The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-06-08
States Attorney In Hearing
Of Wholesale Liquor Case
IN RAILROAD SEIZURE
Case Was Taken Up in
City Court To-day, After Which
Judge Scott Announced He
Would Decide It Later.

The oft-continued case Of the nineteen
barrels Of wine seized at the Central
Vermont freight depot several weeks ago
on a warrant issued BY States Attor-
ney Gates was finally given hearing
in the city court this forenoon. The
states attorney and Grand Juror E. R.
Davis represented the state and r. A.
Hoar and W. A. Lord the defense. Tho
hearing ended with Judge Scott taking
the case under consideration and be will
announce his decision later.
Chief Faulkner was the only officer
put on the stand and he testified to
having seized the barrels Of wine In the
freight depot and that they had been
taken to the depot from car which
had been sidetracked in North Barre.
The wine was shipped by Ciocci & Lom-
hardy Of San Francisco and was con-
signed to them here, with notice to
notify A. Della Bernardini when the
car arrived here. The express had been
prepaid and Mr.. Bernardini appeared and
reeeipted for the car. The chief further
said that the barrels he seized at the
depot came from this car and that the
original names on several Of them had
been changed from parties in this city
to people In Montpelier, Mortified, Beth
eI and Waterbury and some other places
in the county
While he was at the depot selling
the wine, he said, an italian truckman
= Aasa .4F a.aA
then started to drive away with It. The
chief said he stopped him and seized the
barrel Of wine and found that the num-
Der on il corresponded with the number
on the bill Of lading Of the COcci Il
Lombardy car.
]. w. Thorington, e truckman, was
put onto the stand and he said be had
taken FIVE barrels from this car and
carried them to families in Montpelier
and that the families paid him for the
trucking. The bill of lading and the
changes Of tho names on the barrels
seized were presented to the court. This
finished the evidence Of the state and
the defense stated they had no wit
nesses
The states attorney then In address
ing the court declared that the changing
Of the names on the barrels TO names Of
parties in other towns and removing the
barrels to the freight depot with the
evident intention Of shipping them and
that A. Della Bernardini's name had
been changed to some other name led
him to believe that the liquor was for
illegal distribution. This case, he
claimed, was altogether different from
the cases where liquor had been seized
from the car and the courts had ordered
It returned, for this liquor was shipped
to Barre and was then being reshipped
by another party and distributed about
the state, which act be claimed was ille-
gal.
Mr.. Lord, for the defense, claimed that
the status Of the wine when IL was
seized By the officers determined this
case and that there had been no evil
dence submitted whatever that said thst
the wine was for illegal distribution or
sale. He claimed that the Ciocci & Iom-
bardi company had for the purpose of
saving freight shipped the wine here in
carload lots and the consignees had told
someone 10 see that their wine was
reshipped to them when it arrived.
Judge Scott said that there had been
no evidence produced that showed who
changed the names other than the bill
Of lading showed they bad been changed.
There were several questions in the case
he said that he would like to have the
supreme court decided upon, and he
would take the case and make ont find-
ings Of facts, and If be decided to hold
any part Of the wine the defense could
then take it up to supreme court.