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‘Gift’ Racket Smashed WithArrest of PairSTUTTGART. Nov. 1 (SS)—An illegal “gifi-shipment racket involving more than 23 tons of welfare packages was disclosed by the U.S. 7751st MP Customs Unit today in an announcement of the arrest of two Germans._ Instead of going to needy persons, the gifts—mostly coffee—were channeled into the black market with a loss of 250,000 marks in German customs and excise taxes, customs agents said.Arrest of the alleged ringleader.Willy Korn, 32-year-old Stuttgart night-club owner, followed his attempt to bribe a U. S. customs-unit agent with $2,300 last September, it was disclosed.Fraud ChargedKorn has been charged in U.S. District Court at Mannheim withfalsification of documents, attempted bribery, fraud, and evasion of customs duties. He is free on 20,000 marks bail while awaiting trial.Also held in custody is a Mannheim city councilman, for further investigation, in connection with the fraud, customs-unit agents said.According to the investigators, Korn conspired with two Mannheim city officials to certify shipments of coffee and other foodstuffs from Switzerland during the summer as “welfare-gift packages” for distribution through the Mannheim locals of the Europa Union and Caritas organizations.Korn allegedly obtained from the city officials a number of stamps which permitted the shipments to evade the normal customs and excise taxes. He allegedly promised each official a ton of coffee.Customs agents said a . large quantity’' of the shipments ' apparently reached black-markel destinations.
Newspaper Details
European Stars and Stripes
Darmstadt, Hesse, DE
Wed, Nov 02, 1949
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 22 May 2019
Other Publications Near Darmstadt, Hesse
Allgemeine Kirchen Zeitung
European Stars and Stripes
