The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-03-01

the sugar trust" Judge Martin of
the United States circuit court ruled,
| however, that the defendant was not
| entitled to immunity and must stand
trial.
Heike is the first Of the prominent
officials of the sugar trust" to be-
come seriously entangled in the mesh
es of the Federal investigation which
has already sent several of the SUBJ
ordinate employees of tn Amrican Su-
gar Refining company to prison and
has resulted in the company paying
to the government fines aggregating
nearly two million dollars for alleged
evasion of the customs duties. In the
course of the investigation Heike has
been frequently referred to as "the
man higher up" whom the govern
ment prosecutors hope to prove had
a full knowledge of the colossal
frauds unearthed during the past
year. Nevertheless the indictment Of
Heike last January caused consider
able surprise, coming as it did on the
heels of a formal statement issued
by the directors of the sugar company
in which it was declared that the
board was satisfied that no officer or
director of the company had any
knowledge of the frauds.
Heike's connection with the sugar
frauds, on which his indictment was
found, comes through the fact that
the reports of false weighing went
through his hands as secretary Of the
company. 1t was also learned that
he Endorsed checks payable to the SUI
gar company and drawn upon the
United States Treasurer, representing
the refund of duties paid, which. &C
cording to the indictment, the gov
eminent should have retained.
With Secretary Heike there were
named in the indictment Henry w.
Walter, the assistant dock boss at the
Williamsburg plant, and Ernest w.
Gerbracht, James F. Bendernagel,
Jean M. Voelger, and James F. Hal
ligan. Several of these men had been
previously indicted and the new in
dictments were returned only for the
purpose of Strengthening the cases
against them.
~Of the indictment on which Heike
and his co-defendants are now to be
tried the first four counts charge spe-
cific acts of false entry with respect
to various cargoes Of sugar. The
fifth count of the indictment fixes the
date of the conspiracy as March /,
1907, and declares that the defend
ants did unlawfully and willfully con-
spire with Splitter, Boyle, Coyle, Hen
Messy and Kehoe, the sugar weigh
ing gang already convicted, to de-
fraud the government. Then various
overt acts are charged, these includ-
ing the Endorsement by Heike of var
ious checks drawn by the collectors
office on the government to refund
to the sugar company the excess of
duties supposed to have been collect
ed. These checks run from accounts
of several hundred to several thous-
and dollars.
The entry of several other cargoes
of sugar at less than their lawful
weights, and the making out of false
statements by voelker, Halligan, and
the other dock men, are also set up
as overt acts to support the conspir-
acy count of the indictment. The
sixth and last count of the indictment
accuses Heike and the other defend
ants with conspiring with Splitter and
his men to effect the entry OF sugar
at false weights by means OF false
and fraudulent written statements, at
dates both before and after March 1,
1907.