The Oregon daily journal., February 28, 1903, Page 15, Image 15

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jmmyAL. roKTLAyp,; satubpay rwmnxa? irEBiiir aiiy 28, joos;
CHIEF AGENT ,QF. MSURANCE CO.
CONFESSES TO $1,000,000
HfffW?ffm?Wf?T?T?T?W?????W?
Conspirator Fled
With Son's '
Wife.
t. V
AgeJ His Home
J$i-tfrWs Crimes, ;
I Reveals AIL
Hundreds Buried Under
Names of Dummies
of the Band .
Twenty Persons Directly
Implicated, Many
Now Fugitives.
NEW YORK, Feb. 2S.-Hre la the r
eiarkabl. confession of Flunk B. Forster,
former chief soliciting' agent of the Un
ion Cent r ni Life Insurance Cotnfuny, of
Cinejnnati.
Ha, reveals all the startling detail of
bla part In the $1,000,001) dummy Insur
ance conspiracy.
The comession la here printed In full
exactly a it wan given to Assistant Dis
trict Attorney l'aul Krotei. and Is the
result of the investigation mad by Hen
ry p. Smith, life Insurance adjuster,
of No. 25 Broad street, who. It la now
learned, first unearthed the monumental
fraud :
,, Torstef's Oiga Confess Ion.
l .Kwkc this confession of my own voll
tlou and without suggeetfou from any
person ..L.J: .: . : k'tmf ufi
i luted In business. I am moved to do
this'tiucause during: a long period of my'
business career 1 have never-done a dis
bnot act.
I was led Innocently into this Vast In
sunuioe swindle, and when I perceived
thytCAt to which the conspirators
wort-willing to go 1 was forced to cull
a bait, because I saw that they would
not stop oven at murder to carry out
thai ends.
However profitable the business was to
me, :l could not reconcile my acts with
my 'conscience, and after many nights
jt anguish I decided to make a clean
breast of the whole swindling transac
ll. to the District Attorney.
1 -have told all that 1 know in this
matter without regard to the cone.
4uenies to myself. 1 do not rare wheth
ir I"aiu punlhlu'U or not for what I huve
done.
I havf hot, been promised Immunity for
desiring o appear u i State'e witness,
and am willing to tell all, without regard
to the consequences.
Aided Is Seven Frauds.
i'dld all the business in currying out
successfully seven fraudulent claims
against the Union Central Life - lnsur
ance Company, of Cincinnati, In which
l n thousand dollars was actually paid
by this company on fraudulent proofs
of dialh and divided among the swin
dlers.
. The principal, conspirators- associated
with me were liurtolomeo Clrone, and
Joseph Trepan!. ' V .
Clrone had a barter ehop at No. 200'
Second avenue, where the meetings were
ileld and the fraudulent schemes were
carried out. Trepum Is an undertaker
and had an office at No. 2131 First ave
nue, , and In his place all the arrange
Bienta were made to bury dead bodies
Which were obtained by him to carry
eut the Insurance frauds.
My relations with the Insurance swin
dlers began early in l'JOO. 1 have been
for many years the chief soliciting
aicent of the Union Central Life In
urance Company of Cincinnati, which
has u branch oitice in this city. This
company did a large amount of business
in the Italian district in Harlem, and in
January, 11W0, I was called on by Clrone
in regard to the death of Antonio Cer
ruglia. ,11 e was Insured In the Union
Central for a thousand dollars.
: 1 had no idea that there was anything
wrong in this man's, death until Trepan!
gavo' me t:b and told me to go and buy a
Cigar with It.
This made me suspicious, and I asked
ft few questions, and a, sort of half prop-c-Hltion
was made to me that If I would
allow cases In which they were inter
ested to puss the company, there would
be money in it for me.
Both Clrone and Trepanl told me that
everything was all right, but that I
.tould aid In getting money from the
i t ompany.
f Shortly after this I received a notiflca--
tion of the death of an Anna M. Rosa.
' She was insured for 1,000. I know now
.that fraudulent proofs of death were
submitted in this case, but at that time
' 1 did not know It, and I aided in hav-:
-ing this claim, passed and Trepanl gave
me 100.
,t- Shortly nfter this I received a notice
( of death of Casmlra Clccone, who waa
. Insured for 12,000 in the Union Central
Company, I know now that the bogus
"proofs or " death were made in this" case,
; but I did not know It at that time. I
.if . .
'f :
-;.v ;
t.'.
ex
i
('fra,r)kB. Frtr WM 'rmry "h,r h" Unlnn
Central Ll Inturano Company. ;
Ha mad remarkable confession yaatsrday ! part in th :
million-dollar dummy Insurane conspiracy. .
Twenty parMna are directly Implicated.. Mott of them ara novr
fugitives from Juatioa.
Hufldrada of familiee contented, for a amall prlca, to permit thair
dead to ba purled under names cf dummies.
Foreter pot 600 for passing on the body of Trambarulo as that of
a dummy wh h ,n ineurad 10 time.
foreter implioatea feveral othe Unnrmnnm ma h!r r.
.reita ara.Jikely .ta fallow aeon. ,
The oneplratore were ao bold that they had prepared to take $10,
000 mere insurance en Trambarulo a few hours before hie death. '
Straw bail waa given for Cirone after hie arrest, and ha fled with
hie own eon'e wife.
"'
aided in getting the claim through and
I got 100.
Then came the death of Anna M. As
tritu, who was Insured for 11,000. I
passed this claim as all right and got
1100 In tale case.
meallsed Immense Fronts.
I saw then after I had passed these
cases that there was big money In the
method In whkh these swindlers were
doing business, and 1 demanded more
money. 1 went "to see Trepanl at bla undertak
ing khop. He was not In. Ills partner,
Ruggluro, Was there, and I talked with
him about this Insurance business.
J said Ihwr was something wrong
about thette deaths and that I would
'ia IvUPtt&J eoiuo-JT 3fevt ft-" '
Ciroue cams In. He said Trepanl had
not treated me right in giving me only
1100 a my share, and then he said:
If you don't give me away I will give
you e. chance to get even with Trepanl.
He Is holding out on you. Trepanl Is
going Jo be paid 12,000 in the Washing
ton Life Insurance Company. You see
him and demand a share."
Within a day or so I went to drone's
house and In tht little back room I had
a confsrence with Trepanl and Clrone. 1
demanded more money.
Demanded $500 for His RHare.
"How much do you want?" said Tre
panl. I said I wanted 600 to do any
more business in passing these claims,
and I demanded to know how the busi
ness was done. They would not agree at
that time to give me any more money.
The part of Forstur'a confession at this
point is being withheld by the District
Attorney, In view of , the investigation
which is being-' made. " 'J
The next matter tfr.at I was personally
interested in. was the death of Rafaelo
Tra mba rulo.
'IVepanl came to me and told me they
hud obtained ten policies of insurance
on the life of Trambarulo, and said that
every one of these policies wouia ue
iwld without question If 1 would Identify
the old man as the person mentioned In
the policies. r
I Bald I would go into this matter if 1
got more-money. -1 was toljl then that
I would get 40U for every 2,000 policy
that was paid.
Trepanl sold: "The old man Trambar
ulo has been living a great deal longer
than we thought he would. We have
been expecting him to die for the past
three years. He has lived altogether too
long and has kept us out of the money
which we can get as soon as he dies."
I went with Trepanl to Clrone'a barber
shop and talked about the Identification
of Trambarulo. It was then agreed that
I was to go to the home of Trambarulo,
at No, 900 East One Hundred and Eighty
second atreet, and see the body.
I went to the room. It was.' dimly
lighted tnd candles were burning at the
head of the coffin and I looked at the
old man's face. "
It had been fixed up so as to give it
a younger appearance, but even with the
change of the appearance of the face I
could see It was an old man, and It was
not the man who, had posed as Tram
barulo and had obtained a 2,000 policy
In the Union Central Company made
payable to Maria D'Alcssio. I made a
false Identification Of the body.
Cicone and Trepanl assured me that
would be all thifl was necessary to ob
tain the Insurance; that they would at
tend te the proofs of death and the af
fidavit of a friend, and we would get the
money.
Beet Thing la the City.
We went from the house of Trambarulo
to the barber shop, and Trepan! told me
that -this Insurance- business was the
biggest thing in the city, and that If I
would stick to them they could collect
on hundreds of policies.' i
"Why,"' said Clrone, "we have been
in this business , for the last ten years,
and never have made any 'mistake. The
Insurance- people -are easy? and we can
fool them' every tlmeT and we can carry
this business on for ten years more. It
is the biggest money maker that I know
of. .:: : ,
"There Is Agent Peterson. He at
tends to all the industrial class of insur-
aJice In this district for the John Han
cock Insurance Company, and he. has
got the inspector fixed ao that M can
pass every claim without . any trouble.
'There lsu t as much In this business
aa there would be If we didn't have to
give a share of the insurance to Dr.
Albert Loewilt. Dr. Francis Fuccl (two
othir physicians whose names are with
held), the notary aud the family who
swear to the proofs of death and' the
family of the people where we get the
bodies, who usually have to be paid
also"
Body Essoined, Trouble Starta.
Trambarulo waa buried In February.
Ili2. His body was exhumed about a
month ago. When tb story of the ex-
to Clrunc's house and nuid It appeared
tJ me thnt there was going to be trouble
over this matter.
Clrone- laughed and said there would
not be any trouble, as he could -get a
hundred people who would swear that
they knew the dummy that had beeb In
sured us Trambarulo,. was fhe person
that they had seen lying dead in Train
banilo's house.
I told him he had better get his Wit
nesses ready, because I had heard In the
office of the company that they were
suspicious of many death claims i,that
had been passed among the Italians anil
Intended to go to the bottom ot the
whole business.
I met Clrone, Trepanl and Emlllo Clr
one and his wife, Amelia, and some other
persons (whoje names are withheld! In
the council chamber, where all . these
matters had been discussed, in the rear
of Clrone'a barber shop.
They -maid to me that if ,Iwould "keep
my mouth shut the exposure would not
mean anything, and. that they would
deny ever thing, us long as I would deny
that I had ever received any money.
Then came the arrest of Cirone.
After that we held another meeting
in the council chamber and Trepanl said
that there was nothing to be frightened
at, that he had engaged counsel for Clr
one and hid paid him not).
"I have arranged to get ball for Clrone
for five hundred dolars and he will be
balled' out and will run away," said Tre
panl. "Then it will be easy for us.toi-
put the whole business on Clrone, and
there will be no trouble, provided every
body keeps his mouth shut.
"If you are arrested, Forster, I will ar
range to get you ball. It will be straw
ball, the same kind I have arranged to
get for Cirone."
Cirone afterward gave this bail and
he immediately ran away with Amelia
Cirone, his son's wife.
Cirone and Trepanl, when I demanded
SOO for making the false Identification
of Trambarulo, told me how they work
ed tiie swindle and got the bodies.
Trepanl, who had a wide acquaintance
among the Italians, knew everybody who
waa sick and likely to die. Then they
would get a dummy who would make an
application to one or more insurance
companies for policies.
They had hundreds of dummies from
which they could make a selection.
If If could be done, they would give the
name of the dummy to the insurance
company and arrange with the family
by the payment of a small sum of mon
ey after death to have the dead person
buried under the name of the person In
sured. - ,
They said to me that the physicians
who did the business for them at first
were Dr. Muccl (the names of other doc
tors were given, which are withheld by
the District Attorney), and afterward
when it became necessary to get an
American ' pfiysician they got Dr. Albert
Xewltt. and he made out the death
certificates which were filed with the
Board of Health, and also gave certifi
cates as to the cause of death for use in
the .collection, of money.
The insurance on Trambarulo's life
was obtained, first in IS, and in all
there were ten policies of Insurance at
the time of his death. Shortly before he
died Trepanl and Clrone had - applica
tions prepared to give to the Union Cen
tral Company for 10,000 more insurance
on his life.
3E
HERMIT FOUND
FROZEN STIFF
JHad Recluse Meets Death in the
1 Cold in Pennsylvania.
(Journal Special Service.)
": NORRISTOWN. Feb. 28. Charles
Wampole of Franconia Township has
been declared Insane and removed to the
Norrlstown Hospital for the Insane.
! Wampole is a bacheloTr 45 years of
age. For years he has lived the life of
a hermit in a rented house in Franconia.
- a-'or eight years he has shown signs of
; Jack of mental soundness, .but until re
cently was always able to give himself
attention.. ' .
Probably two weeks ago he failed to
PP'y to a neighbor for his customary
-eupply of milk. The weather was cold
- and suspicions were aroused. Th'e neigh-i-bor
went to he. house,, and through ja
window ea the lower floor aaw Wampole
lying across the bed' with his feet dang
ling oyer the side.
He Went tn and found. Wampole nearly
froxen to death. His feet and hands
were badly frozen and the house was a
picture of neglect.
There were both' wood and coal in
the cellar, but nq fire, and a freexlng
atmosphere had probably pervaded the
house for hours. More dead than alive,
he was taken to the residence of Dr.
Kauman, who administered to and shel
tered him for days! or until he was re
stored sufficiently to have a lunacy
commission to look into his case.
He was not without funds, but with
out the reason to use .them.1 In his pos
session were paper-showing that he has
$400 In the LansdaleVTrust Company and
125 elsewhere.
It is suggested by Prof. Pickering that
the streaks which., radiate from lunar
craters one from Tycho 1s 1,700 miles
long-re caused by pumice thrown out
by the volcano,.
The growth of the tobacco Industry in
South Carolina has been phenomenal.
.The Darlington market alone reports
sales of. more than. 7,000,000 counda of
Pretty Good load.
Many a child who overhears a figura
tive remark made between its elders
takes the same literally and In recount
ing it puts an Irishman to shame. This
was the case last week In a school sit
uated in the northeastern section of
this city. The school mistress was dis
cussing the Scriptures and mentioned
the name of Samson, of whom she spoke
as being the strongest man who ever
lived. She" attempted to show his enor
mous muscular power "by stating as
simply as possible some of the wonder
ful feats he had accomplished.
A little girl, a newcomer In the class,
listened with more than ordinary inter-
cut (i n il oftar .Ho imnk.. I . .. .4 ,
the child lifted her hand fnr ntrmiuainn
to apeak. .. . -
Well, Ethel," asked the teacher, "what
is H?" -'('
"fiamson wasn't as strong as my papa
is.
"Is your fajther so surprisingly
strong?" queried the teacher, ' smiling.
"Oh, my papa's orful atron;.'vrep4ied,
Etliel, with emphasis. "Why. I heard
mamma say that be had a ellyfaat on
aglf
t it-
IS PRE-EMINENTLY SUPERIOR
AN AN ILLUMNANT
For &)e
HOME
OFFICE
STORE
WORK SHOP
FACTORY
Secumse &f Its
QUALITIES
CONVENIENCE
ECONOMY
BEAUTY
HEALTHFULNESS
1
Light Everywhere Turned On From
Anywhere
The proprietors of the most prosperous
stores will tell you that there is no
light equal to the Electric for
Convenience, Cleanliness and Effect.
In the show window a light is desired
which is free from deposits of soot
or moisture, a light which can be
turned on without climbing in or even
opening the sash. The INCANDESENT
ELECTRIC LIGHTS fulfil these
conditions perfectly, and will help you
TO MAKE A PROFIT by bringing
more customers into your store.
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PORTLAND
ELECTRIC
GENERAL
COMPANY
SEVENTH AND ALDER STREETS
PORTLAND, OREGON
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