The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-11-10
WOULDN' T SKIN
ONE ANOTHER
Notorious Willie Vida Explains the
Ethics of Gamblers for
Judge De Bolt.

Juu9e LIE Bolt.
When Willie Vida, professional gam
bier, described the scene in the Hotel
street gambling joint, when he, George
Kaea, Sam Apoliona and George Ke-
kipi waited for their victim. those lis
tening to his evidence thought of a row
Of vultures waiting for victim to die.
Willie was giving testimony in his own
defense before Judge De Bolt, his evil
dence being blacker against him than
anything the prosecution could advance.
Vida, without blush, confessed that
he and his associates "killed time"
while waiting on Beretania avenue on
August IA, for japanese to be rounded
up and herded into the joint where they
were to be mulcted of whatever money
they brought with them. This story
of Vida s told without a thought of
shame and ingenuously narrated, assisted
the prosecution in conyicting the quar-
tet, the jury which heard the case bring
ing in a verdict of guilty as charged
within six minutes from the time they
left the courtroom.
"Why were you waiting? Why
did you not play against each other ~
asked the prosecuting officer of Vida.
"'What did we want to skin each
other fora" asked Vida in surprise.
L" 1t was all our own money. We didn It
want to play for our own money. We
were waiting for the japanese to come
around -
What Vida was attempting to show
was that the game hadn t started when
an intruding special police officer drop
ped in.
The only witness for the prosecution
was A. ?. Taylor of The Advertiser
staff, who was at one time chief of
detectives, and under whose direction
all four of the gamblers had been ar
rested at various times. Taylor relat-
ed to the court and jury how he had
visited the building on Beretania ave-
nue. near River, looking for the gam
Waterman at the door, who fed when
a police badge was displayed; how he
heard the jingle of money coming from
the cellar under the building; how he
passed in one door which was loopholed;
how he passed through another and fin
ally how he looked down through a
trapdoor and watched about dozen
men standing and sitting about crap,
tablesintent on throwing dice and win
ming and losing money, which was in
plain sight on the table. He told how he
went into the cellar by a steep and
narrow stairway and went to the table
and stood behind Vida, who was sitting
with his shirt and coat off, busy with
dice and money, guarding as kitty
box'' at his side. He gave the location
of each one of the quartet as they stood
or sat about the table.
He told how Vida, after he took the
kitty box and started for the stair
way, grabbed hold of an injured wrist
and compelled the witness to release
the tin, which contained evidence, al
though Vida said he caught Taylor by
the throat.
Attorney Aehi for the defense asked
the raid, and suggested that it was be
cause the prosecuting witness wanted
to get into ''county politics and be
elected,' whatever that means Then
Achi suggested that when Taylor saw
the dice rolling that the men were only
practising, a naive suggestion which
made even the judge smile broadly,
for the idea of the most expert dice
throwers in Honolulu needing practise
was something novel.
Two outside witnesses were put on
the stand by the defense, both of them
stating that they were conducted to
the den by Kekipi and Kaea respee-
lively. A Hawaiian witness from Pun
loa said he came in from Puuloa on
the AIS train and was taken to the
joint by Kekipi. AS matter of fact
Taylor was in the joint at eight min
utes past four that afternoon. Prose
cutting Attorney A. NJ. Brown, who con-
/ Quoted the case for the government,
frazZled out the witness testimony,
who said that while he was in the den
nobody said a word and no gambling
was going on and the place was as quiet
as if a funeral was in progress. Vida s
j testimony contradicted this statement,
he saying that talking was INDUCED in
right along.
4 Chinese witness said he went to
play seven-eleven, but there was no
playing up to the time Taylor arrived.
AS to why he skunk out of the place
when the reporter arrived he said he
was afraid of Taylor.
| Vida said he went to the place to
play seven-eleven. He said they were
all waiting for japanese to be brought
i IN before playing. Asked why he
Kaea, Kekipi and Apoliona did not
play among themselves. he replied that
they were friends and did not care to
win each others money. Asked why he
waited for the japanese he said they
were all waiting to get them into a
game and win what money they had
In other words their duty as a quartet
was to skin anybody who could be rush.
ed into the place George Kaea was
the only one of the quartet who was
not placed on the stand. He has an
other gambling charge against him
having been arrested subsequently to
the raid made by The Advertiser re
porter,
| Sentence will be pronounced by
Judge De Bolt this afternoon.
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