GANGSTERS MILLIONS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4959, 23 February 1937, Page 7

GANGSTERS MILLIONS

SAFE DEPOSIT CACHES. WHY THEY DIE PENNILESS. New York, January 8. The mystery of why gangsters die "broke" has been solved at last. During the Prohibition period they made fortunes, running into many millions, but when the law overtook them, or they died from "lead poisoning" at the hands of underworld rivals, their estate would shrink to a few dollars, and their widows and dependents would be actually in want. Thus Arnold Rothstein, America's biggest gambler since the turn of the centry, who cleaned up 2,000,000 dollars in one deal, left fifty-one dollars at the final accounting of his estate. It was the same with the big liquor barons and racketeers —Capone, Diamond, Gordon, Madden, Higgins, Fay, Schultze, Marlowe, and Coll. It was recently disclosed, from reliable underworld sources, that an estimated 100,000,000 dollars of gangster money lies unclaimed in a New York bank, and that, in the case of owners who are not now alive, their share is not likely to be claimed, as they and they alone knew the alias under which the money was lodged. In those roaring days when every bag of cement used in New York City paid five cents protection to racketeers, the now defunct Chelsea Bank and Trust Company was located in Broadway, near "Times" Square. It catered to a large clientele by remaining open till midnight. Its safety deposit box service was utilised by theatres, cabarets ,and night clubs to save them the risk of keeping large sums on their premises at night. In addition to these legitimate customers, the bank attracted another class of deposit-gunmen, gangsters, and gamblers. To them the bank was a boon. Their deals demanded ready cash. Cheques are not drawn in the underworld, as they offer too much evidence. When a million-dollar deal —not uncommon in those days—was made, the money was paid quickly, and in currency. The Chelsea became the underworld's bank. When the United States banks closed, just prior to President Roosevelt's election, the Chelsea went the way of the others. Its failure did not, however, affect those who rented its safety boxes. Those who rented them were notified by the State BankingDepartment that they could collect their property on identifying it. Gangsters who were dead could not claim their funds, nor their dependents, for the reason already stated. Those who survived dared not go before officials to identify themselves as John Jones to William Smith, as they were likely to be "spotted" from their photographs in newspapers. For another reason, the nation, during the depression, had become gangster-con-scious for the first time, and demanded that lawless elements be removed from the community. These safety deposit boxes, with their contents, will remain immune from examination for many years, pending an application by their rightful owners .to recover them. They will eventually pass into the coffers of the New York State Treasury.