The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-27
SOLD DISEASED BEEF
40 YEARS.; SEIZED
Wholesale Butchers Paid City
Inspectors $4,000 a
Year in Brides.
TRAPPED BY WALLSTElN
Eight Veterinarians in Health
Department Suspended
by Emerson.

system Of bribery whereby beef
from diseased cattle has been sold for
food in New York city for forty years
Vas exposed yesterday by Commissioner
Of Accounts wallsteln and Health Com
missioner Emerson
Ten wholesale butchers. members ot
firms operating slaughter houses along
Newtown Creek In Johnson avenue.
Brooklyn. were arrested and held for
examination IN $4,000 bail each, charged
with bribihg inspe ctors of he Health
Department. Eight Health Department
inspectors were suspended by Dr. Emer-
son. and criminal prosecution may foi.
low. although the city government i.
primarily after the butchers
Honest inspectors posing a. crooks
procured the evidence, In ,he hands OF
Commissioner Wallste.u is sl,e7o in
bills viii, h he says was pad 10 these
agents by the ahatto.r propr.etors 70.
passing ,uberculous and other pro-
hibi,ed beef as good Some Of the bills
are smeaied with blood. and flrge-
/ prints of butchers on this literally blood
money may help to prove the bribery. a
/ crime punishable bv a maximum fine Of
$4,000, maximum Imprisonment FOR zen
years. or both.
Twelve Warrants. Issurd.
The last payment. $3.50, was. accord
iug to Mr.. Wailstein, made IN Mouquin' :
restaurant. Twenty eighth street and
Sixth avenue, ON Thursday night This
was the final batting of the trap Yes
terday twelve warrants for the arrest o'
butchers were obtained from chief
Magistrate McAduo. Ten OF them We're
served. and the accused men were ~
raigncd III the Bedford aven3e poll >
court in Brooklyn and held by Masi =
,rate Dodd for examination in the
Adams street court next Thursday. Fiv.
Of them were bailed by :. May. said Ia
be an uncle OF Kings County JUDGE
Mitchell May. the other Ave 10y {. leh-
man. a outchcI.
The a rested ten are: EoUert Pltut,
Arthur piaur and samuel plLut of Ron
ert Plsut n Sons Henry Plau', : SIMON
Piaut and Robert Plaut, .Iy,, of :. d
H. Plaut David Feinberg. Philip Strauss
and Aaron Schick of Strauss. Schich
4 Fenberg. and Herman Braunschueig.
the eight suspended inspectors of the
Health department. all veterinary sur.
Geons. are chief Veterinary Inspector
Alfred r. I.uks, John Kent. August
johnson. Peter l. Amscher. Morris " IL
Ian. William T. Braisted. charles r..
Caulheld and Alexander Siawsou pr,
Emerson also revoked the permits o!
all the slaughter houses which aye laid
to be involved IN the br!bery--hve in
johnson avenue and oEe in Brownsville.
Reaped a Rich harvest.
The inspectors Salaries flpm the cay
are si,3@o "A year each, From the
butchers for the services in looking
the other way when putrid carcass
came from the killing sheds, som" OF
them. according To Commissioner Wall
stein and his agents, were getting from
$50 to $500 a week. one Of the butchers
is quoted in an affidavit AZ saying ;nat
he and his friends paid S25.oo0 year
in this form of graft.
No Western beef. which is undcr Fci-
eral inspection. Is handed by this group
OF slaughter houses. What they do is
to gather UP local stock"--Cattle from
New York and four adjoining States
and turn it into products 70. the re-
talers. As cheaper grades Of beef bo-
logna sausage and in various other
forms this meat is sold in many parts
Of the city. mostly to poor persons Dr
Emerson. who was present when COM
missioner Wallste.n told the story vest r.
day said IL was fact that parts
of carcasses that We're especially dis
essed were cut out AZ the slaughter
houses and sold for sausage meat.
There is no question about this h,
said. we have the evidence"
These slaughter houses have beer
Sall p1
far tn,s year have sold 10000.
Here is Commissioner Wallstein',
story, supported by seven aliidayits croA
inspectors who acted as detectives;
In February Health Commlss.oner
Emerson heard OF system of corruption
OF Health Department inspectors at tn,
johnson avenue slaughter houses A
his suggestion Mayor Mitchell directe,
ME to Investigate. I had the fun co
operation OF the Health Department.
offered Bribe First Day.
The mos, hazardo part was playc,
by Dr, Frederlcl, W. Schoucweg. Il ve,,r
marian of the Health Departments II,
was assigned to go first to the aoattoi
of =. 4 H. P,aut and act as an ordinav,
inspector willing to listen to anvthin:
he might hear, He had been there ont,
day when Robert ilaut intimatcd tina
If he was lonient m passing CarCdSse
there would be money in il. Reportin,
to the Health Department every Ia,
what he was discovering. Schonewe,
played the part of a willing brihe ,akcr
He was told that he might as well b.
bribed as everybody was getting it,
"Our evidence shows II we'll develope,
system for br!bing Health Departren
inspectors--that money was placed il
their pockets and their hands, tina
great care was observed to see tina
nobody was present except the hutche
and the inspector, and that often th
money was passed in ice boxes. Their
was we'll known phrase. This sort o
thing should be done only under fou
eyes
"It was DR.. Schoneweg's task 70 hav
!. witnesses present for the sake of cor
roboration. So he refused tn acccp
, money except in cafes and restaurants
where he planted witnesses, We sen
out william H. Boyle, II special examine
In my Ofiice, to pose as DR.. Schoneweg'
collector Taking the name Of Gala ha
and assuming the clothes OF a Lahore
. . Boyle caused the butchers to believe tina
he was associated with DR. Schonewe
=, In a little express business in The Bron,
Boyle and Schoneweg were present u
!. many occasions when money was passe,
: Had Been Going On for Years.
"They got evidence that for many year
2 inspectors OF the Health Department as
hat ls.,. 4