SEATING THE TOTE.

Otaki Mail, 6 March 1922, Page 4

SEATING THE TOTE.

CkllYki; Fli,-YL : 1) AT DA.NNkYJIUvh. j An individual, whose ingenuity might be ol sume advantage to the j public generally ii turned* into more j ; legitimate channels, has evidently set ( > to work in a systematic effort to rolj j | jhe oliicials who run the tolalisator. ■uu the first of ihe JJannevzike . i meeting, when balancing up, it was j discovered that a sum in the vicinity iof £IOO had been over-paid. A- serifliny of the tickets revealed the ’act ’ , tiiat in a number of them the official stamp had been so cleverly imitated as to be almost a facsimile'of the ! original, and it was only by ihe clos- I est scrutiny that ihe fraud could be j detected. It was quite natural that ( m the bfi.rry of paying out the fraud ; was not discovered at tiie time. liie*. - exlJ'Mordinary tiling about tiie matter j /seems to be that the him vyhieli nms ' iotalisaior a! Uancevirkp was - similarly victimised at meetings at , A~[» hurst and Fox ton,, while so far as is known inany ol the other meetings .were favour-:'.'i by the operations of this enterptlsing crook. Of course, tiie modus operand, is unknown except to the person or per- , sons working the swindle, but it, apparently, is very clever, it is ;urjnised that the operators purchase a j. ib ket on various■ horses soon alter the , machine •.•peps, and in some mysterious manner mnn.ufaenire the forgeries , .—check stamp and ad—if# J?: 1 ’. 6 10 pre ‘ sent them when the winners are ,*?- ...laif-.d. lust how or where it Is done is tile if cviiret, but an enclosed motor- , cur is mentioned as a probable locale. and the theory t* that a facsl- _ mile of the tickets is carved oil cork, • ... so true is the. representation that it is only by the keenest scrutiny that j the variations between the fake and • the genuine ticket, can be observed..

. Then there is the additional safeguard of the colouring of the ink used j in the secret check, but even this had been so successfully imitated as to j baffle detection except under the. clos- ' est observation.

Many attempts have been made m the past to rob the "tote,’ - but tbe present scheme has-~. been the most perplexing and costly '4O those who have to loot the bill.