New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-18
Assistant District Attorney
Asserts Man Aided
Graft Witness.
DETECTIVES CALLED
BEFORE GRAND JURY
Three Accused of Trying
to "Plant' Blackjack on
Stool Pigeon.

District Attorney Swami was angry
Yesterday when he heard that several
detectives under Inspector Bolan, OF
the Sd District, had been accused OF
intimidating his witnesses against
Detectives William J. Enright and
David Foley, charged with accepting
brides from keepers Of disorderiy
houses. He also heard that an East
Side politician holding state job had
assisted in the release of one of the
women who was in the House OF De-
tention under $4,000 bail and was
hostile witness for the prosecution.
Accol ding to Assistant District At
torney Smith. the politician is police
"fxer" and was the stakeholder for
Detective Enright and his go between
with the police. Mr.. Smith says he has
evidence of this in the form of checks
on a New York bank.
"There are still many members OF
the police force who think they can
work the System with me and frighten
witnesses away from the grand jury,
said the District Attorney. 81 say that
il can't be done, and if the police ana
their confederates don't keep their
hands off this investigation something
will drop in their vicinity within forty
eight hours.
Woman Never Convicted.
"The woman this politician assisted
was Annie Wiener, alias Dora Bloch.
She ran a resort in the Sd Inspection
District for ten years and was never
convicted. She was arrested a few
times, but was always acquitted.
Nearly all of the women who were
found in the place, however, were ar
rested and sent to prison. The prosecu-
ton relies on her testimony to cor
roborate certain phases of the evidence
against Enright and Foley"
The detectives accused of trying to
intimidate one of the stoolpigeons VINO
has pleaded guilty to extorting money
from divekeepers and streetwalkers
were summoned before the grand jury
Yesterday after they had waived i'm
munity. They were Detectives Confroy.
Lamour and Winter. Their accuser
was Leo Halpern, formerly a stool
pigeon for Detectives Tagliano and
Feeley, of the Sd District.
Halpern charged that when he went
to district headquarters, in the West
Thirtieth Street police station, last
Saturday, to get a bunch of keys and
knife which, he says, were taken
from him when he was arrested for
extortion last May, eight men assigned
to Inspector Bolan's staff were in the
room, and Lieutenant Walsh was in
charge. Detective Feeley turned over
his knife and keys to him, Halpern
said.
As he was returning TO Sixth Avenue
to take train, Halpern declared, three
of the detectives came dashing after
him coatless and hatless. They seized
him and searched him for a blackjack,
but, according to the Assistant District
Attorney, they found none on him.
Accuses Detectives.
81 charge that these men attempted
to plant blackjack on Halpern," said
Mr.. Smith. "At any rate, no report of
the affair was made either in the Sd
District or at Headquarters. When
Lieutenant Dan Costigan examined the
three men yesterday he found that
Feeley, who is said to have discovered
that halpern was carrying blackjack,
did nothing to disarm him then and
did not follow Halpern into the street"
Halpern testified that he was told
by the policemen that he had better
keep quiet, because, while District
Attorney might last only two years,
the police force went right on and
never forgot nor forgave squealer
According to the District Attorney,
Detective Conway, who also was before
the grand jury yesterday, had been
lurking in the corridors of the Grim