GANGSTERS THWARTED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21384, 11 July 1931, Page 16

GANGSTERS THWARTED

DEATH IN GLASS OF BEER VICTIM TAKES ONLY A SIP In a letter written to his son in London, Mr William Webster, a former member of the London ; Stock Exchange, relates an amazing escape from death at the hands of gangsters in Montreal. He describes how he" was decoyed to ah hotel room, . dragged, abcl; Ibftl’for dead.,-- ;His “ body ” wag, placed 'in a 'taxicab and driven a, lonely ; spqt-,< where the* driver was astonished i to :find ■ the. “ corpse ” alive. -■■ ■ ' • Mr Webster had taken only a sip from a glass, containing a powerful narcotic, and recovered, consciousness. in the cab. He managed to prevent the driver from throwing him out of the taxi cab, and ultimately was , driven back to his hotel, where a doctor found he had been doped with morphine. . Had he consumed all the’liquor offered him; by >his “ friend,’’' he would have died. Mr Webster, who has been living in New, York since 1915, was asked to reorganise the business of a Canadian distillery company, who were being pressed, by their bankers for repayment of loans to a total of £140,000. To. do this it was necessary to dispose; of hundreds of thousands of-gallons of whisky.: Various bootleggers : went Tq Montreal from New York to inspecti this'iiqudr, and quarrels broke out among the rival gangs. Mr Webster was dnly conccrricd with . the" reorganisation of the business, and took no part in the selling of the liquor. , ■ Unexpectedly' a mysterious telephone message came to one of Mr Webster’s; associates., “ Lay'off this, business,” said an' unknown voice. '' “ Never mind who is speaking.” This call was later traced to a well-known guiiriiari, : who was ordered,.to leave Cariftcla ipunediately,

•i Mr Webster waslohe * day l -preparing 'to go for a walk when, in the lounge of his hotel, he was accosted by a man, who was, evidently, yvell informed’, as to his business. - Not - ‘wishing td prolong the conversation, Mr Webster made an excuse to leave the hotel. The other man said that he would like a stroll also, and asked Mr Webster to go with him to his room: to fetch his coat. Hern there were several men drinking. A refusal; ofj some beer by Mr Webster was • ignored : and: hi s f unsought friend handed him a full glass. Feeling : that to refuse the drink might bring trouble. Mr Webster, took a sip. He then knew nothing l until he awoke in the taxi can on the outskirts of the city to find the driver'trying to pull-him out of the cab. Barely conscious, he managed to wedge his feet so that the driver could not move him. Finding'that his fare was alive and could not, be dislodged, the man yielded to his insistence and drove him back to the hotel.