Emil Wentz and William Bering Jensen v. United States

Wentz and Jensen were indicted and convicted as a consequence of a fraudulent scheme wherein Frank X. Pommer and Selma H. Pommer were the victims. A federal case was made out of it by adding the charge that “for the purpose of executing the * * * scheme and artifice (the defendants) caused to be transmitted by means of interstate and foreign wire a signal (i.e. a Western Union telegram) and sound from the City and County of Los Angeles, California, within the Central Division of the Southern District of California to Dallas, Texas, thence to San Antonio, Texas, and thence to Mexico, District Federal, Republic of Mexico.”

The “flim-flam” involved many of the usual facets. A fixed horse race, fantastic winnings. The solicitation to put up “good faith” or guarantee money. Then the victims put up and lose $24,000.

The testimony has been so excised, as was proper, that the only incident for consideration here is the telegram dispatched from Los Angeles and addressed to Mexico City. We do not know how it fitted in to the plan or scheme, or with certainty who actually sent it. But it is conceded that there was adequate testimony to convict the defendants if the telegram’s “course” is…