HUSH MONEY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22911, 19 June 1936, Page 14

HUSH MONEY

BLACKMAIL RACKET HOLLYWOOD STARS VICTIMS Hauptmann’# execution drove the last nail into the kidnappers’ coffin. . . ~ Bootlegging is a dead trade. . . . Bank “ stiek-ups ” dwindled after the fate of Dilinpor. . . But the racketeer brigade have found a new gold mine . . . in Hollywood. Gangsters who were big noises in other rackets now live in luxury by extorting money from famous film stars. The film colony, they know, dread the idea of "bad ’’ publicity, and in nine cases out of 10 would pay almost any money rather than figure in a court case that would put them wrong with their “ fans." Scores of stars have been victims of the now familiar “ accident " racket. A hard-eyed, square-jawed gentleman in an antiquated boneshaker car crashes into a -,t '*b limousine and stages the “ accid- nt ’ co 'veil that whole armies of witnesses will testify that it is all the fault of the road-hopping star. This racket started when Tom Mix began running around in his giant super-car. a palace on wheels. He was “ socked ” so often for hush money to keep actions out of court that the thug** must have made a fortune out of him. Already there is talk of the stars forming their own protection league, to fight this menace of the blackmailer. '

Male nim stars who have the reputation. of being bad-tempered when roused are good targets. Some seedy creature will walk up to a well-known actor in a public'restaurant or bar and insult him. hoping his victim will strike out. When the trick works, the seedy one's pals crowd round and protest loudly that their sick friend has been brutally assaulted. In tin- end they compromise for a fat roll of bills. There are film heroes, however, who will not stand for any of the rackets. One of theec is the Englishman Victor M'Lnglen. " Sue and be hanged! ” i« Victor’s slogan. He has never allowed himself to he bludgeoned into paying a cent’s worth of hush money—and he declares he never will.

George Raft has many tunes fallen foul of the hush money gentry. George used to have a habit of flaring up if anybody made a nasty crack about him. Now he just grins or walks off when there ia a hint of n frame-up. WOMEN AGENTS OF GANGS.

Pretty women, agents of the gangs, have also found their way into the private apartments of screen chiefs and refused to budge until they received hush money. One such harpy sat herself in the sitting room of a film director’s apartment, and, producing a revolver, declared that she would shoot herself unless she was paid tiffin. The director suggested they should talk it over while they had a drink, but on bis way to fetch the drinks he wins-pe-ed an order to a servant to call for help.

A few minutes Inter two policemen and the director's lawyer walked in. "Good morning, gentlemen,” said the director. Then. returning to the woman he said: " Shoot away. I’m not paying.” The girl put the gun hack into lier handbag. Actresses have been warned against the danger of being ton free with inscriptions on photographs. Some of them have found that the words “ with love ” or " with heartfelt gratitude” have been used, to compromise them and to extort money. Famous women stars, too. have been blackmailed after being shown faked photographs in which pictures of t,heir o'l'n heads have been superimposed on photographs of nude*. Small wonder that the screen stars heave sighs of relief when they embark for Europe on vacation.