New York, Mar. 18.
Federal authorities yesterday revealed an international plot involving Japanese efforts to obtain oil in the United States.
The Government detained one man and asked the federal bureau of investigation to arrest two others in connection with the plot. One of the men, Mr. Robert Lightfoot, Dallas, Tex, was described as a former colonel in the United States Marines and a well-known polo player.
The United States Attorney's office said the trio had swindled a Japanese Government representative, Baron Oscar Kohorn, of U.S. $60,000 and induced Baron Kohorn to send a chartered tanker, the Houston, for 5,000,000 barrels of oil.
The Japanese representative later learned the company he believed he was dealing with to be non-existent. Authorities said Japan spent US. $50,000 sending a special mission to the United States to consulate the deal.
The trio also was accused of defraying New York City of U.S. $5,678 by making trans-Atlantic telephone calls from a Judge's chambers without his knowledge, trying to make deals with the Spanish and Italian Governments.—United Press,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.
