Show NOTED by LEO KORETZ CHICAGO MAN UNDER ARREST AT HALIFAX AFTER LONG CHASE f Alleged to have made millions prom from friends and relatives in one of nations largest swindles swindle Hili halifax fax N S leo koretz alias lou keates alleged onal swindler and crook said to be the smoothest and most resourceful confidence man in the united states slates and wanted in chicago in connection with a stock swi swindle lidle was arrested in a leading hotel here by deputy sheriff R IL EL scriven and provincial constable malcolm R mitchell the arresting officers were acting under instructions of john A Shar baro and william MeS wiggin assistant states attorneys of cook county chicago ill who arrived in halifax on the ocean limited in search of koretz in a circular issued by the chicago postoffice post office department a reward of is offered for his capture and states the charge of using the mails to defraud against him chicago leo koretz put over one of the most gigantic swindles in the history of chicago crookedness starting as a broker it was estimated at the time of his big disappearance december 5 1923 that he had swindled guil lible friends of fully it is certain that the amount exceeded five millions but many of his victims humiliated by their blind faith swallowed their losses and said nothing koretz specialized in rice plantations in arkan arkansas as and oil fields in oklahoma for a time to investors he paid remarkable dividends paid them out of money obtained from fresh suckers soon he had built up a clientele that accepted his word on any proposition and clamored for him to invest their money A majority of those who had bad received fat dividends I 1 ads brought the money back funds and reinvested it then came the masterpiece by koretz he organized the bayano bacyano oil company supposed to own extremely valuable lands just south of the panama canal district according to the glittering prospectus this fabulous territory contained not only oil in limitless quantity but gold mines diamond mines and a great fortune alone in bananas and other tropical fruits part of the immense plan was to establish a private line of freight steamers and a palatial pas steamer service for the stock the koretz clientele fell for this enterprise with great spontaneity they besel ged his luxurious of office flee night and day and threw their money over the transom of his main office door with pleas that he invest it it it must be said to the credit of koretz that he picked only the rich and chiefly those of his hia own race and religion ligion je unlike other swindlers lers he did not specialize in the poor he was out for big game and it came to his door after he had gather 1 in millions of dollars it occurred to a group of investors to make a trip to the mar bayano bacyano coutry and look over the proposition koretz encouraged the plan and arranged a special steamer and letters of introduction for them about the time they were the panama canal koretz quietly faded from view the committee found nothing but a barren waste the mythical officials to whom born they bore letters of introduction coul not be found for the obvious reason that they did not exist except in the fertile imagination of koretz koretz disappeared early in december 1923 and no reliable trace has been had of him since it is known that he went f from rom here to new york and was believed to be living in luxurious urious quarters there then came stories that he had hidden in europe that he had gone to south america that he way was actually hiding in chicago but these leads proved of no avail ilia his wife turned over their costly automobile jewelry worth thou thousands sanda and some other property which afforded but mite for the swindled creditors |