St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1893-04-13
A BIG LIQUOR CASE.
Fish Dealer Greeley Tried for Selling
Whiskey with his Fish.


Whiskey with his Fish.
The police did some excellent work
Saturday when they arrested W. o.
Greeley, D. R. Miles and Elon Good
enough for illegal liquor selling. 1t
appeared at the trial that Greeley
had done big liquor business the
past six months, and that his two
clerks, Miles and Goodenough, had
sold it constantly.
The three were brought before
Justice Walter p. Smith OH Saturday
and held for trial on the following
Monday. Greeley's bail was fixed at
$500, and the bail of his two clerks
was placed at 5000 each. Greeley
secured a bondsman in Thomas
Gagner, who took his store
fixtures and fish as security Greeley
sent his wife and baby to Boston on
the Saturday night train and spent
Sunday collecting accounts. Late
Sunday night he jumped the state to
avoid the coming trial. But Mr..
Gagner was not to be caught nap
ping. He got Deputy Sheriff Switser
and late Sunday night they drove
in a double team to the home of
Greeley's uncle, George Bennett, who
lives in Waterford. The alleged fish
dealer was not there, so the party
proceeded to Littleton, arriving there
at O'Clock Monday morning.
Greeley was found in hotel He
was greatly surprised to see his
bondsman and refused to come back
with him. He was taken before the
states attorney there and notified
that if he did not go back to St.
Johnsbury he would be sent back by
the Littleton officers. He did not
know that bondsman can take a
man that has jumped his bail from
any state without requisition. So
Greeley was brought back to this
town and lodged in our county jail.
The trial was held on Monday and
Tuesday. Lawyer Dunnett appear
ing from tor the defense and Lawyer
Stafford represented the state in the
absence of States Attorney Bates.
3 The tiia excited intense interest,
;. partly because of the number of Of
D lenses and partly owing to the fact
that so many of our citizens had
been summoned as witnesses. 1t
i seems that the fish dealers had run a
E book account with their customers
- and sold three grades of whskey,
at $1.00, $1.25 and $3.50 a quart
> bottle, The liquor was charged on
Il the books as salt salmon" while
it was sold over the counter as wet
4 goldfish"
Miles and Goodenough were the
principal witnesses, and they swore
to having sold "salt salmon" to
t Greeley's customers for the past six
months and in some cases the supply
was not equal to the demand. They
told all they knew about this
: nefarious business, and offense after
offeuse was proved against Greeley
by their testimony. After this the
Customers were introduced and
testified. Some denied ever getting
d any liquor of Greeley, others had re-
n markably poor memories, but the
4 majority of them corroborated the
testimony of Miles and Goodenough,
and sometimes acknowledged that
they had bought liquor more times
!, than the clerks had given them credit
4 form their previous testimony. At the
conclusion of the trial the lawyer for
the defense acknowledged that 67
l. offenses had been proven against
!, Greeley, while the prosecuting at
d torney claimed that there were near
. ly 100 offenses.
Lawyer Stafford, in his argument
reminded the court of the way
S Greeley had constantly de6ed the
l. law; of the sorrow he had brought
into the homes of his patrons; of the
great magnitude of his nefarious
business and urged that he receive
9 the fullest sentence the law imposed
- Lawyer Dunnett pleaded for Greeley s
l. family; that Greeley had been but a
h short time in this business and that
e he was unable to pay a heavy fine
!. The court reserved its decision unit
. Friday.
The officers are to be atulatet
e upon the way they have managed
" this case. A disreputable business
n has been completely broken up anc
- the effect upon the community viii
"a be very good. Greeley's conduc,
y throughout the case has been such
u that he receives little sympathy from
# our people.