Evening star., 1923-02-22
Raids in Many Cities From
Coast to Coast Expected
to Start Today.
OTHER NATIONS TO JOIN
IN HUNT FOR SUSPECTS
Chief Avenue of Bogus Money Dis
tribution Liquor Smugglers
and Drug Peddlers.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, February 22.-Secret
service men began today drawing in
the strings of a nationwide net that
they expect will enmesh 1000 mem
hers of an international counter
feiting conspiracy that they believe
has it's tentacles gripped on every
important city of the country. The
ring is believed to have manufac-
tured and distributed between one and
ten million dollars worth Of bogus bills
and spurious stamps.
Arrests all over the country. with
raids centering in Chicago. Detroit,
San Francisco and other big cities,
were forecast today by those federal
officers who completed last night the
jailing of sixty-four alleged counter
feiters in the Metropolitan district.
Deprived of its brains the sleuths
believe the organization to be in
capacitated.
Trail Hit Eiehts Months Ago.
While secret service men are tracking
the trail they hit upon eight months
ago in Detroit the police of several
countries will be hunting the members
of the band which extended its opera
ton over three nations with amazing
thoroughness. The haunts of its prin-
cipal members are known, so the secret
service men say.
Twenty-one of those arrested were
held in the Tombs in bail ranging from
$4,000 to ten times that amount and
two others were held in Newark, n. j.,
also under bond.
The raids that fetched the sixty-four
-twenty-eight in the last two days
also developed huge stacks of counter
felt bills, stamps. liquor permits and
liquor bottle labels besides complete
printing and engraving outfit planted
in Greenwich Village. Seven distrib-
uting offices were found, one within
shouting distance of police headquar-
ters on Broome street.
Arrived Almost Too Late.
The state of the printing plant in
dicated that the detectives arrived
as the trail was going cold-disman-
tlement had been begun.
Joseph A. Palma. chief of the spe-
cial squad that barred the conspiracy,
said that the chief avenue of distri-
button was through bootleggers and
drug peddlers. Much counterfeit
money was palmed off to bootleg
row." while it swung at anchor last
month off Highland, n. j., discharg-
ing liquor, he said.
The thoroughnesS of the organiza-
tion, Palma said. was astounding. II
was divided into manufacturers,
wholesalers and their agents, retail
ers and their agents, gunmen and
liaison officers. who kept each depart
ment in contact.
Ignorant immigrants of their own
blood were declared to have been
principal prey of the counterfeiters,
whose various headquarters were CEN
tered in Italian and Jewish center5
The bogus stuff was sold at from DO
to II cents on the dollar, the retailer
getting most and the manufactures
least
Investigation of the activities OF
the gang, Palma explained. begon late
in August, when the Treasury Depart
ment decided to suppress reported
traffic in bogus money.
Palma said that when the supposed
sources of supply were traced to New
York it was discovered that each
place was guarded by a score of gun
men, most of them ex-convicts.
Agents surrepticiously bought bogus
money at so cents on the dollar.
Lower Rates Clue to Source.
AS the rate diminished the agents
knew they were approaching the
source of supply. The manufacturer,
it was found. sold at from II to 20
cents on the dollar.
When the plant in Cornelia street
was captured the presses were found
dismantled, and those men, alleged
to be the directors Of the interna-
tional scheme, were caught. they
were Dario Maiolatesi and Antonia
Fotior of Brooklyn and Vito Migli-
orini of New York. Maiolatesi, 1t
was stated, was arrested eight years
ago and given a short sentence for
having counterfeited internal revenue
stamps.