Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1912-10-18
WAS MIXED in NO GRAFT
SAYS GAMBLERS DID EVERY
THING THEY COULD TO
lNJuRE .fTM.
ASKED TO Be RELIEVED
THINKS THAT FACT is A PROOF
OF HIS INNOCENCE OF
THE CRIME.

New York, Oct. 1S.-The stor.
which Lieutenant Charles Becke
hopes to be allowed to tell on tn,
stand in his own defense was outlined
today in a statement given out b!
him.
"If I am permitted to tell my story
on the witness stand,' he says, :"
can show how simple and obvious anC
innocent, so far as l am concerned
are the explanations of all my meet
ing and associations with Rose, us
ing him as my stool pigeon in getting
evidence against the gambling
houses"
THE best evidence that l was moi
profiting by my place as head of the
squad and was not plotting TO MUIR
der anybody so l could keep the job,
are the requests made to Commits
sioner Waldo almost every week from
the first part of this year to be re-
lieved of that command.
Il made those requests because of
charges of graft and bribery and any
thing else the gamblers could hatch
against me. 1 knew that no mar
ever had withstood such attacks and
that every man in place like mine
had gone to the wall before such at
tacks sooner or later l did not want
to share that fate.
q used Rose to get evidence
against gambling houses. He was in
valuable and | had to do everything
| possibly could to keep him in line.
Claims Gamblers Killed RosenthaI
Police Lieutenant Charles Becker's
defense to the charge Of instigating
the murder of Herman Rosenthal, the
gambler, is that Rosenthal was MUIR
dered at the behest of other gamblers
who hated him as a meddler and in
former to the police. John H. Hart,
Becker's lawyer, in presenting his case
to the jury so declared today, adding
that he would prove Becker lis not
guilty but absolutely innocent"
I'VE will prove" Mr.. Hart said,
that Webber, Rose, vallon and
Schepps conspired, independently of
Becker and with independent motives,
to murder RosenthaL After Rosenthal
was murdered and they were rid Of
one Of the two men they hated most
in the world they conspired to get
rid of Becker, the other man they hat
ed, by false evidence and perjured
testimony"
Mr.. Hart added that the defendant
had no connection with the gun men
and that Rose, Vallon and other al
legged conspirators had admitted Beck
ers innocense. AS to Jack Rose, Mr..
Hart declared the defense would
prove that 'he had lied on the stand
in every particular"
Five witnesses for the defense were
sworn within an hour after Mr. Hart
concluded his address. One Of them.
Alexander Luban, testified that he
would not believe under OATH" his
brother Morris, state witness.
Defense opens it's Case
The defense opened its case in the
Becker trial today. Attorney Hart in
his opening statement said:
"The defendant denies any partici-
patton in the death Of Herman Rosen-
thai and will prove that the evidence
submitted against him is absolutely
false. AS to Luban, who claims to
have witnessed this murder, we Will
prove that Luban never saw the MUIR
der-that he was in Brooklyn at the
time. We win prove this by Lubans
own brother. We will prove that
Webber. Rose, vallon and Schepps
conspired to kill Rosenthal independ-
emily of Becker, each with his own ~
dependent motive for SO doing.
"As to the day and night OF the
murder we shall prove where Becker