Check Case No. 2

Melvin Trompe, who is 62 years of age, has an extensive criminal record dating back to 1930. He has served sentences in state penitentiaries at Columbus, Ohio, and Joliet and Menard, Illinois. On November 23, 1949, he served a twoyear sentence at the U. S. Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas, for the forging and uttering of a U. S. Treasurer's check. Other convictions of this defendant have been primarily for forgery. Mr. Trompe was released from the Illinois State Penitentiary on September 28, 1966, and began stealing checks during the early part of January 1967. He continued this activity, almost on a monthly basis, until his arrest this past July. He operated in twenty of our districts with his principal activity in the midwest and the south. Trompe operated alone and stole three or four checks a month, which was enough to cover his expenses for that period of time. Our Forgery Division has associated 190 U. S. Treasury checks with an approximate value of $17,000 to Trompe during his latest check stealing/forgery operation.

Melvin A. Trompe was arrested July 3, 1971, in

Anderson, Indiana, after he was spotted stealing U. S. Treasury checks from apartment house mailboxes. Trompe was chased

on foot by a lady who was expecting her monthly check, and apprehended a short distance away by a gas station attendant

who heeded the screams of the woman. The Secret Service

and the Postal Inspection Service cooperated in the prosecution of this defendant.

On September 17, 1971, Trompe pled guilty to 14 counts in the Southern District of Indiana, and was sentenced to serve 12 years in prison that same date.

Bond Forgery Investigations

Bond forgery investigations have continued in an irregular pattern, but have shown a steady increase in an overall

statistical comparison.

In fiscal year 1971, we received 22,991 bond investigations, and closed 22, 606 cases. This was a 35% increase in number of investigations over fiscal year 1970. The increase was due in part to the activities of one forger, who redeemed 6,976 forged bonds. This individual, now in a Federal penitentiary, had extensive connections with other individuals in the organized crime area.

With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I submit a chart for the record, showing the number of forged bond cases received for investigation for the fiscal years 1967 through 1971 with estimates for the fiscal years 1972 and 1973.

(Chart E)

25,000

UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE

NUMBER OF FORGED BOND CASES
RECEIVED FOR INVESTIGATION

FISCAL YEARS 1967-1973

CHART E

20,000

15,000

10,000 (9,799)

5,000

0

1967 1968 1969

1970

During fiscal year 1971, 145 persons were arrested for

bond forgery, an 18% increase over 1970.

Although there has

been a decrease in number of investigations received during the first six months of fiscal year 1972, arrests total 81 for a projected 11% increase over the preceding fiscal year. Of significance in these totals is an increased number of arrests of known fences and suppliers of bonds for aiding and abetting the actual forgers. Many individuals with known organized crime connections are under indictment or investigation at the present time. In this regard, many of our large bond investigations are being pursued by our representatives on the Organized Crime Strike Forces throughout the country in cooperation with other enforcement agencies.

During the first six months of fiscal 1972, agents working our routine investigations recovered 3, 624 stolen original U. S. Savings Bonds valued at $298, 375 prior to their redemption. This is consistent with prior fiscal year activities in this area.

The following are examples of bond cases involving organized groups of criminals operating with established fences.

Bond Case No. 1

On October 27, 1971, Christ Bambulus was sentenced in Chicago to five years on a three-count indictment. He was charged with conspiring to aid and abet in the forgery and interstate transportation of approximately $50,000 in stolen

U. S. Savings Bonds. He had been found guilty on

September 17, 1971, by a Jury trial which lasted five days.

It was learned during the trial that he had been involved with

an additional $100,000 in stolen and forged U. S. Savings Bonds.

Bambulus was a recognized fence who provided stolen

Series E Bonds to numerous forgers in the Chicago area for several years. Bond forgeries handled by at least five different multiple forgers were attributed to his operation. Three of Bambulus' customers, Leeman Fortner, Donald McGaughey and Kathaleen Moore McGaughey were convicted of cashing 1, 861 bonds with a face value of over $120,000 and they received sentences of 15 years, 5 years and 6 years, respectively.

Bond Case No. 2

During early 1969, three men were arrested in Nebraska for burglarizing a bank. Later, one of the three died of exposure during an escape attempt. Among the items stolen by this group was a large quantity of Series E Savings Bonds. Investigation failed to positively identify any of the three burglars with the negotiation of the forged Series E Bonds.

On July 31 and August 1, 1969, John Joseph Lovely forged and uttered 205 of these stolen bonds in various localities in

Louisiana.

Our investigation in this case determined that these bonds were associated with others evidently being handled by a well