New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-05-05
VOTE PLOT GROWS;
NOW A TIGER TRAP
Prominent Tammany Men
Involved by Confession
of Poll Clerk.
TWO MORE ARRESTS
MADE IN BIG FRAUD
Whitman to Ask Indictments on
Evidence-Barnes Waiting
Developments.

Two more arrests OF election officials
on a charge of committing the crime OF
failing TO perform their duties I'm the
special constitutional election Of April Z,
the complete confession of one OF the
four men arrested Sunday on similar
charges. and information through this
confession duplicating prominent Tam
many organization men in the conspiracy
10 poll vote favorable 20 the convention
were the chief developments yesterday IN
the investigation District Attorney Whit
man Is conducting into the evidence OF
wholesale fraud in connection with the
election.
As a result Of these new revelations
Mr.. Whitman will 90 before the grand
Jury on Thursday and lay evidence be
fore that body on which, ii is expected
further indictments will be found.
The men arrested yesterday were Abra-
ham Green n jeweller. of 500 East l2'h
St. Democratic inspector OF elections ana
Peter Conlon. a steamftter Of Az East
18th ST. Democratic poll clerk. These
men. as were the four arrested on sun
dav. were members Of the election board
OF the 9Th Election District Of the l2th
Assembly District. Green being the chalr-
man OF the board.
The man who made the confession yes
,er6av was Louis Bohl. the Republican
pou clerk arrested on Sunday. In his
statement. which he made to Assistant
District Attorney William A. De Ford
who &c I'm charge of the investigation,
Boil said:
"I worked as a poll clerk until about \
o'clock in the morning Of April t. Al
that hour there were thirteen votes cast
left the polling place at about O'CLOCK
70 get breakfast and was gone about nj
teen minutes When came back some
body had voted all the way up TO sew
cntv. When I eft the full board all ex-
cent one was there When / came back
they were all there. l found that many
names had been written in the poll BOOK
kent by me during my absence. Observ-
ing this. I said. You have no right 10
use my book
Naturally. my suspicious were aroused
by the fact that during the fifteen MIN
utes 1 was away the votes had Jumped
from thirteen 10 seventy. They spoke as
though they wanted 10 get in 300 votes.
As no votes came In. they simply said
That 'So-and-So' votes Yes ! know that
was weak TO allow them to do ii. They
simply stood out at the table and said,
'So-and-So has registered for him
They sat down at the table and read
the names from the registration book
the names OF people who had not voted
at all myself called off the names in
-h.f we
any votes there or not. OF course, they
did not tell me not TO do It, 1t was I'M
derstood that I should do it,
Placing Of Ballots.
when the ballots were ready they
simply laid them all on one side and
member Of the board folded them. 1t was
not only in the morning that this went
on; it was all day long. When a number
Of ballots were got ready they were put
together and showed into the ballot box.
All of the inspectors were present when
this occurred.
81 don't believe more than twenty-five
or thirty-fve really voted legally. Not
more than thirty votes were honestly
cast in the district-the rest were fraud
ulently cast. I didn't personally forge
any Of the signatures in the signature
book Some of the inspectors did how
ever"
When asked n Daniel Brosnan. the
Democratic inspector arrested Sunday;
George Wasen. Republican inspector. also
arrested Sunday. and Abraham Green,
chairman Of the board, did any of the
forging. he said they did. lie said that
he did not see Joseph Koch. Republican,
the fourth inspector, who was arrested
Sunday. commit any forgeries He said
that he did not think any Of the men
received pay for their work in forging
the signatures.
When Boil was asked II he had been
advised since the election to say nothing
about what had occurred at the polling
place he replied: well. Sunday morn
ing. We came together, the whole lot of
ms. and we agreed not 10 say anything
about IT, This was at the station house
after our arrest. Wasen, Koch and Bros
nan were there"
Other matters were disclosed by Boil
10 the District Attorney but were not
made public. lie was able TO furnish $500
cash bail and was released yesterday
He viii appear before the grand jury
Thursday witness
Conlon and Green were released on
bail bonds Of $500 each. while Koch
Wasen and Brosnan were released IN
$1,000 cash bail These five men have
all engaged Theodore Hackett Ward Of
81 Chambers St. former Assistant Dis
trict Attorney and a member of Tam
many Hall, as their counsel
Action Taken On Cases.
T-non motion Of the District Attorney
the cases were transferred from General
Sessions 10 the Criminal Branch of the
supreme Court They will be arraigned
this morning al 10 o'clock before Justice
Seabury for pleading.
IL was announced that the investigation
into the alleged frauds in the election of
April will begin in two additional dis
tricts Of the 18th Assembly District to-
day.
The question as TO what effect these
fraud disclosures, II proved true, would
have on the validity of the election re-
NAMED more or less an academic one.
and no official action to test II was taken
Yesterday. opinion seemed 10 favor the
view that it would be unaffected
I'VE have the official returns Of the
constitutional election" said Mitchell
MAY. Secretary Of state ANY one who
wants IN preycnt the convention being