The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-12-16
Three Executives Had Been Fully Identified
CCOntinued from Page D


 venture as a youth had been smug- gling Italian cheese.
 He has written @ brilliant biog- raphy for himself in the latest edi- ton of Who's Who-he had been charged with perjury in 1920 during trial of the Barnet Baff chicken dealer" murder case.
 Who's Who recorded him as hav- ing received a doctors degree at Heidelburg University in 1909-he was in Elmira, N. Y., reformatory in 1909 for smuggling cheese.
 Under Technical Arrest
 Today, Coster Musica was under technical arrest in his palatial Spanish style mansion at Fairfield, Conn. He was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury, charged with having false statements with the New York Stock Exchange regard ing securities sold to the public. He already was under $5,000 bond on charges filed by the Federal Secur- ities and Exchange Commission.
 As yet, the alcohol and gun run ming phases of the story were vague. Assistant Attorney General Brien McMahon had announced in Wash ington that the justice department had found evidence indicating a conspiracy to export arms in cases labeled milk of magnesia". He said that Heads are now being run down which indicate that CoSter has been involved in a conspiracy to ship arms and ammunition to belligerent nations barred from receiving arms and ammunition under the neutral ity act"
 Alcohol Traffic Echo
 The suggestion of alcohol traffic came from Ambrose V. Mccall, as- sistant New York attorney general in charge of a public hearing here. He has hammered at witnesses re- peatedly on the fact that Coster's enterprises have involved handling alcohol since he first appeared on the New York financial scene :n 1925 under the name of Coster, seek ing financial backing to expand his little hair tonic business at Mt. Yer non, N. Y.
 Although his past evidently had caught up with him, and the charges already filed were enough to imprison him for 10 years, the mild- hammered convict turned indus trialist declined to say word in de- fense. He was reported to be ill and in charge of 8 physician who also is 8 psychiatrist. Directors of his company, and two officials who were indicted with him, were in conference at his home, until the early hours today. His lawyer, Sanl- uel Reich, left the house with only this to say: '"There's plenty doing about this fantastic thing and you can expect to hear great deal more. I can't give details now with out violating confidence"
 Shock Hits Two Zones
 The shock to the Coster family,S neighbors in Fairfield was said to have been nothing compared to that to Wall Street financiers. He had done little entertaining in Connec- ticut and his guests had been most ly visitors from out of town. He spent most of his time on his 100- foot ocean going yacht, the Carolita, built in Germany in 1922.
 The fingerprint Identification was made last night, and announced by Inspector Joseph J. Donovan of the New York police. Wednesday, when he was arraigned at his home on the SEC complaint, Coster's prints had been taken by federal officers. The prints were sent here for checking and before they were found to be Musicals, the grand jury already had returned the in- dictment.
 Although his police record was ex- tensive, and the disposition of some of the charges once made against him was vague, it was believed that he had settled all debts to society as Musica, and that he was pres ently involved only in the affairs of McKesson and Robbins, as Coster.
 Company Deeply Enmeshed
 The company was deeply enmesh- ed in legal proceedings-stockhold- CTS suits, petition for reorganiza- ton, SEC investigations, bondhold- CTS protective actions, and under suspension from the Stock Ex- change, and the effect of the $18,- 100000 shortage was uncertain. It was agreed, however, that the short age was enough to wipe out the company's common stock, of which Coster held 10 per cent and control.
 Informed of his true identity, Coster's associates recalled today that he had always been regarded as something of a man of mystery in the industrial world. Nobody had known his before 1922, but that had been attributed to the possibility that he had risen from obscurity in the boom days and that who he had been and what he had done before that had been inconsequential.
 The records showed now that the contrary was true.
 Musica Born in New York
 Philip Musica was born in Naples, Italy in 1877. Six years later his parents brought him to New York. They lived at first in poverty on the lower East Side. The father, Antonio Musica, was bar Der. He saved up enough money to open a small importing shop, deal@ ing foodstuffs from Italy which