WWII Draft Question; Urban Legend?

Factual Questions
1

A guy on CNN mentioned this anecdote at the end of a segment last night.

In World War Two, some lawyer in NYC had this scam going:
Parents would approach him for help to keep their boys from getting drafted.

He said, “There are X # of doctors on the draft board, and I have one of them in my pocket. I can’t tell you who it is, but if your son sees him, he will be rejected, and you owe me $500.”

He didn’t really know any of the docs, just relied on the laws of chance, and made a killing from grateful parents.

I might well have missed this on the SD or Snopes. Thanks.

2

If the guy didn’t say which doc it was, then the boy wouldn’t know what to do. Why would the parents think they had received value, then?

The odor of a UL hangs over the message board like that of a hamper full of sweatsocks …

3

That was the whole point of the scam. Once they had contracted with this shyster, if, by perchance the boy was rejected, the dude makes $500.

As I pointed out, nobody knew if they would be rejected or not.

Agreed on the smell of UL, I was asking if anybody had heard of it.

4

There was a genuine case of this con years ago here in Hong Kong. An old guy hung around outside the centre where people take driving tests. He told nervous-looking people going in that he knew 2 of the 4 (or some such) examiners and would ensure they passed IF they got the right examiner. He took their names and went off. Those that failed - too bad, he didn’t know the examiner. Those that passed were so happy they paid him… except - I guess - the one who turned him in to the police!

5

Thanks Hemlock, I would guess my story was apocryphal, since a different version is around.

I will consider this answered.