Huge Profit from Fraud The Federal authorities responsible for the enforcement of pro hibition have discovered that 1,200 forged permits to remove whisky from bonded warehouses are in existence in New York City.
Altogether the State Director of Prohibition issued 11,000 permits for the release for non-beverage purposes of spirituous liquors from bond. The permits are protected by bonds ranging from £200 to £20,000. The latter sum entitles the holder to purchase an unlimited amount for "legitimate" use, such as the manufacture of perfumes, 26s. a gallon. Whisky obtained in this fashion or by the use of forged permits is retailed at from 40s. to SUs. © quart, and shows a profit by the time it reaches the drinker vi 700 to 800 per cent.
It is estimated that the forgers netted in the last two months a profit of more than £2,000,000. The effect of the forgeries has been to release such quantities of whisky that the price in retail drinking places has been reduced from 3s. to 2s, 6d. for a small glass of whisky and water, One man who sold his permit legitimately obtained forfeited the bond on discovery, but was able to console himself by the fact that he had made a profit in two weeks of £40,000. Of 1,500 cases brought into Court against violators of the Prohibition law in New York only 10 so far have resulted in sentences of imprisonment, though numerous fines from £2 to £200 have been inflicted.
The State Director of Prohibition confesses to-day that £4,000,000, when the post office clerk yearly will be required in New affixes the stamp to the letter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.