Evening star. [volume], November 15, 1936, Page A-8, Image 8

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
BUSINESS PIRACY
IS BARED BY F. B. I.
Hoover Agents Arrest Many
on Bankruptcy Act Vio
lation Charges.
Bl' REX COLLIER.
Recent inquiries by the Federal Bu
reau of Investigation have disclosed
that organized crime lias invaded the
field of business with a racket that is
netting its promoters huge profits.
‘ Commercial piracy" is the term ap
plied to the racket by J. Edgar Hoo
ver, director of the F. B. I. Numerous
arrests have been made by his agents
during the last few weeks, and ring
leaders have been charged with viola
tion of the not-so-w ell-known Federal
bankruptcy act.
The racket, in brief, begins with
the "purchase.” on credit, of valuable
storks of merchandise for the alleged
purpose of opening a store. After the
goods Rre delivered by the unsuspect
ing wholesale dealers, trucks are
barked up to the “store'' at night, and
the entire stock is carted away, to
be disposed of through "fences.”
“Purchasers” Disappear.
The “purchasers” usually disappear
about the same time. The frauds often
are not discovered until creditors in
stitute bankruptcy proceedings against
the mussing "merchants,” whereupon
it often is found the names of the lat
' r. Ri.t it irtllil
; A Federal grand jury at New York
’ City returned Indictments last week
against 14 members of an alleged ring
of such "commercial pirates," the so
called "trout man" of which told the
G-men he formerly was chauffeur for
! the late Arthur ("Dutch Sclralts")
Flegenheinier, notorious gangster, slain
last year by underworld enemies.
The "front man," Albert Thomas,
1* well known to police in New Jersey
and New York. He assumed the name
"Hugo Berg" for the purpose of pos
ing as a business man. Nine of the
men charged with conspiring with him
, "to conceal assets" have police rec
ords and five have been convicted of
previous bankruptcy frauds.
This ring. Hoover asserted, has
•'swindled creditors of merchandise*
costing well over a quarter ot a mil
lion dollars." He said it opened in
Boston a "racket” known as the Aetna
Sportswear Co,, through which thou
sands of dollars of merchandise was
purchased on credit through various
fraudulent and deceptive devices."
Goods Disposed of Quickly.
“As rapidly as tile merchandise was
received at Boston." Hoover said.
> “they would dispose of It immediately
by reshipping it to various other
points, where it would be disposed
. of at greatly reduced prices through
'fences,' and in some Instances they
would conceal the merchandise by
atoring it in hiding places known as
•drops.’ ’*
Hoover stated that when the cred
itors appeared at the place of busi
ness of the company they found no
one there and all stock gone. In an
effort to forestall Identification, lie
declared, the racketeers had washed
all shelves, counters, walls and floors
I—1.... ,4,,.,
The F. B. I. recently invoked the
bankruptcy act against another na
tionally known tin police circles)
iwindler and ex-convict who had
worked a similar racket in widely
scattered parts of the country. This
man. Max Kennet Reiner, alias Harry
B Rosen, was sentenced a few years
iffo to five years In a Federal peni
tentiary for "concealing assets" in
Los Angeles, Calif.
Diverted in Transit.
The investigation of Reiner showed
he was disposing of his merchandise
so rapidly that some It never reached
his store, but was diverted In transit
to "fences.” Reiner had operated In
Cleveland. Ohio: Deuver, Colo.; New
York City and other cities.
Agents of the bureau are Investi
gating cases of "commercial piracy"
In other places, it is understood.
These inquiries are apart from
racketeering Investigations authorized
by the Federal racketeering statute,
which makes it a Federal crime to
employ terroristic tactics against in
terstate trade.
TEACHERS TO MEET
Dance Instructors to Have Ses
sion Here Today.
The Dancing Teachers Club of the
District, Maryland and Virginia will
meet today at 3 p.m. In Thayer's Stu
dio, 1215 Connecticut avenue. Mrs.
Montie Beach of Houstou. Tex., will
be the principal speaker, and plans
for the convention of the Dancing
Masters of America to be held here
next August will be discussed.
Joshua T. Cockey of Baltimore. Md.,
first vice president of the national or
ganization. and Ruth Eleanor Howard,
editor and publisher of the Amerlcau
Dancer, also will speak.
COMMON COLD AIDS
INROADS OF DISEASE
Contagion Usually Begins by
Contact—Medical Society
Urges Care in Bulletin.
Must contagious diseases are usher
ed in by what appears to be a com- |
mon cold, which may last for several
days before the disease itself appears,
it was pointed out yesterday in a bulle
! tin issued by the Committee on Public
Health of the District Medical So
ciety.
Discussing the spread of conta
gious diseases, tlie bulletin said this
I "takes place from one person to an
other. either by direct contact with
the sick person or with some article
with which the sick person has been
I in contact. By observing a few simple
! rules, the spread of communcable dis
[ eases can be controlled to a great ex
tent.
"It is during this period." referring
to Hie common cold, it was explained, j
"that the patient is most highly con-'
taglous and can spread the disease by ;
nasal discharge or by droplets of spu
tum expelled by coughing. Don't!
neglect a common cold, especially ifI
there is a fever, for this may be the
onset of some contagious disease.
"If your child has been exposed to
ft contagious dlsea.se. notify your fam
lly physician immediately. If a mem
ber of your family has a contagious
disease, see that it does uot spread to
auother member or to another fam
ily.”
The bulletin urged isolation In a
single well-ventilated room of ally
one sulfering with contagious dis
ease, sterilization of all articles from
tire sick room used by other members |
of the family and thorough cleaning |
and fumigating of the sick room ;
after the Illness. |
Formal Dedication of New
Social Science Hall to
Be Feature.
Official* and students of George
Washington University will be busy;
this week and next with preparations
for the annual home-coming celebia-:
Uon Thanksgiving day.
A feature of the ceremonies will be ;
the formal dedication of the new
social sciences hall at 5 p in. Thanks
giving eve. Student and faculty com
mittees will be on hand that Wed
nesday to greet alumni and alumnae. I
register them and show them through
new buildings, including the biologi
cal sciences building, the Hattie M
Strong women's residence, sorority
hall, the fine arts studio and the
president's building.
A tea for the alumni will be held '
st 4 p.m. November 25 In the Strong
dormitory. At 4:45 President Cloyd
Heck Marvin will welcome visiting
graduates at a campus rally at which
there will be songs, cheers and music
by the university band.
Fraternities will hold open house
from 8 to 11 p.m. that night, dec
orating the fronts of their chapter
houses In competition for a cup.
TTie next event will be a "pep meet
ing" at the Rialto Theater at 11 p.m.
In addition to hullabaloo by the stu
dent body, etc., movies of the G. W -
Rice game will be shown.
On Thanksgiving day the pig at
traction will be a foot ball game be
tween Oeorge Washington and the
University of West Virginia. The
day will end with a ball at the Wash
ington Hotel.
Hugh H. Clegg, assistant director
of the Federal Bureau of Investiga- m
tton, head* the committee making ar*
rangementa for entertaining a> many
of the university's 16.000 alumni as
accept home-coming invitations.
_____ _
Keeping a revolver at hand during at attempt to take Phineas Crooker, 44, of Marlboro,
Mass., to the altar and a subsequent tour of taverns earned Mrs. Esther O’Rourke, 29, seven daps
in jail at Chicago. She Is shown, left, in court with her attorney, Catherine Carpenter, and
Crooker, at right. —Copyright, A. P. Wirephoto.
THANKSGIVING’S
a harvest of
feasting and fun
ICHALFONTE
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Good thing* galors to go 1
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