CAREER OF BOGUS BARON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIV, 19 March 1921, Page 7

CAREER OF BOGUS BARON

AN AUDACIOUS SWINDLER Seldom in the history of German civil crime hn« a more astounding career of audacity been revalcd than that of Robert Oerthel, bogus baron, deluded of generals, cocaine trafficker, forger, betrayer of women, and swindler of international repute. After a dazzling career of crime he has just fallen into the hanch of the Berlin police for endeavouring to smuggle cocaine into the American occupation zone. He tried to pass himself off -as a member of the Allied Commission. I first met Oerthcl in Berlin seven years ago (writes a special correspondent of the Sunday Chronicle.) when he was a goodlooking, well-spoken youth of nineteen.

Although young in years, he was already old in crime, but Ins charm of manner, his brazen audacity, his glib tongue, and the skill, almost amounting to genius, with which he had trodden the criminal paths, added to some amazing strokes of luck, had kept him out of the hands of the police.

GIRL AS DECOY At this lime he posecr as the husband of a, bea.utiful girl who was appearing at the Royal Opera House. Berlin. The young woman had. like so many other German chorus girls. very extravagant tastes, buf by various crooked methods Oerthcl was able to gratify them. In the clubs and cabarets there; was more than a suspicion that. Oerthcl utilised the- services of the girl, particulary in the capacity of a decoy for one or two swagger gambing hells in which he wa.s interested, to help provide the money which he assisted her to spend, although he saw to it that the whole of the cash first passed through his hands.

On three occasions to my own knowledge he was cutting a dash in the Royal Opera House on evenings when the Kaiser himself, who was commonly believed to be subsidising the place, was occupying the Royal boxes with Ids suite. And, as a matter of fact. Oerthel was always hovering on the fringe of good German society. His accomplishments and general charm of manner made him a groat favourite with elderly German women, who are susceptible, perhaps more, than women of any other nationality, to the adulation of young and goodlooking men, often joung enough to be their grandsons, let. alone their sons.

Oerthcl played_on this weakness to the very fullest extent- I know for a" fact that more than one German woman associated with the Kaiser's entourage lent this fascinating young swindler money without the- slightest suggestion that it should at any time be paid back.

AN UNDERWORLD BOSS In short, the man, who was born in Dresden, had operated in Germany, in America, and, P believe in Sydney and Melbourne, came to assume the dimensions of a power in the aristocratic underworld of crime. When the war came Oerthel gave a really wonderful exhibition of his■ cleverness. ( No soldier who fought on any side on the Great War ever ".swung the lead" with such miraculous effect. It did not suit his book to suffer the rigors which a military life entails, chiefly for the reason that the wearing of the uniform would have curtailed his criminal operations. Tic accordingly hit upon the daring expedient of shamming madness. At this time this form of evading service was rather common in all the countries engaged in the war. The doctors were keenly on the alert to detect malingers. Notwithstanding this, Oerthcl managed to simulate constant insanity for the long period of eight months. He was under the keenest observation in a military hospital. Traps were set for him; but, with consummate skill he avoided them.. Then lie began to grow suspicious that the military doctors had in some way discovered the truth, and intended mad or sane, to send him to the front.

WOMEN THROWN OVER Still he would not give in. He cast the spell of his magnetic fascination over a nurse, and with her assistance he escaped. The fact that she went with him, and that he soon basely deserted her is but a small item in such a career as tuat of Oerthel. His general practice, I may mention, was to leave women in the lurch after they had served his purpose. When the nurse had disappeared from his life Oerthcl restarted his crooked career, but on different Hn.ee. . , He wrote to the registrars ot several towns and obtained the birth certificates of. men well used as identification papers, and known in Germany. These he used as identification papers and with their aid ho was able to obtain police passes (then very rare concessions), by which ho travelled all about the country.

ll IS ALIASES. Now we find him posing as Baron Egloffstein, now as Von Koenig, now as Hahn Kobolds, now as Dr Howard (an American), now as an Argentine doctor named Mac Henry. And later, with a { Brcat show of mystery and pledges (q secrecy, he confided to one or two aci-nuun'ances that he was in; ••3.0: ty Von Riehthoffen, the famous German ace. later we find Oerthcl making friends vHh French. Belgian and Italian oificers. With all the coolness in the world he swaggered up in company of some ol these officers to French General Headquarters. Here he was actually received bv Marshal Foch, who. convinced of the genuineness of his documents, wrote a letter to General Pupont, then in Berlin, strongly

recommending iliut curtain Irenc.j p,->oners should be placed undei the supervision of this man, then again representing himself to be Baron Egloffstcin.

THE HEST AT HIS DISPOSAL Special I rains, motor ears, .vm k.u-e ir n n)- of money were p a'/the disposal of this num. There is now no doubt that he used these things to gratify lus own Mi-tes for pleasure instead of for the purposes for which they weiv intended. Ar>ong other things, Oerjicl w;\s made a delegate of the I>J Cr.?« \,-< vtach •japa'j-y he 'oa/.' command big sums of money), and at 1.5-.H'li,'neht he was employed on the exchange of prisoners to and from Human la. Although he had made large ■■sums ef money in the ways I have deV.-ribed Ocrthel was not Tied. He attempted to bring off i big deal in cocaine. Then it was that the astute American officials -}iseu\crcd that his passports were Vise. And that is how he came t,o be handed over to the tender 'mercies of the Berlin police.