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“A wholesale fraud and forgery scheme”: organized crime and the counterfeit lottery trade in the United States, 1931–1932

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Abstract

During the Great Depression, foreign-based lotteries distributed Sweepstake tickets throughout the United States in direct violation of government laws at the time. Although these Sweepstakes enticed many hopeful Americans, the underground methods of ticket distribution also attracted organized criminal elements. This article examines one such criminal gang that distributed counterfeit Irish Hospitals Sweepstake tickets throughout the US during 1931. The paper utilising government records and newspaper accounts not only delves into the dynamics of a particular criminal network but also reveals the efforts on the part of Bureau of Investigation agents to uncover the fraudulent trade. The article provides an important glimpse into a largely unexplored aspect of criminal history and shows how corruption can prosper in society during the most vulnerable of times.

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Notes

  1. New York Times, May 31, 1931.

  2. Ibid; Reading Eagle, May 31, 1931; Irish Times, June 4, 1931.

  3. Report of Special Agent in Charge (SAC) George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1931, Irish Hospitals Sweepstake File (IHSF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC (USDOJ); report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  4. SAC Rhea Whitley to SAC, Omaha, Nebraska, October 20, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  5. Report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 19, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  6. David E. Kyvig, Daily Life in the United States, 1920–1940 (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee Publishing, 2004), p. 221.

  7. New York Times, September 25, 1932.

  8. William N. Thompson, Gambling in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Issues, and Society (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001), p. 120.

  9. New York Times, November 10, 1916.

  10. Mark H. Haller, “The Changing Structure of American Gambling in the Twentieth Century,” Journal of Social Issues, 1979 (35:3), 91.

  11. New York Times, July 29, 1928.

  12. Ibid.; New York Times, July 30, 1928.

  13. Marie Coleman, The Irish Sweep: A History of the Irish Hospitals Sweepstake (Dublin: University College Dublin Press, 2009), p. 23.

  14. Ibid., p. 116.

  15. Ibid., pp. 131–2.

  16. Ibid., p. 112.

  17. Ibid., pp. 128–131.

  18. Background information about Berkowitz can be found in the 1930 US census. See Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Census Place: Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, Microfilm Serial: T626, Microfilm Roll: 1763, Page: 46B, Enumeration District: 44, Image: 1036.0, Records of the Bureau of Census, Record Group 29, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC. www.ancestry.com. Accessed March 27, 2015. Later information about Berkowitz can be found in the Kansas City Star, May 26, 1939.

  19. “Statement of Jack Michelson,” November 20, 1931, enclosed in letter from Hugh B. Woodward, US Attorney for New Mexico, to Nugent Dodds, Attorney General, Washington, DC, November 23, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  20. Ibid.

  21. For more information on the history of the Railway Express see George H. Drury, “Railway Express Agency,” June 5, 2006, “Trains: The Magazine of Railroading.” http://trn.trains.com/sitecore/content/Home/Railroad%20Reference/Railroad%20History/2006/06/Railway%20Express%20Agency.aspx?sc_lang=en. Accessed April 3, 2015.

  22. Report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, November 18, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  23. Report of SAC F.M. Hickey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 9, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ; report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 2, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ; report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  24. For examples see report of SAC F.M. Hickey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 9, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  25. Report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  26. Report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ; Report of SAC G.S. Paterson, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, January 4, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ; Report of SAC F.M. Hickey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 9, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  27. Report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  28. The Lowell Sun, June 20, 1931.

  29. Montana Standard, June 20, 1931.

  30. New York Times, June 22, 1931.

  31. Albuquerque Journal, August 28 1931; “Statement of Jack Michelson,” November 20, 1931, enclosed in letter from Hugh B. Woodward, US Attorney for New Mexico, to Nugent Dodds, Assistant Attorney General, Washington, DC, November 23, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ. .

  32. Albuquerque Journal, August 28, 1931; Hugh B. Woodward, US Attorney for New Mexico, to Nugent Dodds, Assistant Attorney General, Washington, DC, November 23, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ; SAC R.H. Colvin to BOI, El Paso, Texas office, October 20, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  33. Report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, October 15, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  34. Nugent Dodds, Assistant Attorney General to Director, Bureau of Investigation, September 9, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ; Director, Bureau of Investigation to Nugent Dodds, September 16, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  35. Anonymous to Chief, Department of Justice, c. September 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  36. James Grafton Rogers to Assistant Secretary, Department of State, September 22, 1931, Record Group 59, Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs of the Republic of Ireland and of Northern Ireland 1930–1944, M1231/6, 841D.513/6, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.

  37. Report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, October 15, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  38. Ibid.

  39. Unidentified newspaper clipping, October 8, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  40. Report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, October 19, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  41. Ibid.

  42. Ibid.

  43. Report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, October 29, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  44. SAC R. Whitley to SAC, Omaha, Nebraska, October 20, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  45. Ibid.; Berkowitz maintained that his name was George Ringlander after his arrest. However, after being taken to the District Attorney’s office, Berkowitz’s lawyer arrived and upon meeting Berkowitz, greeted him with “Hello, Joe,” and thus Berkowitz’s true identity was clearly revealed.

  46. Report of SAC F.J. Lackey, November 23, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  47. Kansas City Star, November 6, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  48. SAC N.G. Garvey to SAC, Kansas City, Missouri, November 9, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  49. BOI memorandum to SAC, Philadelphia, October 20, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  50. SAC Rhea Whitley to Director, BOI, October 31,1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  51. In 1934 the city directory of Norfolk, Virginia noted Gauer’s business as Boush Street Amusement Corporation. See U.S. City Directories, 1821–1989. www.ancestry.com. Accessed October 21, 2014. Also see report of SAC George O’Dougherty, Philadelphia, November 18, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  52. Report of SAC R.T. Amis, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December 3, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  53. Report of SAC G.S. Paterson, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, January 4, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  54. Hugh B. Woodward to Attorney General, Washington, DC, November 23, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  55. Roswell Daily Record, November 19, 1931.

  56. Report of SAC R.H. Colvin, El Paso, Texas November 27, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ. Dulin was given a one year and one day prison sentence.

  57. “Statement of Jack Michelson,” November 20, 1931, enclosed in letter from Hugh B. Woodward, US Attorney for New Mexico, to Nugent Dodds, Attorney General, Washington, DC, November 23, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  58. Report of SAC E. Sandberg, St. Paul, Minnesota, December 10, 1931, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ; report of SAC W.F. Keefe, Boston, Massachusetts, January 5, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  59. Report of SAC W.F. Keefe, New York City, March 16, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  60. Monessen Daily Independent, June 1, 1932.

  61. Report of SAC F.M. Hickey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 9, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  62. Ibid.

  63. Ibid.

  64. Four accomplices of Berkowitz were not indicted as they were considered “minor offenders.” See report of SAC F.M. Hickey, Philadelphia, June 2, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  65. Monessen Daily Independent, June 1, 1932; report of SAC F.M. Hickey, Philadelphia, June 2, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  66. Pittsburgh Post Gazette, June 24, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  67. Coleman, p. 135.

  68. Ibid., p. 27; Port Arthur News, July 5, 1936.

  69. Chester Times, August 19, 1932.

  70. New York Times, September 10, 1932.

  71. Background information on Scott can be found at New York Times, July 23, 1994. Background information for Kirkpatrick can be found at “William Huntington Kirkpatrick,” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000240. Accessed March 24, 2015. For more information about the Republican party machine in Philadelphia see Isador Kranzel, with ErikKlinek, “Political Influence in Philadelphia Judicial Appointments: Abraham L. Freedman’s Account,” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. CXXXIII, No. 4 (October 2009), 349–387.

  72. Chapmon Fletcher to William L. Vandeventer, November 8, 1932, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  73. Memorandum by SAC J.R. Green, July 20, 1933, IHSF, FBI, USDOJ.

  74. Moberly Monitor Index, May 26, 1939.

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  1. Department of History, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    Gavin Wilk

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Wilk, G. “A wholesale fraud and forgery scheme”: organized crime and the counterfeit lottery trade in the United States, 1931–1932. Crime Law Soc Change 67, 209–222 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-016-9672-0

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