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New York World-Telegram 33 If it's Worth Telling ... It's in the World-Telegram Solved by the FBI: $384,000,000 Sucker Bait 'Count' Got $145,000, but That's All The "Count" bilked his unsuspecting victims of thousands, but found he couldn't get away with it. The FBI knew too much about him. Here's the story, sixth in a series on the bureau's winning war against crime/ by ANDREW TULLY, Scripps-Howard Staff Writer. WASHINGTON, Dec. 1-There was reverence in the Count's voice as he addressed himself to the high church official on the other end of the line. Yes, the $20,000 has been received-and thanks. No, it was quite enough. It was delightful of his good friend to assist him in a temporary difficulty. Lunch tomorrow? A pleasure. Count Alexander Navarro of the Spanish House of Navarre, who had been traced by FBI teletypes in Washington to Canada, hung up the receiver and turned to the guests in his Montreal hotel suite to apologize for the interruption. The Washington attorney and the New York industrialist graciously waved them aside. They were thinking nice things about a man upon whom the clergymen pressed $20,000 loans. Five Million Fee. Now to get back to business. Had they heard the amount right-$384,000.000? They had. It was all in some 30 safety deposit boxes in various American banks - the profits, admitted the Count rather sheepishly, of a shadier interlude in his life when he had been associated with a notorious Mr. Capone. "Gentlemen, I need that money," the Count explained frankly. "But I can't get a passport to enter your United States. I need your legal help." Once in the U.S., he said, he would draw $10,000,000 from each of five boxes. The attorney's fee would be 10 per cent, or $5,000,000. The attorney was frankly interested. After all, he had met the count through his former secre- FBI cameras, handled by experts, play important roles in nabbing con men whose schemes oft go awty. man quite by accident at a Montreal dinner. His credentials showed him to be a man of high character, with a penchant for charitable works. He was contemplating building a hospital for a religious organization. $125,000 Advance. There could have been trouble about taxes, but the Count had assured him all that had been taken care of. Through the assistance of Clarence Darrow, the eminent lawyer, the Count had arranged in Paris some years before to pay $4,250,000 to none other than Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau himself. But the Count did have one minor problem. The code book containing the names of the banks where the safe deposit boxes were located-written, naturally, in invisible ink-was in the hands of a man holding it as security for a $75,000 loan. The Count would need about $125,000 to repay this loan and also to settle his account with the Church official. Naturally, the two men could not refuse to advance the Count the funds, especially since he insisted that he give them the code book as security. The Frog Man. A few days later, in the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, the men turned over $125,000 - Count Navarro. The attorney had borrowed the money from his bank, giving as collateral 10,000 shares of airline stock, valued at $30 a share, which had been advanced by his friend the industrialist. To the great delight of the partners. Count Navarro then demonstrated how the invisible writing in the book-a Bible-could be raised by applying a hot iron to the pages. The partners noted that the name of the safety deposit box holder would appear open one page, with a notation directing attention to another page. On that second page would appear the name of the bank and a direction to turn to a third page. The third page would divulge the name of the city in which the bank was located. Seized in Venezuela. Arrangements for Count Navarro's passport were made and two weeks later the Count met his lawyer in New York. The Count gave the lawyer two keys which he said were for safety deposit boxes. "You are the one man I can trust with them," he said, lifting sorrowful eyes to Heaven. It was agreed the lawyer would return to Washington, while the Count "settled some affairs" in New York. The Count would let the barrister know when he was ready to open the boxes. Two weeks later a harassed Washington attorney consulted "Count Alexander Navarro" who became entangled in the $384,000,000 net he had laid for laid for his suckers. I hereby warrant that I am the owner of a sum of money approximating Three hundred and eighty-four Million Dollars ($384,000,000.00) now in safety deposit boxes in the United States and I am now desirous of arranging for the transfer of this money to Canada for me. In order to carry out the steps necessary to effect the transfer and recovery of this money I require the sum of Two hundred thousands Dollars ($200,000.00) I hereby appoint you as my sole and exclusive agents to obtain this sum of Two hundred Thousand Dollars by any means which you may think advisable and for this service, include services already rendered and also including whatever amount you may have to pay for this advance of Two hundred thousand Dollars I hereby agree to pay you as and when received by me ten per cent (10%) of any and all money recovered by my. Yours truly, The "Count's" contract with the suckers. the FBI and learned the bad news-"Count Navarro of the House of Navarre" was an internationally known confidencemen once known, while performing as a contortionist in a circus, as "The Frog Man." He had a police record in scored of cities in eight countries. He was worth, not $384,000,000, but, thanks to the gullibility of the lawyer, a paltry $125,000. Back in Montreal, certain Church officials were wondering what had happened to that man who was given them the impression he was prepared to shoulder the entire burden of their charitable activities. Navarro was traced to Venezuela and arrested as an undesirable alien. Returned to New York, he was sentenced to a three-year term for transporting in foreign commerce money obtained by fraud. Meanwhile the lawyer and industrialist set machinery in motion to reclaim $99,000 in cash from the Park Ave. branch of Lincoln Exchange Bank Trust co-. The sum represented the bulk of their "loan" to Navarro, which the latter shrewdly had had transferred. From a bank in Toronto.
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