William P. Buckner was an affluent New York City businessman who dated movie actress Loretta Young. In 1938 he was indicted for falsely inflating the price of Philippine Railway bonds. The illegal maneuvering cost bond investors millions of dollars. Years later Buckner took advantage of a New York law that legalized bingo in the Empire State. He ran bingo games throughout the week in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and Cuba. Buckner maintained several New York addresses as well as another in the Virgin Islands.