ITALIAN DUPED.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20701, 26 April 1929, Page 13

ITALIAN DUPED.

AN AMAZING CRIME. £197 FOR FEW HEADACHE ' TABLETS. (From Otjb Own C,ohbespondeki.)’ ' m. ; April 11. ' the Other day in Sydney an Italian. Augushno ] Rizzo, gave £197 10s for ?mall bottle of patent headache: tablets. itxpjainmg-the transaction to the police . fL 1 !®? commences by saying that ha met" ?°° tller Dalian named Guiseppe about - two months ago. Guiseppe, who acted as* J COl ? miss,on a (? ent bringing.* about the deal, was a man of prepossessing appearance and an ambitious outlook ■ waa always _ looking for a good job. : On • Tuesday _ Rizzo met Guiseppe, who : introduced him to an old Italian in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. The old man was , enormously wealthy, for when he went , away for a few minutes he -are ■Kizzo and Guiseppe a bag of gold and a bag of banknotes to mind. The baas contained £3OOO. The old man said so. He was a very sick old Italian man.*, said Rizzo. He hod a bad cough, jie wall" eVery minute - hardly

°W man told Guiseppe and Rizzo l that he wanted two good men to help him execute the few last things he wanted to do'in this life, and he took more of a tancy to Rizzo because Rizzo seemed to be more able than Guiseppe. Rizzo, ■ who was still minding the £3OOO, clinging to it tightly, agreed to send a tele--gram to tn© old.man’s brother in Brie-’ bane, telling him he was coming to find; a priest, to engage & good doctor, and to arrange for the old man to make a big donation to the Sydney. Hospital, St. Vincente Hospital, and to the Blind Inetitute. Finally, would Rizzo accept *IOO »e the first payment for his good offices?

. The sequence of the drama halts at this moment while another man ap- ■ proaches the old man and asks for sixpence, whereupon the wealthy old man. gives him a sovereign. The beggar hurries away. It was very impressive.. Rizzo was making a mental note of ali - bis duties when the old man asked him' and Guiseppe whether they were careful, honourable, saving men. They admitted this. Guiseppe said that he had £IOO saved, and he produced that sum. That satisfied the old' Italian that he, at least,.' wa s careful, honourable, and saving, but when Rizzo said that he had £2OO “in his bankbook ” the old man could not 1 understand. So Rizzo drew £197 10s * from the Savings Bank. The ■■ ■ n- i. was still sitting coughing on the seatwhen he returned. ' At this stage the old man gave Gui-'. seppe a £5 note to go and purchase some 7 headache .tablets, and Guiseppe, who ap-' predated being trusted with £5, handed the old man his money to mind. Gut- ' seppe returned with tie tablets, but they, were of the wrong kind. . Guiseppe ' seemed to be very dull, so Rizzo, who also left his £197 10s with the old man’; to mind, went and purchased the right kind. When he returned Guiseppe and ■; the old ,man were not there. “That worried me,” said Rizzo. “It' worried me not to see them there on the ' seat, and 1 ran around the gardens look--ing for them. But I did not find them. I went again next day. But I did hot; find them. Guiseppe and the coughing 1 ' old man have given me a headache.” ; “ Take one of the tablets, Mr Rizzo,” ’ was the unkind suggestion made to him. s