The Alaska daily empire., 1923-03-29
TWELVE JURORS
 FACING PROBE
(Continued Frdm rage o1e.,

clared he had accounted for $272,-i 900 lost by "speculators" through ! the operations of the "bunko ring"
 Twenty men were on trial. all of whom were indicted under blanket | information returned by a Denver County Grand Jury in September, ! 1922 The trial started on Febru- ary 5. The prosecution announced ' tt would call about 75 witnesses. and the defense said it had about twenty-five witnesses.
 The twenty men on trial were: | John Allison, Lou Blonger, Thomas Beach, George Belcher, Walter By land, Arthur B. Cooper. Robert B. | Davis, William Dougherty, A. w. Duff. John H. Foster. J. H. French, | Jack Hardaway, Louis Msuhnick, { Steve Olson. A. H. Potts, George; Williams. W. L. Straub, George Walker, c. II. Williams and c. c. Bailey.
 The District Attorney charged that Lou Blonger, TO, was the head of the alleged ring. Some of the member sof the alleged confidence g8ng have been operating continu- ously for fifteen years in different parts of the United States, accord ! ing to the District Attorneys of fee. Before moving headquarters to Denver about five years ago, thel ring operated in Atlanta, Ga, and Los Angeles, Cal, the District At torney said. Three Counts. The defendants were charged in three counts with conspiracy tOI commit fraud through the operation of a con fidence game; with general conspiracy of committing or at |, tempting to commit crime through ! the operation of a confidence game, and larceny in connection with confidence game.
 A total of thirty-three men were arrested in raids conducted by the District Attorneys office in August. | 1922, but when the trial opened only twenty-two men were listed as de- fendants. Two of these jumped their bonds, leaving twenty on trial. The other eleven included several men who were turned over to Federal | authorities to face government f charges, and one who was turned over to Los Angeles County officials. . The remainder forfeited their bonds '! and fled. 0V,
 Victims Always Won.
 Numerous witnesses testified in the court trial that the alleged | 'fbunko" men had flake stock ex- change" through which they bought |, and sold mythical stocks. The al i lc,ged victim always Won at the start, witnesses testified. and finally i after smaller amounts had been "in- i; vested" the alleged victim won | from $75,000 to S150,000.
 However, the alleged confidence ! men would then demand that the investor must have cash "for credit I purposes" before the large amount l would be paid One witness testi- fled he went from Denver to Eng | land to get $25.O00 in cash in order to establish his crdeit.' The al- legged confidence men would then declare they had fanother "easy { killing" and the $75,000 ito $15O,- 900 would be played for the ''in- veStor." plus his $25,000 in cash.
 Witnesses testified that at this stage of the game the market all ways operated against them" and they loat their previous profits" " together with the cash they had raised flor credit purposes
 The twenty men were also charg- | ed with operating fake racing schemes involving a mythical horse, "Dineen." The operation was prac- tically the same as the stock mar ket" scheme, and when the win nings had been pyfamided to the point where large sums were in volved, "Dineen" became an also ran.
 --11- Al Rv4Y