Evening star., 1962-12-28

Inc IOur men reaCneo agree
ment quickly. At a nod from a
Twelfth OF q series Of eondensotions
from q new book by The StoTs
Pulitzer prize winning inVestisotiVe
reporter.
fat man putting hard on his
cigar, q brief case and a heavy
brown bag changed hands. One
Of the quartet-a darkly hand
some man with the slick look Of
a big-city mobster-stood up
and stretched.
Suddenly, the lobby swarmed
with Secret Service agents. The
lat man and his lieutenant
made gestures toward their hip
pockets but too late. Handouts
were snapped on, the brown
bag and the brief case were
gathered up and the prisoners
were hustled down the back
stairs.
"Nicky," the fat man mutter-
ed, don't tell them nothin'."
Nicky nodded. But he had to
turn his head aside to conceal
q slight grin. He was an ace
undercoverman for the Secret
Service.
For Nicky, &hose real name
must remain secret, the case
began in a Louisiana motel on
June "a, 1859, when he first saw
a picture of a girl. The New
Orleans agent briefing him on
his mission slid the photo
across the table.
Mature sure played a dirty
trick on her." Nicky observed.
Shed be pretty If 1t weren't
for that birthmark around her
eye"
"She's got plenty Of boy
friends, anyhow" the other
agent said. "One is a hood
named Justin Arphy Sonnier.
Another is Gus, q small-time
operator. He's the one we figure
could introduce you to JoAnn-
If you play him right. She
could be the key. -"
A gang, the agent continued,
started passing counterfeit gov
eminent checks in Florida on
May l. Within a week, the trail
of phony checks led across four
Southern states. Small-town
merchants, used to cashing
Treasury checks for veterans,
farmers and the aged, were
losing more than 500 q trans
action.
A Break at Lost
I'VE finally got a break" said
the New Orleans agent. I'VE
got JoAnn's boy friend, Arphy
Sonnier. He and his Uncle Joe
Sonnier both have long GRIM
inal records In these parts"
Arphy. he explained. had
tried to pass a check in a super
market but the clerk, recogniz-
ing him and the check from a
Secret Service warning to store
keepers, had signaled the man
ager. Arphy. sensing something
was wrong, had started out the
door with the manager close
enough behind to see him enter
q pink automobile. State po-
lice had found JoAnn and the
pink car at q roadside tavern.
but Sonnier had slipped out the
back way. He'd been picked up
in Beaumont. Tex.
The agent tossed another pic
ture to Nicky. That's Arphy
Sonnier. He's admitted passing
the checks. He's also admitted
this man was with him, but we
knew that, too"
The agent passed over anoth-
er picture.
That's James Douglas Sim
mons. He made the mistake Of
cashing one of these things in
q liquor store where the clerk
was a former policeman. The
clerk made Simmons give him
a single fingerprint before he
cashed the check. When we
got Sonnier. we checked his old
record for known associates
The fingerprint and the hand
writing Of the check endorse
ment match Simmons file.
"He's still passing checks. We
think he's with another buddy
of Sonnier, Carl j. Schaaphok
who has been identified BY
some Of the check victims"
"How does JoAnn fit into Il
now?" Nicky asked.
1--WE hear that Sonnier gave
her his remaining checks Il
destroy. but she decided TO gel
some money out of them. Wher
we heard that, we called Wash,
ington."
Nicky thought Of the teletyp'
handed him by his boss in New
York. the quick call to sa!
good-by TO his wife and two
sons, the flight to Baton Rouge
No Blueprint Needed
He didn't need a blueprin
for this assignment now: Ge
10 JoAnn through Gus, bu,
her counterfeit checks, win he
confidence enough to point hin
in the direction Of the plan
where the checks are produced
The New orleans agent ha,
one more item-the address o
q bar frequented by Gus.
Gus usually comes in the ba
about now" he said. Hes
little guy. thin-faced, sandy
haired"
Nicky started filling HI
pockets with new identificatio
cards 10 prove he was Nick
from New York and n hood