SURPASS BELIEF.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 300, 20 December 1938, Page 11

SURPASS BELIEF.

Revelations of Amazing Life of Swindler. FANTASTIC BURIAL. (Received 2 p.m.) NEW YORK, December 19. Even in death as fantastic as in life, Philip Musica, alias Coster, the infamous swindler, who committed suicide when under indictment, was buried in a solid silver coffin banked by thousands of dollars' worth of the most exotic flowers. Mourners, however, numbered a scant doze;:, chief of which were the three indicted brothers and relatives of his wife. The continuous stream of revelations of Coster'cs activities, backed up by Government experts' investigations, almost surpasses belief. An official of McKesson and Robbins, the drug firm to which Coster belonged, frankly admitted that Coster was the largest witlidrawer of alcohol before and after prohibition, and his rum-running activities exceeded A 1 Capone's. A witness said that "big shots" in Wall Street and the underworld were involved with Coster in the illegal alcohol business, the ramifications of which are expected to disclose a wide net of prominent people, all of whom made fabulous profits from it. The arms running business appears to be even more serious, officials declaring that it involved widespread violations of the neutrality laws, and was likely to incriminate many other individuals. Coster obtained control of an arsenal owned by the United States Government in Canada since the war, from which he arranged to deliver, 2,000,000 Lee Enfield rifles to a I port for the account of an allege" j British petroleum company. I Canadiaii authorities also » r ® f investigating an five aeroplanes to , ultimately for Spain-