Gold Bricks

Large on a 1930 National Geographic Map of Antarctica bulked the Charles Bob Mts., Commander Byrd's way of thanking one of the backers of his first South Pole expedition. For a time Charles Victor Bob bulked equally large on the Manhattan scene.

A perfect flowering of the giddy '20s, he arrived from Nevada with a small fortune from promoting mining stocks, hired a press agent and proceeded to splurge. He gave banquets for bigwigs, planned a $50,000,000 corporation with Charles Lindbergh as president to control the nation's airways,* had a nasty squabble with Claude Neon (lights) over patents, ended a spectacular sally into prizefight promotion by himself trying to knock out Gene Tunney. He also turned a pretty penny floating and promoting mine stocks, climax of which was the forming in 1928 of an investment trust, Metal & Mining Shares, Inc.

Came a day in late 1930 when Charlie Bob could not be found. He had kited for Mexico. In Manhattan the Attorney General's office, following up complaints from stockholders who had lost some six millions, had decided that Metal & Mining had falsified its earnings reports and its list of investments.

Presently surrendering to U. S. authorities, genial Promoter Bob found juries no more of a problem than the speculators he had cajoled. No less than three juries split over the question of whether or not he had used the mails to defraud. The case was finally nol-prossed.

Last month Promoter Bob, his hair thinner but his personality still as bland as ever, was in new trouble. Again he went on trial in Manhattan for using the mails to defraud. According to Assistant U. S. Attorney Leo Fennelly, who has helped run down many a noted swindler (including Banker Joseph Harriman), Promoter Bob had sunk so low he had taken to selling gold bricks. In 1932 he acquired Bankers Service Co., which was founded in 1908 to solicit accounts for savings banks and which he turned to investment counseling. Its chief counsel, according to the charge, was to advise suckers to switch their investments to two virtually defunct gold mines Promoter Bob owned. In Coronado Gold Mines, Inc. suckers lost $250,000; in Kelly Gold & Silver Mines, Inc., $200,000.

When investigators closed in, one of Swindler Bob's front-men threatened to kill Prosecutor Fennelly and then commit suicide. He was sent to the psychopathic ward of Bellevue Hospital. Last week Promoter Bob was sent to jail for seven years. He had lost his touch. It took the jury only two and a half hours to convict him.

*Colonel Lindbergh denied any connection with the scheme.

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