The New York herald., 1922-03-08


lures have been the lot OF the invest
There was, for instance, the cas-
lent grocery failures about a year
country. They were finally caught
despite the threats of Blackhanders
and numerous other gestures OF vio-
lence to frighten the Investigators.
Crooks Hard to Find.
This gangs activities came under
investigation after four failures IN
Newark. The investigators were quite
confident that the goods had been Sc
uuestered before the failures. ana
finally were able to locate some OF
them In a barn near Trenton. The
strange part Of the case at that juno
ture was that always when the IN
vestigators were about to catch up
with the crooks they in some way
seemed to get wind of what was up.
Finally it was noticed that promi-
nent among the creditors every time
a Sicilian grocery store failed was a
Sicilian garbed as a priest. This
priest" set up louder lamentation
than any of the creditors and inquired
diligently among the other creditors
regarding what they intended to do
about the matter, and always showed
up as each new failure" occurred.
He was eliminated only after he be-
came aware that he had been identl-
fed as a blackhander..
Meantime the trail had led to Provi-
dence, from which place other prop
erty had been shipped to Trenton by
the SiciIians. and the leader of the
gang was located. All that was need
ed was the technicality of absolute
Identification before the roundup.
A Sicilian whom the Investigators
believed they could trust was taken
from Providence to Philadelphia with
out telling him where he was to so
from there. The next day he was
taken by automobile to Trenton, but
when .he investigators swooped down
on the house where the gang was
known to be the house was found
empty and the birds had flown. The
only thing that told the story of the
reason for their fight was torn en-
velope bearing the business address
of the Providence Sicilian who had
been so helpful" to the investigators.
That series of frauds spread to the
South and to Chicago, and it was only
after frauds in Chicago running into
the hundreds of thousands that the
gang was finally rounded up and fif-
teen indictments resulted.
FIashy Cowboy Elusive.
Then there was the case of the
strange trio in Texas-a hotel man. a
lawyer and flashy cowboy-who set
up in the general mercantile business
and wound up in fraudulent bank
ruptcy. Two were nabbed, but the
sporty cowpuncher got away.
Months of work failed to reveal any
clue to his whereabouts until II was
learned that a former affinity OF his
was living in San Antonio. Thither
went the investigator and cultivated
the acquaintance of a man wEo knew
another girl who was a friend of the
COWBOYS affinity, this long distance
contact being intended to avoid fusn-
ing the game.
At the proper moment It was I'M
parted to the girl friend OF the affinity
that a man was looking for the COW
boy to give him a lot of money left
by a rich rancher who recently had
died. The reaction was correctly an
ticipated all along the line until II
got to the cowboy. The afint.ys
friend hastened with TIE news, conf
dentially. that there was a lot OF
money waiting for the cowpuncher
The affinity secretly transmitted that
information. But the wary cow
puncher was wise"
His next step was not TO go TO San
Antonio, but he went to Norfolk in
stead. from where he sent back
picture of Himself in a sailors uni
form, which he had borrowed TO: the
purpose. That served TO divert the
trail to weeks OF searching through
naval posts and war vessels fer a
man who had never been a sailor In
his life.
Through another affinity. however.
the man finally was captured in Dem