FRAUD ON BOOKMAKERS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 14399, 6 January 1911, Page 7

FRAUD ON BOOKMAKERS.

SYSTEMATIC BACKING AFTER RACE RESULTS.

After three days’ trial at Leicestershire Assizes Lucien Stockvis. alias Charles Ellis, aged 31, and Herbert C. Russell, alias H. Rouse, aged 35, wore on October 29 sentenced to six months’ imprisonment each in the second division tor conspiring with others to defraud bookmakers. Tho accused by a trick had telegrams backing winning horses coded as being dispatched before the races were started. Oh these messages a number of bookmakers paid out over races at Newmarket won by Queen’s Journal and Master Hopson. The telegrams were sent from county post offices in Leicestershire. The prosecuting counsel said that the prisoners as u preliminary obtained permission of various persons to use their names and code in making bets by telegram through the post oflicc. The parties so lending their names for telegrams wore to take 25 per cent, of tho moneys won. They were to receive the cheques from the commission agents, and after deducting the percentage of tho winnings the balance was to be sent to the prisoners. When these preliminaries had been arranged, tho prisoners made calls at village post offices and arranged to scud a largo number of telegrams. Stockvis afterwards appeared with a bundle of telegrams hacking horses, leaving only the name of tho horse to bo filled in. Six or seven telegrams would be handed in coded, these being to hold the wire and keep the telegraphist employed in sending them. These telegrams were coded before tho time of tho race.

HOW’ THE FRAUD W’aS W'ORKED

Meanwhile Russell was at a telephone near the pest office waiting for the mime of the winner. On several occasions a motor car was used to cbnvoy Russell to the post office, where Stockvis added tho name of the winning horse to a larger number of telegrams which had boon coded at the time when the first batch was handed in. In this way largo sums were won by backing horses after the races were run. On one race they won £l5O. On one occasion Russell was in such haste to reach the post office that he called to a signalman at a level crossing, “Open tho gate, quick; I’m a doeOno of tho witnesses called was a subpostmistress, who said that ritockvis asked hor to send telegrams coded at 2.39 when tho actual time was 2.44. She declined, and Russell snid_. “It moans thousands to me.” She still declined, and ho then put tho bundle of telegrams in his pocket and left. The defendants, who were themselves bookmakers, both gave evidence denying any attempted fraud. Stockvis, in his evidence, said that at one lime, ho and his wife owned thirty racehorses, which ran in the registered name “Joe Drake.” Mr. Justice Bucknill, in passing sentence, said the prisoners were guilty of a dirty trick in swindling their first cousins—tho honest bookmakers.