Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-29
ORDERS VERDICT IN
FAVOR OF HERMAN
Freed on Charge Of Obtaining
Money Under False
Pretenses.

Judge Harry V. Osborne today di-
rected a verdict of not guilty in the
case of Richard Herman on trial be-
fore him on a charge of obtaining
money under false pretenses. The
verdict was directed after Charles NJ.
Mason. counsel for Herman, had ar
gued that the indictment on which
Herman was being tried was defec-
tive in that 1t did not fully set out
the offense he was charged with COM
hitting.
Herman was charged with retaining
$50 out of a counsel fee of $500 given
him by Alfred II. Alexander and
which fee Alexander claimed he sup
posed was to go to Theodore ID. Gott-
lieb for defending him on charge of
maintaining a disorderly house, for
which offense he was fined $1,000 by
Judge William p. Martin on January
6 last.
Herman. better known by the alb
breviation of his first name "Riehie.'
was one of former Sheriff Frank II.
Sommer's aides or stool pigeons in
the raids conducted by the FORMER
sheriff in 1907 and testified today that
he still worked for Mr.. Sommer, AL
though the details OF the work he
was doing. or supposed to do, were
very vague in his mind today on the
witness stand.
Herman is alleged TO have told
Alexander that for the sum of 500
former Sheriff Sommer would inter
cede with Judge William p. Martin
and see that Alexander was fined not
moro than $3.50 for the offense of
maintaining a disorderly house Alex
ander was willing to pay the 800 to
get off that easily. but as former
Sheriff Sommer was iii at the time
Herman then told him he could not
handle the case. Alexander verified
this by a phone message to the
former sheriff and the latter, not
knowing any of the details of the
case. referred Alexander to Charles
M. Mason. a lawyer, who had been
the former sheriff's chief deputy.
Mason likewise refused to handle
the case, according to his statement.
he now being counsel for Herman.
Alexander, however, differs with Ma
son, and on the witness stand yester-
day afternoon told of a visit he made
to Masou's office. Mason, as counsel
for Herman, asked him If he. Mason,
had not asked Alexander about the
presence Of women and young girls
in his house.
Alexander replied: You didn't do
anything of the kind. You said that
you would see that things were fixed
up and l told you l didn't want
'fixer' that l was after a counsel"
Today Herman on the witness stand
admitted that he had agreed to get
counsel for Alexander for the sum
of 500 and that after Mason had re-
fused the case went to Gottlieb and
got him to accept the case for $50. He
explained that he retained the other
$50 for his services in the case.
Herman got possession of the $50 he
was alleged to have obtained falsely
by going to Gottlieb after Alexander
had given him a 500 bill to pay the
fee Alexander supposed he owed
Gottlieb, Herman telling Gottlieb that
he was to have the change. Gottlieb,
after consulting with Alexander, paid
over the $50 change to Herman
Later when Alexander learned that
Gottlieb only received $50 for his
services, he, to use the words of Her
man, "squawked and claimed that
Herman had received too much for his
services and wanted some of the
money back"