Watch Smuggling Ends
U. S. Customs Agents Uncover
Plot That Was Originated
in Atlanta Prison
By C. S. Van Dresser
WHILE Incarcerated in the Federal
penitentiary at Atlanta after having
been convicted of illegally running more
than a million dollars’ worth of expen
sive Swiss watch movements into the
United States, the wily brain of Paul
Rabkin, arch-smuggler, conceived and
put into operation a gigantic scheme to
defraud Uncle Sam out of untold thou
sands of dollars of rightful revenue.
Under the very eyes of close prison
censorship, criminal Paul Rabkin di
rected details of the organization of an
internatioi.rl smuggling ring without
once being detected. Not until after he
had served his stretch was his clever and
audacious conspiracy definitely sus
pected.
It sounds incredible that one man
could so hoodwink Federal agents while
actually in prison, but the work of astute
New York Customs Agent Van Wie and
United States Treasury Representative
Samuel Brummer stationed at Milan.
Italy, uncovered the plot and laid bare
the evidence that was eventually to re
convict this king-pin smuggler of Amer
ica. Even at that, the Canadian immi
gration officials and the Canadian Royal
Mounted Police had to be called in to
assist in the capture of the racketeer.
Paul Rabkin is now in the Fe leral pen
itentiary at Lewisburg, Pa., and his ring
has been completely annihilated. But
here’s the story:
One morning in early 1932 ace Customs
Inspector Van Wie approached the desk
of Alvin McK. Sylvester, Assistant UniCed
States Attorney in the New York City
area.
“Listen, Chief,’’ said the customs man.
“I know this sounds screwy, but that last
big seizure of smuggled Swiss watch
movements looks to me like the work of
Paul Rabkin.’’
“Say, Van Wie." returned the attorney.
"I've got enough troubles of my own
without you Customs Service fellows giv
ing me more of your far-fetched ideas.
How could Rabkin have anything to do
with all these smuggled watch move
ments that have been turning up lately?
He’s in the Atlanta pen and won't be out
for a month yet.”
“I know, Chief, but what about his son,
August? He’s not in Jail."
“Why, young Rabkin Is on his honey
moon in Europe, isn’t he?’’
“Honeymoon, my eye. You can bet
your bottom dollar he’s in Switzerland
buying up a load of watch movements
to ship to his old man the moment he
gets out of Atlanta.”
Now let’s go further back:
It all started in 1929 when Paul Rab
kin was convicted of smuggling expensive
Swiss watch movements into the United
States. As the duty on the more valuable
movements runs as high as $10.75 each,
the wily contraband runner had made
himself a fortune in the several years
of his operation before his conviction. It
is not known the amount of watches he
got illegally into the United States, but
he was convicted of smuggling a million
dollars’ worth, which is probably but a
fraction of the amount he really handled
and sold at an enormous profit.
He had a vast organization in those
days, with agents In Switzerland and Bel
gium; receiving stations in America dis
guised as dealers in antiques and furni
ture, and a complete system of distribu
tion in the form of seemingly legitimate
jewelry stores and mail-order houses. In
fact, two of his chain of retail shops
operated out in the open and were known
as the “Federal Mail Order House" and
the “Super Fine Watch Company."
PIC
So the Customs Service heaved a sigh
of relief when Paul Rabkin. the king
pin watch smuggler of America, was sent
away to Atlanta in 1929 after having been
convicted of Wholesale watch smuggling.
But now, hardly more than two years
later, watches were beginning to be
smuggled in even greater quantities than
before Rabkin was sent to Atlanta. As
near as customs men could determine,
the methods were the same.
Samuel Brummer, of the Milan (Italy)
office, notified Customs Service head
quarters in New York City that the sus
pected young Rabkin had purchased 3000
fine Swiss watch movements worth a
good many thousand dollars. The cus
toms agents were pretty sure an attempt
would be made to smuggle them into the
United States. But how?
\
All the questionable antique and furni
ture importing shops in New York were
subjected to thorough scrutiny, but noth
ing was learned. However, the customs
agents overlooked one bet.
Unknown to them a certain Morris
Oubofsky had opened a modest paper
importing establishment on Broome
Street, New York City. The name of his
firm was the “Meray Box Stationery Cor
poration.” For about a year Dubofsky
imported writing paper from Switzerland
and nobody paid any attention to him.
Since Agent Brummer's advice had
come from Italy, men of the Customs
Service were going over incoming ship
ments on New York’s piers with a fine
toothed comb, searching for concealed
watch movements. On the morning of
August 19, 1932, a large packing case ar
rived on the lie de France addressed to
the “Meray Box Stationery Corporation."
Agents checked the consignment and
learned that the “corporation” was not
listed in the telephone directory. This
looked suspicious, so the packing case
was examined and 3000 valuable Swiss
watch movements were discovered hid
den in boxes of writing paper.
On that same day Paul Rabkin, who
had been out of Atlanta for six months,
and shadoweu night and day by Federal
men, was observed in close conversation
with Morris Dubofsky at the shop on
Broome Street This bit of evidence
«eemed definitely to prove that the arch-
This is another of the series
of “ inside ” true stories on
how the United States Cus
toms Agents wage a successful
war on dope racketeers and
smugglers.
smuggler was again at his old racket and
had engineered the watcn shipment just
discovered.
When Morris Dubofsky arrived at his
shop to claim his "writing paper, Agent
Van Wie nabbed him. It looked like an
open-and-shut case against Paul Rabkin.
But the hitch came up when Dubofsky
refused to admit that Rabkin had any
thing to do with the shipment. It was n
stalemate for the Customs Service, for
they actually had nothing on Rabkin.
However, if it could be nroved that young
August Rabkin had shipped the watch
movements from Switzerland, then the
father could be charged with a conspir
acy case.
Dubofsky was arraigned and held to
prevent him from tipping off the elder
Rabkin. The hard-working Samuel
Brummer was asked to get the evidence
in Switzerland against August Rabkin.
This the Milan agent proceeded to do,
but to make things more complicated,
young Rabkin got in trouble with the
watch company over nonpayment of a
bill and fled to France The company
carried the suit across the border and
August Rabkin was arrested in Paris in
October, 1932. He got out of that diffi
culty in time to sail November 23 on the
S. S. Bremen for New York.
The customs agents awaited his arrival
with glee, and when the boat docked
nabbed him for he had no idea he was
wanted in the United States. Now the
case was complete. The information
supplied by Customs Agent Samuel
Brummer that young Rabkin had shipped
the packing case in which was hidden
3000 watch movements provided the final
bit of evidence necessary to convict the
entire smuggling ring. Dubofsky was al
ready certain of conviction, due to the
fact that he had received the illegal ship
ment. /
Paul Rabkin was sentenced by Judge
Knox, of the Southern District of New
York, to four years and a fine of SIO,OOO.
At the same time Dubofsky got three
years and six months. A week later
young Rabkin started serving a stiff sen
tence.
“I remember the case well,” he contin
ued. “Rabkin appealed after he was sen
tenced by Judge Knox. His appeal was
denied and he was to start serving his
stretch the following December.
“When that day around the wily
old smuggler was not to be found. He
had scrammed—disappeared into thin
air. And were the boys sore! They had
gone to a lot of trouble to build up a per
fect case on the old rascal, and they'd
been under plenty of pressure from
higher up due to the complaints of the
American watchmakers. So when Rab
kin vanished they took is as a personal
insult and went after him with a ven
geance.
“The first clue trickled in a few months
later when an illegal load of Swiss watch
movements was discovered crossing the
Canadian border into the States. I'll
have to hand it to the Canadian immi
gration officials and the Canadian Royal
Mounted police for, after we told them
who we wanted, they rounded up Rabkin
in short order.
“Yes,' he was working the same racket,
this time in Toronto. As the Canadian
duty on foreign watches was but a frac
tion of what it was here, the old devil was
importing watches into Canada from
Switzerland, paying the duty and then
smuggling them into the States
“I had to go to Toronto to make the
identification and present legal data
showing why Rabkin was subject to de
portation. The Canadian authorities co
operated wholeheartedly and furnished
a competent escort for him through the
port of Fort Erie, Ontario, to the Black
Rock Station, Buffalo
“The boys made sure he didn’t get
away that time and the master-mind
watch smuggler now has plenty of leisure
to repent his ways while serving his sen
tence at the Federal Penitentiary at Lew
isburg. Pa.”