New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-11-20

| him, he declared, was a request in con-
cert TO rush our appeals"
| Frank Moss, the Assistant District At
! torney. who. with Mr. Whitman, tried
! the case. declared the verdict in his opin-
/ ion was a just one He said the one
| thing that pleased him most was the
/ fact that such verdict had been cour-
| ageously rendered by a jury against all
! four defendants.
/ 81 have been severely criticised for
I bringing the four defendants to trial to-
gether." said Mr.. Moss. "A good many
/ OF my lawyer friends thought it would be
/ impossible to obtain a verdict against
/ four young defendants at the same time
/ on the evidence which the people had.
! For sentimental reasons and for the fact
/ that the entire defence would be massed
| against us, il was pointed out to me. it
would be much more difficult to get a
/ verdict Of guilty. But the result makes
pretty thorough cleanup Of the biggest
| part of the Rosenthal case"
/ The deputy assistant District Attorney
| Mr. Rubin, who assisted in the prepare
. ton of the peoples case and helped Mr..
Moss in court, said the verdict would
teach the ganGsters a lesson that there
was such thing as prosecution to the
end
Whitman Elated at Convictions.
District Attorney Whitman was highly
elated at the result of the trial. He
granted an audience to the newspaper
men soon after he reached his office, and
made the formal statement for publica-
ton which appears elsewhere. He was
particularly pleased with the conviction
of the four gangsters, he declared, because
he had learned among the frequenters
Of The underworld on the East Side, where
his investigation had led him since Rosen-
thai was murdered, that the gangstcrs al
ways boosted that no gunner had ever
gone to the electric chair. despite the
many shOotings and rows that had &C.
CURED. Rose, Weber, WALTON, Schepps
and others had told him that that had
been the spirit and boast Of the East Side
gangs, he said.
Mr.. Whitman was asked what would be-
come now Of the quartet OF states wit
nesses-Rose, WALTON, Weber and Schepps.
There had been some difference Of opinion
as to whether they could not be technical
ly held under the agreement in the supu-
lations for immunity until all the defend
ants on the Rosenthal indictment had
been tried and the whole matter disposed
of, it was suggested.
Il can't believe that any lawyer who is
honest with himself can say that an in
dictmont lives after a conviction is OBJ
tanned" said the District Attorney. Il
have given my word ana / am going TO
let them go. Twenty-four Jurors have
decided that they told the truth, and that
they did not fire any Of the shots at
Rosenthal Those were the conditions
under which the stipulations were grant
ed, and believe they have been full
filled by these witnesses. / am confident
that / can release these men without
placing them under bonds and can get
them as witnesses again when / want
them"
The District Attorney declared II any
Of the four gamblers attempted to set up
a gambling establishment in the city
again he would be hot on tho trail,
Rose, WALTON and Weber are held on a
COroner's commitment, and all the for
mality necessary 10 obtain their release
will be to get Coroner Felnberg TO in
dorse dismissal Of the witnesses on the
commitment, which probably will be done
within a day or two. Schepps probably
will be liberated when he IS arraigned
again to-day in the West Side court on
a pending charge Of vagrancy. II Is un-
derstood that mono Of these four wit
nesses intends TO leave the city FOR the
time being.
Shapiro Will Go Free Also.
Referring to William Shapiro, the
chauffeur, who was finally persuaded 20
come through. with a convincing Ident-
ficatlon OF the four gunner as his pas
sengers on the night OF the shooting, Mr..
whitman said ne soon would move for
the dismissal of the Indictment against
him.
THE only possible case we could have
against Shapiro would be based on the
fact that he drove the murderers away
from the scene Of the shooting on the
night Rosenthal was killed." said Mr.
Whitman. And II his story is true-and
believe It is-he did that at the point OF
a revolver, and, / believe, acted in the
fear of death. There has been no evil
dence produced beyond that 10 show he
was implicated in the shooting"
The verdict in the gunmen's case will
undoubtedly offer a substantial barrier 10
the appeal Of Charles Becker The fact
that they were convicted apparently sub
stimulates an important part Of the proof
In the conspiracy OF which the state con-
tended Becker was the master mind. II
links Becker closer TO the hands" I'm the
murder plot as Mr.. Moss called the gun
men. If that were possible, in the face Of
Becker's own conviction. Asked what
bearing the verdict might have on the
Becker case, Mr.. Whitman said:
1T more than justihes the verdict
against Becker, and, Of course, greatly
strengthens the peoples case against
Becker"
Mr.. Whitman paid his adversary, Mr..
Wahle, compliment.
Il think Mr. Wahle tried his case we'll"
said the District Attorney, land had a
better prepared defence than developed at
the Becker trial"
The four gunner are now locked up in
adjoining cells on the first tier, "Dago"
Frank and "Whitey" occupying one. and
"Gyp" and Lefty" the other.
TNT