Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-22
Joe" CALL AT LAST
DISMISSES HIS THREE
STRAW BAIL ALLIES
Magistrate Forced to Tell
Gilman, Fishman and
Gross to Get Out-Aron' S
Clean Bill of Health.

Magistrate joe Call today notified
District Attorney Rotan that he had dis
missed from his office Joseph Fshman,
Jake" Gilman, his former Constable,
and Samuel Gross The dismssals are
the result of pressure brought to bear
on Call by the District Attorney follow
ing the latest straw-bail scandal origin
ating in the Girard avenue Magistrates s
office.
This ends the active investigation into
the charge of Isaac Friedman, of 1120
Grard avenue, that his name had been
forged to a bail bond. The District At
torney said today, however, that he in
tends to keep n careful eye on Calls
office in the future and will hold open
the present case for further investigation
should there appear good chance to get
further evidence.
Call. who is close friend and fire.
quent poker companion OF Senator James
=. McNlchol, through whom he secures
his political strength. will be required to
show that the new staff of assistants he
hires in place of Gilman, Fishman and
Gross are not of the same stamp, ac-
cordng to the District Attorney.
CLEAN BILL FOR ARON
Another phase of the fake bail scandal
was reviewed today by Mr.. Rotan, and
Max Aron, the attorney for Friedman,
received clean bill of health. Aron pre-
sented to the Municipal Court a letter
from New York purporting to show that
Frank Bohrer, a defendant charged with
keeping a disorderly house. who had dis
appeared, had enlisted and gone to Vera
Cruz, 1t was testified by Mrs. Friedman
that this letter was fixed up" by at
taches of Calls office so that her hus-
band would escape forfeit of the bail
bond of 5000 for Bohrer to which Fried
mans name was signed. Friedman can
not read or write English except his
name, and this explains why he did not
discover until later that the signature
to the bail bond was a forgery.
'Mr. Aron explained In detail his con-
nection with the case said Mr.. Rotan,
"and I believe what he told me. l con-
slider that his part in the case was en-
tirely ethical and that no criticism can
be directed against him in any way"
Mr. Rotan was asked TO explain why 1t
was necessary for the District Attorneys
office TO do the housekeeping for Magis-
trate Call. 1t was pointed out 10 him
their offices In order and he was asked II
Call had made any explanation.
The District Attorney said 1t was a
source of constant surprise to him that
he had TO watch Call so closely, and
that the Magistrate failed to clean out
his office without orders TO that effect.
Mr.. Rotan also explained that while he
could use his influence to bring about
the barring from Calls office of Gilman,
ba faE
any steps directly against Call without
evidence duplicating the Magistrate.
HOME OF STRAW BAIL CASES
Straw bail scandals have been emanat-
ing from Calls ONCE for years, but 1t
was not until a comparatively recent date
the practice. Gilman now is under in
dictment and awaiting trial on the charge
OF extortion. new trial was granted
to Fishman after he had been found
guilty on the same charge, and this re-
trial is pending. Several other former
attaches of the ONCE have been found
guilty and sentenced or are awaiting trial
on various charges connected with straw
bail cases
The order to Call to dismiss Gilman,
Fishman and Gross was issued by Mr..
Rotan at the conference they held last
Saturday. Previously Call had promised
10 keep Fishman out of his office. but
had failed TO do So He tried TO defend
himself by declaring that he simply per-
mitted Fishman 10 use the ofice in his
real estate business, but the District At
toTney insisted that the man be kept out
In the future. Today Call notified the
District Attorney that the connection OF
the three had been severed