12/21/1951
Two El Paso college students were victims of an ancient shakedown racket In Juarez. Bill Merkin of St. John's drive and Jack Vincent of North Oregon street said they paid $10 for tickets to a "policeman's party" to escape going to jail.'
The two men said they had just left a fraternity party at the Continental Hotel Tuesday night and had traveled approximately two blocks north of 16th of September street on Juarez avenue. They were stopped by two uniformed men in an old 1951 or '52 Oldsmobile, light blue in color.
Charged Speeding
"One of the men got out, but when we got out he climbed back in the car," Mr. Vincent said. "He told me I was going 30 miles in a 20 mile zone.
"Then he started talking about taking me to a doctor to see if 1 had been drinking and charging me with driving while drunk. He| said I would get three days in jail, a $75 fine and my car impounded.
"They just kept making threats about what they could do to me. I asked the man his name and he said Roberto Aguirre. Finally, I asked him just what he wanted me to do.
Bought Tickets
"He told me I could buy 10 tickets to this party and everything would be all right. That's what I did and they let us go. We reported this to the American Consulate and they told us to report it to the Tourist Bureau.
'It would be easy enough for the Juarez Police Department to find out who the men were by tracing their car. One thing for sure, we'll never hold another fraternity party in Juarez," Mr. Vincent said.
Meanwhile, he has 10 tickets for the "Gran Posada Anual" sponsored by the Department of Transportation, The event was held yesterday. Neither Mr. Merkin or Mr. Vincent cared to attend
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