The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-12-21
Brooklyn Crimes May
 Be Linked To Coster
tContinued from Page l,

NCunLAnueo that although the manipulations oi the four Musica brothers had cost McKesson and Robbins $21, ,000000 the brothers actualaly got away with only about $3,O0O,00O, and they apparently lost most of that in Wal Street during the depression. Very little of value could be found among their possessions, which were all im- pounded.
 It developed also that Philir Musica, master swindler of the fam fly, had been toying desperately with munitions, bootlegging, ano possibly narcotic and racketeering schemes in hopes of recouping enough to avoid being forced to the wall before he, posing as F. Donald CoSter, man of culture and letters organizer and industrialist, was unrnasked and trapped. He failed and killed himself last week.
 Benjamin Simon Arrested
 A man who apparently has known all along of Coster-M -Musica's true identity, and who has been in the background of the fantastic case was taken through the police lineur today and charged with "conspir- acy to violate United States law
 He was Benjamin Simon, who was on the McKesson- Robbins pay roll at $6,000 a year. He was ar- rested last night at 1840 Grand Concotlrse street. That was the ad- dress listed in false birth records filed for the Musica brothers at Washington, D. C., as being the home of Adele Virnard, midwife, , who supposedly attended their births. Actually, Philip Musica was born in Italy in 1877.
 Simon was charged with violating the Sherman antitrust law in Aug lst, 1928, but was acquitted. He was charged under the same law in 1928 and convicted, but received a sus- pended sentence and placed on pro- bation for five years. He was fined for dealing in poultry without a li- cenSe in May 1888, but the fine was remitted a month later and he was given a license.
 It was believed that Simon had been go-between for Coster4Musica in munitions and possibly other schemes by which he hoped to repay the money stolen from McKesson 6, Robbins.
 No One Suspicious
 Federal and state Investigations had failed so far to turn up anyone connected with the drugs firm who had been suspicious of what was go- ing on. Four directors testified be- fore the state fraud bureau yester- day that Coster-M -Musica was so high ly regarded in financial and drugs circles and that he had so domi- mated and concealed the crude drugs department where the swindle was made, that they had no cause to suspect him.
 I've federal investigations are un- der way, before grand jury and the securities and exchange commis- sion, and Brien McMahon, assistant United States attorney, directing the work of seven federal departments said that dissension was breaking out among McKesson and Robbins of1cails that might speed his work by inducing some of them to talk.
 Despite the fact that new evidence was turned up indicating that Cos ter-M -Musica tried in vain to sell ur to 2,000, 900 Lee-Enfield army rifles and 2,000, ,000, 900 rounds of ammuni- tion to China, or to Mexico, James J. Gaffrey, regional SEC adminis- trator, doubted that these were any more than wild ideas of the swindIer
 III Gotten Gains Gone
 The outlook for holders of Me Kesson and Robbins securities be- came more gloomy when McMahon announced that "the Musicas' ill., gotten gains are mostly gone." The market value of three issues of Mc- Kesson-Robbins stock has dropped $35, 100000 since the swindle was ex- posed. It appeared that Wall Street which backed Coster-M -Musica to the extent of $20,000, ,000 in 1928 because of his knack for making money on a small scale, began stripping him oi his new riches a year later, when the market crashed, and that he hao survived the remaining years only because his firms books were falsi- fled to show $21, 100000 worth of as- sets in crude drugs that it did not have.
 William J. Wardell, trustee ap- pointed by federal court, has at- tached bank accounts, brokerage &C., counts, property and insurance poli- cies Of Coster-Musica and all three brothers who were associated with him in the firm, but that except fol the Coster- -Musica mansion in Fair field, Conn.,, and his going yacht, little of value has been found Brothers in Jail
 The brothers, in jail unable to raise $100,000 bonds, are: George Musica, alias George s. Dietrich. who had charge of the nonresident crude drugs department; Arthur Musica, alias George Vernard, head of W. W. Smith and Company, a dummy cor poration which drew heavy commis- sions from McKesson and Robbins for sales allegedly made for the crude drugs department, and Robert Mu- sica, alias Robert Dietrich, a pur-