Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1963)
6 B Series of Fraud Cases Publicized By Italian Press By ERNEST SAKLER United Press International Bmre (Iipn A series of fraud cases, including that of a gay customs inspector, his wife and his mistress, has given Ital ian newspaper readers the im pression that the easiest thing in the world is to gyp their gov ernment in a big way. The most publicized Incident involved inspector Cesare Mas trella, 48, who was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment by a Terni court for embezzling i.iore than 1 billion lire ($1.6 million) from the state. The case fascinated Italians. Elegant, efficient Mastrella seemed to enjoy his trial for the chance it gave him to demon strate the confusion of Italian customs laws and the ineffec tiveness of controls. Perfectly at ease between his two co-defendants his wife Aletta and his mistress Anna Maria Tomaselli he admitted pocketing the billion during his three years as head of the cus toms office in Terni, an indus trial town, through forged re ceipts, "customs refunds" to Terni firms and other devices. "Fed Up" Mastrella told the court that if he had been one of the in spectors from Rome who regu larly checked his books it would have taken him five minutes to detect everything. In fact, the embezzlement went undiscov ered through 27 routine inspec tions and came to light only when Mastrella. gave himself up, saying he was "fed up with all this." He said he gambled huge sums on the soccer pool every week and impartially gave the two women sports cars and bought them shops, real es tate and other property. Mastrella's main preoccupa tion during the trial was to con vince the court that h I s wife and mistress knew nothing about the embezzlement and thought that his money came from soccer poo' winnings. The women were sentenced to short terms and released at once because the court counted time they had served awaiting trial. The trial was barely over when magistrates in Milan ordered 63 persons to stand trial on charges of another 1 billion lire fraud against the state. Less Spectacular The case dated back to 1957 and the method used by the 63 men, according to the prosecu tion, was less spectacular than Mastrella s dui equally euw tive. A number of companies pre tended to export textiles to ntlim nnntrtpi Thuv nromntlv got tax refunds under an Ital ian law Intended to stimulate exports. As it turned out, the ship ments they made consisted only of rags. In some cases, they did not bother to make any ship ments at all. In another case, customs po lice said 11 Milan businessmen evaded an estimated 1,760,000, 000 lire ($2,816,000) in customs duties and taxes by Importing "siiPHrpH flnnr" with n suQar content far in excess of specifi cations, ine sugar wus uurn separated from the flour in spe cial plants. Import duties on sugar are far heavier than on sugared flnnr Pnlinn cniH (ho rnrlr. ct had been going on since 1956 and was only discovered be cuuse imports In recent months were stepped up at a suspici ous rate. TIILHSUAV. OtTOUEK 31, 1UW MfcUJ OitU MAIL TItlBL.NE. MliUI Oltli, OIlfcl.O.N District Office In Winema Moves KLAMATH FALLS - Head' quarters (or the Chiloquin Kan gcr District o( the Winema Na tional Forest will be moved ef fective Nov. 1 from the old Klamath Agency headquarters to a new station development on U. S. 97, District Ranger Homer Faulkner has announced. The station is on U. S. 97 one-quarter of a mile north of the Chiloquin junction and op posite the Chiloquin city air strip. The new headquarters site will provide offices and resi dence for key personnel engaged in management of the Chiloquin District. Buildings, which were just completed, were construct ed under contract, and is an other step in the multiple use management program under Forest Service administration of the former Reservation lands. New mailing address for the Chiloquin District will be Dis trict Ranger, Post Office Box 357, Chiloquin. Texas Shipping French Poodles fo France GAINESVILLE, Tex. (UPD Tcxas has begun exporting poodles to France. A small male poodle from a Gainesville breeder was put aboard a jet plane at Dallas for the flight to Paris. It was or dered by a U.S. serviceman and his wife, stationed in Paris. pTwrTTl ISTAMPil PIGGLY WIGGLY PIGGLY WIGGLY lTAMPl ISTAMPsJ Ha tm BE3 WLGetour msssm i FOOD IUJ AMERICA'S MOST VALUABLE STAMPS w GREEN . (TAMPSj . stamphJ IhtampkJ 8TAMPfJ MedHfoird Peaches Elberta Freestone Halves in Heavy Syrup pry liorteimiiiHig VALUABLE COUPON U III HirntntrB Carnation or Jorgensen's SEl 3 LB. TIN Spry Spry for Light fluffy cakes tender flaky pie crusts. ha, I I J; LIMIT ONE Good Only at Piggly Wiggly, Medford VOiD AFTER SUNDAY, NOV. 3 SB VALUABLE COUPON No. 2Vi tins m Mix or Cube . . . 10-lb. bag $1.29 Friskies Dog Food 25 $2.79 tAMy Calo Cat Food or Galo Dos Food 4 ,sr 55c 22-OZ. BOTTLE 49c Fels Liquid Detergent " 69c For a whiter wash Purex Bleach c.oniUg 69c Budget-priced Plymouth Bleach lug 49c jTAMiy pjne scent Dutch Cleanser 2 z 29c JORGENSEN'S Low Calorie Frozen Desert A DELICIOUS ICE MILK TREAT Assorted Flavors Regular 89c Gallon 22-oz. bottle 49c Liquid Trend 69c TWO 2-ROLL PACKAGES . . . CHIFFON Bathroom Tissue 4 55c LARGE ROLL Zee Waxed Paper 39c 2 LB. TIN 97c Folger's Coffee .... 49c FOLGER'S Instant Coffee SI .29 NABISCO Cookie Jar Special 2 P 3. 89c 12' i-oi. Choc, Pinwheels, 16-oz. Choc. Fudge Sandwich, 12'4-oz. Striped Shortbread Ha m In tamp -J Nut Lunch m m IftTAMI'-J Mixed Nuts Ghirardelli Chocolate Flick-Ettes 5 99 Kopper Kettle Jam Ajiorted Varieties-Regular 79c PICTSWEET Frozen Strawberries Regular 27c each Big. 43-oi. Jar m ! tAM P J Ml m is m Hliliiliiiliii.iliiiitmiliilh HttmHHfftif tHiiittttLBtttititii ittimnti ;HtiiiUliiHUiiiiitiiitl uUtuiilUlMuiUiiiiuil i i i i Hi i titlitni m li iiUiWMUl IO-oi. pkgi. m ItAMI'J With Purchase of $10 or More at PIGGLY WIGGLY, MEDFORD OFFER EFFECTIVI THROUGH SUNDAY, NOV.. JnJ. Wr-Wrl iflt!tttMHtiiii!f'iattmtnantttttrm L 11. Save as You Spend With S&H GREEN STAMPS Prices Effective October 31st thru Sunday, November 3rd. Limit Righto Reserved Stewart at King S&H Green Stamps o o 0O 0 rP ( ; !) o i. . 9 o o o O
