Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-04
.LOSEE SOBS As
HE IS SET FREE
MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SAVE
FURTHER ANNOYANCE
Court Imposes Nominal Fine on Long
Beach Trustee and IL Is
Paid-Eno Case
Dead

mer trustee of Long Beach, who was
charged with a felony In that 1t was
alleged he had accepted bribe from
a contractor i'm the building of the new
pleasure pavilion, came to an end sud-
denly yesterday when Losee was taken
before Justice Young of the township
court and there allowed to plead guilty
to a misdemeanor charge.
The case has been a famous one in
the local courts because of the fact
that bribery charges have rarely ever
been preferred in this county, and when
Losee and Mayor r. A. Emo of Long
Beach were arrested just after Christ
mas of last year the details caused a
sensation.
Losee was tried on the charge in the
superior court, and the jury, a jury
which during the season had estab-
lished a record of convlcting on very
slight evidence, considered the ques-
tion six hours and then announced it
could not agree.
The trial had nearly Frustrated Losee,
who had borne it bravey in the hope OF
acquittal and during the past few days
he had been subject to nervous at
tacks.
Pleads Guilty conditionaIly
Late Monday afternoon. in view of
the fact that a second trying of the case
did not seem promising, an agreement
was reached whereby Losee in order to
have the worry of the charge lifted from
him promised to plead guilty to a mis-
demeanor charge of a technical nature.
Tho pOI11nInipt n1p6n ont along
the same line as that of the felony
charge, except that it was alleged Losee
had been interested as city official in
contract regarding city work.
Yesterday afternoon the information
was filed in the Justices court and
Losee and his attorneys appeared there
few moments later.
The accused man seemed many years
older than when he was first arrested
and the trouble and worry brought to
him and his family had unnerved him.
He sat down quietly and listened to
the recitation of the charge against
HIM He even sat there, bearing up
bravely when District Attorney Fred
ericks announced to the court that
Losee in order to repay any loss the city
of Long Beach had sustained had paid
$1,000 to the city treasurer.
Sobs at Courts Words
But when the court began to extend
its sympathy toward him Losee could
endure 1t no longer His face twitched
pitifully and then he turned his head
away and sobbed.
"Mr. Losee," said the court. stand
up and receive sentence" and Losee
was assisted to his feet.
Your standing in the community in
which you have lived has been above re-
proach," said Justice Young. There
was never even suspicion of wrong
brought against you and I sympathize
with you in your present trouble.
ut is the order of the court that
upon your plea of guilty to this charge
you pay a fine of $500 or in default
thereof be confined in the county Jail
for 500 days"
By that time Losee was sobbing BIT
terly and he sank back in his chair and
covered his face with his hands. He
had fought the charge so long and his
conviction of his own good standing
had been so true that the act of plead
ing guilty to minor charge to save
himself the many weeks of distress and
anxiety fairly broke his heart
Deposits $500 With Court
His attorney went to Justice Young
and deposited five one hundred dollar
bills with him and then Losee was told
He managed to stand up and then
attempted to thank the court but his
voice choked in his throat and all he
could do was to bow At the door he
shook hands with District Attorney
Fredericks and then host of friends
who have remained his friends through
his trouble crowded about him and es-
corted him to his home at Long Beach.
The crime with which Losee was ORR
oipoIIu harOad WAS that of having
cepted a bribe 1t was alleged by
Charles Corbaley of Long Beach, con-
tractor that when his firm was award
ed the contract for building the founda-
tion of the pleasure pavilion, Losee had
accepted a thousand dollars from him.
Friend Turns on Losee
Losee had been Corbaley's friend, but
'Corbaley had no hestancy in testifyins
against him and the young man proved
the chief witness for the state.
1t is now rumored that Mayor R. A.
Emo, charged with a similar offense,
will be liberated because there is pra =
tically no evidence against him except
that given by the alleged bribe giver or
accomplice.
Since Judge Smith holds that in a
bribery case the bribe giver is an ac-
complice and therefore his evidence
must be strongly corroborated, Emo
may be released without trial in the
superior court.