prevent this leak
Aamissioner Blair signed the en-
wgo order to prevent other liquor
tHng its way into the country only
k.rade warehouse space later with
sler Just how much whisky has be-
;sne water in the many big ware
hsses along the Atlantic Coast an at
shs Of the intelligence division de-
aited to estimate yesterday, but it is
4 esgn that a large amount of the
4 ssksst brands of foreign liquors have
4 land their way to the bootleg market
4aa result of the clever method of
f ssstitution under the noses of govern
q slnt guards,
Embargo to Remain
4 The embargo is to remain in effect
liil present manifested supplies held
warehouses are shown to be de-
seted, thus passing the burden of
sroot TO importers and dealers, who
/ viii be abllged to show that warehouse
steeks are exhausted in legitimate
trade before they will be permitted
Aader any representation, to import
hA records show that during the
n5gs from August to December
Uni 100000 worth Of liquors were
sTHed and stored in government
ssd warehouses. During the yeal
M liquor importations more thar
Mtustoms and prohibition officials
r& cot trr n L.
aig the importers were foolish tc
sNt SO much, since the shipments
Ma have to remain in the ware
Asss indefinitely, while importers
M rentals, and never could be re-
ked without permits. The customs
Ealais knew that these permits never
waa be forthcoming.
The permit necessary to withdraw
ION these importations had to be
agnsd by both the customs and the
4Mesibition officials. 1t now is alleged
na in many instances the formality
aapermit was waived and the method
y .ahsstuting water for liquors was
asrssd instead. Nothing in the law
Prohibited the shipping of this i'm
ported lieuer back where it came from
shd II vater went back instead of
h9uof, the government agents were
none the wiser.
Permits Expired In 1922
legitimate permits to import liquor
Expired August 10, 1921, and yet the
records show that from the date of
ap'a'lon of these permits until jan
asy !, 1922. s5,5oo,oOo worth of for
sN liquors found their way into the
~, mNra,enouses along the Atlantic Coast.
sae original method of bootleg rings
landing imported goods through
H. warehouses; was to import the
iser for trans-shipment to Cuba.
ssaso or some other nearby country
II .s men divert it during rail shipment
.slgn this country. A court deci-
~. ~ aold,ng this manner of trans-ship-
ss 70 be illegal under the Volstead
..s... n.suited in the direct method of
'ass.latien within the warehouse.