Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-08-19
A BIG CRATER
To BE INDICTED
Whitman's Man at Work
Long Before Murder.

New York, Aug. 19.-"The district
attorneys office has obtained the con-
Meeting link between the crooked In
spectors and the powerful police de-
partment official for whom they work
ed. Within three weeks this uniform
ed official and two inspectors will be
indicted for extortion."
That statement was made by one Of
District Attorney Whitman's confden-
tial aids. The district attorney, In
Manchester, VT, learned that his as
sistants had succeeded in directly ink
ing the man higher up in the police
department with the matchmaking op-
erations Of the uniformed officials.
On Saturday night this assistant dis
trict attorney discovered who had been
collecting graft for the influential Off
cial Of the police department. the
same time he uncovered the collectors
bank account covering the period be-
tween December, 1911, and August,
1912. In eight months the collector
deposited $75,0G.. 1t was the method
of transferring cash from the bank
account of the collector to the pocket
Of the police department official that
supplied evidence against the big man.
After Grafters Five Months.
The story told by the assistant dis
trict attorney, who says positively that
there will be indictments within three
weeks, was as surprising and as in
teresting al almost any detail of the
explosive Rosenthal case.
He says that even II the angry Rosen-
thai hadn't gone to Whitman and made
accusations of police crookedness that
the district attorney would ooner or
later have trapped the grafters. The
information was coming slowly before
Rosenthal set fire to the straw pile.
But since the assassination the IN
formation has been pouring In. The
story goes back to December, 1911, just
was becoming active In the Tenderloin.
"In that month";" said the assistant
district attorney, Jack Rose, already
pretty well known rs Becker's cOllec-
tor, went to a poker club made up OF
well known politicians and demanded,
on behalf of Becker, that the club put
up $3.50 a month for the privilege of
playing poker privately in it's own
rooms. Now, keep In mind that this
club has been in existence for fifteen
years. 1t wasn't a gambling house.
Few people outside Of its members
knew that poker was played there.
THE men who belonged to it, and who
often played a little table stakes or a
modest limit game, were politicians OF
Influence. They were amazed when
Rose walked in and made his cool re-
quest. They couldn't believe their ears,
But they didn't take very long to de-
eide what to do. One of them said to
Rose: Look here, you CRATER, you go
back and tell the man who sent you
that If he ever makes a play Of this
kind again that I'll spend the rest of
my life putting MIN In stripes. AS for
you, get out or you'll be helped out
h Hear No More From Becker.
1seSs-S%en in a hurry and never re-
peated the demand. Nothing was
heard from Becker, and the club decid-
ed to let the matter drop. They weren't
looking for publicity and 1t wasn't
their business to stir up scandal. They
were merely protecting themselves.
But one of them was so mad that he
told a close friend what had happened,
and the friend happened to be connect
ed with the district attorneys office.
From that day this officer has been
after Becker and other grating police
men. We knew that one or two in
spectors had blossomed into influence
at police headquarters, and it was the
talk all over town that they were
working for one official. About five
months ago we got information that
cllnched the belief that the grating
was widespread and systematic and
under the management of big men, one
Of whom Is a civilian outside of the
police department, another Of whom Is
the police department official referred
to and another Is a hotel man with
political connections.
Five months ago we began to shad-
ow these men and their underlings.
They couldn't go anywhere beyond the
range of detectives. Lately they sus-
pected that they were being watched,
but it was too late for their suspicious
to do them any good. We know where
they met and with whom they talked.
Little by little, out Of a mass OF In
formation, we have built up a case
against some of the biggest grafters
that will be "s strong as the murder
case. l am not at liberty to say just
how the connection between grating
inspectors and their protector In the
police department was obtained. That
Information Is. part Of the case before
the grand jury, but this much can be
said that when the name of the man
who has been collecting for this Off
ctal and who had been the go-between
for this official and inspectors WAS
learned the case became comparatively
simple. We ran down the collectors
bank account. The big a had been
rather indiscreet at times in getting
Bis money. That is all I can say"