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Mcallen Daily Press
Mcallen, Hidalgo County, Texas
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In Mineola, N.Y., junk dealer Michael Palermo paid $50 down to 'buy' the Stewart Branch of the Long Island Railroad from John Weiss, who falsely claimed ownership. Palermo removed and sold 18 tons of rails before police intervened, revealing the scam.
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MINEOLA, N. Y., Sept. 7-(UP)- Michael Palermo brought a railroad with a $50 down-payment but detectives decided today he could not keep it.
The trouble, they told Palermo, was that the man from whom he bought the railroad didn't own it, and the real owners don't want to sell.
By the time police caught up with him, the 22-year-old junk-man had removed and sold 18 tons of trackage.
The railroad involved was the seldom-used Stewart Branch of the Long Island railroad.
Palermo just grinned when detectives questioned him. Sure he was tearing up the railroad, sure he was selling the rails, sure he knew who owned the branch—He did. He had just bought it a few days ago—from a man named John Weiss, representative of the Brooklyn Traction company.
Palermo, Palermo said, was no fool. He had made Weiss accompany him to a notary public's office and swear that the deal was okay. The notary public witnessed his payment to Weiss. Palermo was to pay $75 for eight tons of rail up to a certain point and, when business progressed that far, slightly more from there on to the terminus.
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Filler Details
Topic
Junk Dealer Scammed Into Buying Railroad Branch
Location
Mineola, N. Y.
Key Persons
Event Details
Michael Palermo, a 22-year-old junk man, paid $50 down to John Weiss, who claimed to represent the Brooklyn Traction company, to buy the seldom-used Stewart Branch of the Long Island Railroad. Palermo removed and sold 18 tons of rails before detectives informed him Weiss did not own it and the real owners would not sell. The deal was notarized, with payments planned at $75 for eight tons plus more to the terminus.