Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-06-12
PRISON CELL FOR HEIKE
Penitentiary Sentence Awaits Sugar
Magnate and Subordinate.
S CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY
Found GaiIty of Fraudulent Weigh
p Ing of Raw Sugar shipments
Heike Il SIxty-Five and
Broken i'm Health.

NEW YORK. June l1.-Charles Heike, the
! white haired secretary of the American
4 Sugar Refining company, was convicted last
| night on one count of an indictment charg-
ing conspiracy to defraud the government
4 of customs due on sugar.
z Ernest w. Gerbracht former superintend-
Y ent of the Williamsburg (Brooklyn) re-
7 finery, was convicted on all six counts.
For James F, Bendernagel, former cashier
r of the refinery, the jury stood seven TO
= five for acquittal. He Will be tried again,
The verdict was announced at 1910 o'clock
tonight, after the jurors had deliberated
nearly twelve hours. They had labored
earnestly, from time to time sending out
I for transcripts of the testimony, particu--
larly referring to Heike. 1t was Bender
nagel's case that caused the long session.
over his fate more than twenty ballots
/ were taken.
1 Faces Prison Term.
This ends the governments second at
y tempt to imprison the group of men respon-
- sible for the vast underweighing frauds to
! which the so-called trust has virtually con-
fessed by the restitution of more than ST.
100000 in duty. Heike Is the highest official
OF the company upon whom blame has
b been fixed. and he now faces a possible SEN
= stence Of two years in the federal peni-
&tentlary and fine of $4,000 He is 60 years
old and broken In health and spirits. His
counsel, in summing up, declared repeat
eddy that prison term meant nothing less
q than death,
z Convicted on six counts, Gerbracht can
be sentenced to twelve years in prison, with
"a maximum fine of $4,000. Like Helke, he
sSis past middle age being So years old.
- All three defendants. who were under
Ebond, were paroled in the custody Of coun-
sci until 1880 o'clock tomorrow morning
. when the court will hear the usual motion
in the cases of Heike and Gerbracht, and
barring some stay, viii announce the time
OF sentence.
The trial which ended tonight began
tS'AIay 16 with six defendants included in
the indictment. Besides Heike, Gerblacht
and Benderhagel. there were three minor
a employes-Harry W.. Walker. assistant
dock superintendent, and Jean M Voelker
and James F. Halligan. checkers. The
trial had not progressed far, however.
Z when the testimony so incriminated these
men that their counsel entered pleas Of
guilty. They have not yet been sentenced.
a. Bendernagei had been tried previously
with oliver Splitter. the pardoned dock
= superintendent who testified at the trial
Just closed but as was the case tonight,
the Jury disagreed. Splitter got two years
ana four checkers were sentenced to one
year each.
They are still serving time on Blackwells
island, hut Splitter. conscience-stricken.
nltnade q complete confession and told a
story that resulted in Heikes conviction.
~ The sixth count, on which Heike was
3 Found guilty, charges him with "unlaw-
FULLY and wilfully conspiring with Oliver
Splitter and others in making and ef-
efeeting and aiding in effeeting entries Of
raw dutiable sugar at less than their true
weight, by means OF false and fraudulent
statements as to those weights prior to
March l. 1907"
Judge Martin, who presided at the trial,
finished his charge to the Jury at 1921
o'clock this morning, and the jury then
&. began it's deliberations