The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-04-27

| CGNGAWA G0AA kNAAAG1 that took in some of the biggest and the s1nartest and the shrewdest men in the country. That's what Mir. Fuller Is probably laughing about today, even though he had to take 1t on the lam.
 At the top of MT. Fuller's list of victims was that stalwart son of South Boston, ex-Governor James c. Curley, of Massachusetts, and and ex-mayor of Boston. To JimS credit, he told the story on himself, under oath and before the Truman committee of the United States sen- ate, Investigating national defense. That took courage, for it's hard for an ex-governor to confess that he has been taken in. But JiYn's sad experience is a good moral lesson to other big shots who listen to the siren songs of promoters with fancy schemes for even such noble motives as helping the war effort while get- ting rich Ut the same time.
 HANDY
 WITH TALK
 But as the governor tells 1t, Full Ter was a charming man, who could talk on any subject-lnusic or the arts. He must have been slick. He talked Curley int obecoming pres- ident of a company to develop a kalunite mine in Utah, to serve without pay, to put no money in-- just to lend his name, the good name of Curley, to the letterhead. Kalunite isn't in the dictionaries, but it's supposed to be stuff that aluminium could be made of, and purely from patriotic motives, Ful- Ter was interested in helping the government in wartime. N
 Tor decoration to his firms let. terhead, Fuller got Donald Wake- field Smith, former National Labor Relations Board member, and he filled up his directorate with hot shots from Reynolds Metals, Bohn Aluminium, Trans-Lux, and siins liar first-line companies. For at- torney, he retained, but never used, no less legal light than the Washington representative of VII. J0~ONGAAbAAAAl AESAAGA0A kaASSW bS &4A0 an-Arnerica1 Airlines.
 Fuller got out of the District of Columbia jail in June, 1o4l, where he had been residing since February on two charges involving false pre-. lenses and bad cheeks. In July, he met Curley at Washington's swank Mayflower hotel. The Kalunite Company which Fuller then formed was apparently just 8 front to es. tablish his character and associates all leading citizens.
 With that backing, Fuller formed another company, Engineers Group, Inc, which really did business. It set up as kind of agency which offered to help building contractors get FILA loans for housing develop ments to be built as defense hous- ing projects. Fuller talked several building firms Into giving him Q contract, which was signed late in September. The private building firms advanced Fuller some S2l 900, but they never got any contracts nor their money back.
 BUM CHECK
 ARTIST
 Curley got suspicious in Novem- Der. There was a matter of giving Fuller $50 shares of brewery stock to be used as collateral for Q loan which Curley wanted to make. Full. fer blandly offered to get the money for him and Curley turned over the stock. Curley finally got 0 check for ga, 3,500 but 1t bounced. He got an- other check, and 1t also bounced. Curley came to Washington and after some dif1iculty he got the stock back, but he had to make good on the bad check. Then Curley learned that Fuller had other business in Engineers Group. Curley resigned as president of the Kalunite Company in December, Q sadder and c wiser man.
 The Engineers Group, Inc, vic- tins didn't get wise until January, when their lawyer came to Wash- ington from New York, seized the books and found everything all wrong. About that time exit MT. Fuller, no doubt laughing.
 In all those dealings, no one had ever thought to check Up on Ful- ler's record, which would have shown arrests and jail sentences for grand larceny, forgery, disorder ly conduct, false pretenses, and ger- eral principles In Schenectady, Los Angeles, New York, Pontiac, Chi- cago and Washington.
 The whole story might never have come out but for one slip. Fuller, in one of his telegraIns, gave the Truman committee as reference. The telegram got to the committee and they started check ing.