Salt Lake Telegram | 1936-10-07 | Page 4 | Glasses Fraud Halted by U. S.

GLASSES FRAUD FRADEJ H HALTED L TED BY U. U US S1 S. v WASHINGTON ASHINGTON Oct 7 l UP UP- UP Postal sleuths today announced the breakup of a wide nation-wide glimmer t racket through which criminals criminal have swindled the aged and the Ailing of or more than Chief K P. P Aldrich dean of federal federal fed fed- eral rat law enforcement officials said his men nien had arrested 17 public enemies ene ene- mies who sold thousands of cheap glasses for or more a pair who performed fake eye operations in inthe Inthe Inthe the living rooms of their victims and who otherwise preyed heartlessly heartless Jy ly on the Ills of elderly farmers and their wives The swindlers specialize on those rho who are aro 70 or over the postal Inspectors Inspectors In in- tors said The ease with which they extort large sums sum of money from their victims Is surpassed sed only by the brutality of their scheme 13 for Glasses The agents agent described dC operation of the racket thus Finger men travel about the theco co country try selling eye glasses glasse's for all Jh the traffic will bear One One- year 98 old VoId man was induced to pay vay for glasses worth A few weeks later the same same- impostor sold him another stronger pair for or The finger men furnish the names of their victims to other members of the gang known as specialists for a 20 per cent commission com corn mission on profits yet to come The specialists usually pose as physicians and frequently bring brine their women nurses with wilh them Into the rural communities where I the racket is worked exclusively The pseudo-physician pseudo examines I the eyes of his credulous client Is h aghast at the type of glasses ses sold sok i previously by his hi confederate anc and ays an operation is necessary im im- mediately Operation Method The postal inspectors said this i is I the way the operation is performed per per- formed The fake lake doctor has his patient lean back The head is dropped farther backward An eye eyedropper is b inserted into a green opaque glass glas S bottle heavily corked and a t L ver very r few drops of the th the precious liquid represented to be oc radium but out actually actu actu- actu ally some patent eye preparation are withdrawn After these drops are put into the eye a blunt pair of ot medicated tipped cotton medical tweezers are used to rub the medicine medi medi- cine around in the eye as an occa- occa drop Is added Then through some of ot the vaudeville magician the apparently withdraws from the eye a malignant growth which in reality is a piece of ot rubber rubber rub rub- ber brought along for that purpose Ho Jie immediately destroys it Then he places a good pair of ot eye glasses on his victim whose sight immedi immedi- a ely is improved This sort ot of operation the agents agent said frequently frequent- frequent 1 ly ly has cost an unwary citizen o or o. Lend Belt elt for lor 1500 Usually ateI one of ot these operations operations opera on a victim who still h has ha I money left Jett in the bank other impressive im im- looking members of ot th the i gang visit him about two weeks I later and lend Jend him a radium belt which they guarantee to make him I feel young again The belt is so valuable they say that p they must have a deposit of o 1500 to insure its safe return One On woman in Massachusetts paid a 2000 deposit She still h has the belt the criminals have her she he he feels feel money an and the same as ever Of Ot the 17 men arrested several everal In the last few days two days two have been I convicted while the rest are heln being bethi held for trial Other members of ot the medical gang are sought ought