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Show 1 CONDITIONS IN SOVIET NATION BARED j PONZI ONCE CONVICT; BANK CLOSED ' MONEY WIZARD'S f PAST BARED BY i POLICEREGORDS Ponzi, Boston's Spectacular 1 Financier, Once Member ! of Failed Bank OPERATION IN MONTREAL I LEAD TO JAIL, CLAIM I Goes Into Conference With His Lawyer After Admission I Is Made BOSTON', Aug. 11- Sensation fol-' fol-' lowed sensation In the Ponzl rase to- da v. Charles Pon.l. who rccentlj Jumped into notoriety as a spectacular flnanoler. admitted that he was the Charles Ponsl who served terms of imprisonment In Montreal and Atlanta some years ago. At the moment ho was making the formal confession of his past, the Hanover Han-over Trust company In which Ponr.l was a director, was Honed by Bank Commissioner Joseph C All'Ti w ho d--( lared that reports of his agents Indicated Indi-cated that the bank was doing business busi-ness in an Unsafe manner. Ponzl re- .signed from the directorate this aftcr-mfT aftcr-mfT noon. The admission of Ponzl and the closing of the trust companv were quieklv associated In the minds of hundreds who had gKen their money to Poni for investment and who had, been waiting anxiously for develop-Wt develop-Wt - mcnts. A crowd gathered in front of the Hanover Trust company. Ponzl who organized the Securities, Exchange company and took In mil-; lions for investment from thousands of clients said In a statement today that he took the blame for another S person In Montreal. He also Insisted TB that ho was still solvent and could J paj notei no outstanding agralnsl r . When he was brought o Montreal,! fc9 I exonerated him by assuming all the blame. S "The allusion made by me to re- vm porters that I went to Canada to carry on an investigation for the M Italian government is Immaterial, al- W though It could explain w hy I as-1 tfi Humcd a name. M n6Xt unfortunate incident dldj 31 not come of my own volition, but hap- pened as a consceiucm e of my first, BP ini8tukc. Kcleascd from prison wtth- Ej out a friend, and without a dollar, I mm tried to earn a living the best 1 could. k Within ten days 1 was asked to escort five Italians into the I'niUel Stales 1 did not smuggle them in. 1 i ros I mmw Ihe border openly and was placed 1m- mediately under arrest PLEAD! D .l ll.TV. jW" "I didn't dodge the consequences fiA and pleaded guilty. i expected len- lency I didn't resist a conviction and yet I was sentenced to tvvo years In W federal prison in Atlanta, Ga., and my sentence was a maximum. H "As I said before I .sinned nnd paid H for It. When the time came 1 made at H clean bre.-st of it. Is this enough'.'" M UU SSTA1 EMI ST H In his formal btatemetlt he said H "The statement 1 am about to make H should have been made before in view H of the fact of the notoriety of tne M press Several years ago I committed SfJ sin. If I made a mistake asl paid m for it, I had every reason to believe H lhat society owed me another chance. 9 "I am not tho first oni to nave cpm- H milted a sin. Win n 1 see others who Pi were under the same situation ..n- M ago and now today occupy prominent itlon I do nol why 1 Id be- B come the object of persecution on the 9 part of authorities, press nnd public. KM COXA It "1 I l B WM II H 'Charles W. Morse, at oil'1 time n Hj pi inlii' Ml 1 1 1 1 1 . -1-. u :i , also .n ii ! H in United States courts and sentenced Hj to 15 years In Atlanta. Ga. 1 Know, C -1 Jf0- because I was there with him, Ell i -released i mm y ikrt ot nl" sentence He has now been H wccupylng for years a position still H greater thin before. H "I do not mean in any way to Im- H ply that he Is not deserving of the H respect 6t the public. bUC I merely ask 9 il be is deserving. Why Shouldn't I be? EM "Montreal records show that i man 3 of my description was convicted of M forgery in 100S nnd sent for three years to lVncent de St. Paul and served about two months. feel that it is very Important for the people to 1 know that although I am the man who was convicted and sentenced for thai 1 crime. I am not the mun who per-I per-I pctrated the crime. What Is OCCUr-I OCCUr-I ring today to me happened then In i Montreal, the Onlj difference being the object of persecution was my cm-; cm-; ployer. 1)1 Ml (.1 ll.T ' A m.'n apparently friendly to him j suggested that he leave Canada, the f the man b Inj to approprl- :.i during his absence all the assets I left by the fugitive's banker. In oi- dor to be sure he .wouldn't come back B- to demand an accounting, he com-B com-B polled him to forgo certain lnstru-H lnstru-H ments which he was going to hoiii as L.- a club over his head, i was pjresenl HJrT at the transaction. "When it developed later that the Wl , man oulu not gain possession of the M i assets, revenge oi other motives prompted him to demand the return of my employer under extradition pro-i pro-i eedliigs on a charge of forgery, from M . e o to Montreal "I felt indignant ;ls any 'other man would feel under the circumstances, and 1 decided that I would savo my mployer regardless of cost or consequences. con-sequences. I 1 MONTREAL, Aug. 11. Records In tin bands of the Montreal police show! that a Charles Ponsl was a member of the firm of Zrossl nnd company, bankers, this city which failed iii I 1'H.S Znesl lie. I and sn bseipje nt lj was extradited from Mexico City. i |