The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-09-20
IT is NO SALE
FOR RACKETEERS
IN INDIANAPOLIS
Thugs Can't Get Footing in
City. Police Chief
MOrriSSey Says.

rested several times in liquor cases,
served liquor term in 1927 at the
New Mexico state prison, and a
three-year federal booze rap in 1923
at Leavenworth penitentiary.
Bank robberies throughout Indi
ana and adjoining states have
shown heavy increase in recent
months. with most OF the stickups
attributed by police to gangs re-
cruited partly from the forces Of
desperate hilsckers and bigtown
gunner.
Narcotics violations here. as we'll
as in most other cities, show a heavy
decrease in offenses. This is due
partly to efficient work on the part
of agents. federal court cooperation
with long sentences, and partly to
international treaties limiting pro-
ducing OF narcotics in other coun-
tries reducing the amount available
for illicit importation into this
country and causing prices 10 soar
out Of reach of many addicts.
Leggers Despise DOpers
The dope racket is safe. as far
as bootleggers are concerned COM
mented one federal officer. The
average bootlegger despises a dope
peddler, and wouldn't get into the
game even if he we're starving.
Lots OF times boOtleggers give
us tips on narcotics peddlers. They
won't have anything to DO with the
narcotics racket because they don't
want blood money on their hands. "
Postal crimes also seem to be at
low ebb. no new mail frauds having
cropped up recently,
Counterfeiting. however, is one Of
Tense which definitely has been af-
fected by the decline of the liquor
industry.
An increase in counterfeiting &C
Invites is attributed by federal Off
Gals to lessons learned by liquor
dealers.
Good Way to Get in Bad
Paid with counterfeit currency for
loads Of liquor by enterprising liquor
runners. the larger booze dealers
found themselves faced with the
problem of how to get rid of the
bogus currency without too great a
loss and without getting into the
clutches of the federal government.
Most of them experimental a lit
tie and found that with proper cau-
ton they could pass it on. This
seemed so easy that some Of them
went so far as to buy up quantities
of the fake bills and peddle them
on an unsuspecting public. Quite
a few have met their Waterloo at
the hands of secret service agents,
but some others havent-yet.
Another factor leading bOotleggers
into the counterfeit currency racket
is their experience with counterfeit
whisky strip stamps and labels,
which they purchased in large
quantities from clever engravers.
They learned quickly to distinguish
between good. paSsable counterfeit
stamps and labels, and poor ones
which might be detected.
It's PubllcS Fault
Familiarity VIII this form of
counterfeits made the step to pass
ing of counterfeit currency a little
less abrupt.
The depression has made "Shov-
ing of the queer or counterfeit,
lust a little easier because in its
eagerness to get its hands on money
again, for a change, the public be-
comes careless about examining bills
and coins to see if they are genuine.
An interesting study is shown by
cases of bootleggers placed on pro-
baton in federal court.
The records show that "a9 per
cent" of the small-time liquor OF
tenders. who got in the game by
accident or because they were
hungry, go straight when given
chance to make good on suspended
sentences.