Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-09-14

AS U. ). Agents Smash
Lottery Ring in Miami
An international lottery ring
with headquarters in Miami, Fla,
was smashed yesterday when Fed
eral agents seized So million worth
of unsold sweepstakes tickets and
arrested a dozen men.
FBI Director j. Edgar Hoover,
who announced the arrests here,
said the men will be charged with
conspiracy to violate the Federal
law against interstate transporta-
ton of lottery tickets. The maxi
mum penalty is five years i'm
prisonment and a $4,000 fine.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
gave the FBI it's first tip on the
ring. Edmund Mason, special
agent in charge of the FBI Office
in Miami, said the tip came after
the Mounties picked up a taxicab
driver carrying lottery tickets
across the Canadian-American
border.
The Buffalo, N. Y, FBI Office
traced the tickets to Miami.
Agents in Miami traced the
tickets to the Franklin Press, a
commercial printing firm.
Watched for Two Weeks.
I'VE have been watching the
operation for two weeks" Special
Agent Mason said, "We just let
them go ahead so we could learn
about the entire operation-where
the tickets were being sent, who
was receiving them and how they
were being transported"
Mr.. Mason said Carl Bess, ST.,
Stuart, Fla, hotel owner, was
the world agent and contact man
for the ring, who paid the printing
firm $18, 900 to print the So million
worth of tickets for the December
26, 1850, Sweepstakes in Jamaica.
Bess was arrested at Stuart. He
waived preliminary hearing and
was ordered held in $4,000 bond.
Beresford Sylvester Briggs Trott-
man, a native of Jamaica, who was
arrested in New York, practically
wrapped up the whole case for the
R.,
Posed as Express Employe.
An FBI agent posing as an ex-
press company employe waited on
Trottman when the latter called
at the Office to receive a shipment
of 995 books from Miami Mason
said Trottman opened the pack
age in the express Office and even
offered the FBI agent an oppor-
tunity to sell some of the books.
After Trottman's arrest the
FBI started a series of pickups
extending from California to New
York. Is
Others arrested were identified
by the FBI as:
Sam Salone, AZ, exclusive agent
for Canadian sales of tickets, ar
rested in Rochester, N. Y.
JoseplD Corbi. 40, arrested in
Baltimore. where he is a distribu-
tor of juke boxes and vending
machines.
Michael Austerlitz, 80, arrested
at his home in Pittsburgh.
Carl Angelo Rizzo, IS, arrested
at Canton, Ohio.
John Melito, so, arrested at his
home in Utica. N. Y. fj's
Arthur L. Blaz, arrested at.hisl
home in Beverly Hills. Calf.
Seraflno Camiolo, 81, described
as an eX-convict counterfeiter,
arrested at his home in Rochester,
N. Y.
Carl L. Bess, jr., of San Gabriel,
Calf, son of the man arrested
in Florida. who was picked up
by agents in Los Angeles.
Charles Boncore, Al, identified
by the FBI as the taxi driver, ar
rested at his home in Buffalo, |
N. Y, last night.
Wilbur Arthur Brian, Al, Dallas
(TexD oil man arrested at Mar
lin, Tex, and released under
81, 500 bond.
Tickets Found in House.
The FBI agents said young Bess
had quantity of tickets in his
house. He was charged the same |
as the others and released in
81 900 bond.
Melito pleaded innocent to the
conspiracy charge when arraigned
before United States Commission
er Ernest E. De Rosa at Utica. He
was remanded to the custody of a |
United States marshal pending
trial. Bail was set at $4,000.
Robert w. Wall, jr., special
agent in charge of the FBI Office
at Albany, N. Y, said more than
$4,000 tickets had been found in
Melito'S home.
At Buffalo, FBI agents said Sa-
lone had received books contain
ing $4,000 tickets, worth more
than 100000, in one shipment |
from Miami August Is. The FBI !
said that Salone and Camiolo had
received rights to Canadian sales
in a written contract dated Au-
gust 7.