Washington, Aug. 4.
Arrest of Wilbur Rothar of New 'York for allegedly attempting extort $2,000 from Mr. George Palmer [Putnam, husband of 'Mrs. Amelia Earhart' Putnam, was announced the Department of Justice to-day.
The man was accused of having sought {0 obtain the money for the safe return of Mrs. Putnam, whose plane was forced down in the south JPacide during an attempted flight around the world.
Rothar allegedly wrote Mr. Putnam purporting to be a seaman on a vessel engaged in running munitions to Spain. He said he left New Guinea in June, sighted a plane and removed a woman in serious mental and physical condition who. was later identified as Mrs, Putnam, Department of Justice agents took [Rother into custody when he called {o collect the money for the informa tion, and said he.admitted the entire story to be a fabrication, He had used a scarf which Mrs, Earhart had lost several years ago at Roosevelt Field to support his: claim that had deen the airwoman. Under ques tioning Rothar admitted he had kept the scarf as a souvenir until he had the idea of the extortion—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.