New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-05


not impossible.
There is already under way a check
upon motorcycle policemen to prevent
possible grating. This came about as
a side outcome of the Cruger investiga-
ton conducted by this Office.
Predicts Trial of Policemen.
There is little doubt but what there
will be several trials of policemen as
another outcome. We revealed gross
dereliction on the part of officers who
should have searched the Cocchi prem
Uses and found Ruth Cruger's body and
who should have recorded and reported
the girls disappearance promptly. We
showed they had absolutely ignored
palpable clewS. | feel that the blame
was fixed where it belonged and
promptly fixed"
Commissioner Wallstein, during his
term of Office, has conducted nearly a
score of Investigations. Some city Of
ticials have been merely dismissed;
some have been fined; some have been
sentenced to prison. The examinations
have been such that from the official
reports of the questions and answers
Ine dutHOllllto VI VIC wy
have been able to obtain indictments
and convictions with speedy certainty.
During the early part OF last year the
Commissioner began an investigation OF
charges of bribery made against the
Health Department inspectors IN the
slaughter houses at Johnson Avenue,
Brooklyn. One proprietor boosted
that this bribery, consisting OF the
payment of money to the inspectors so
the latter would pass tuberculous meat
as fit for food, had been going on for
forty years without any one being
brought to book.
Within three months the slaughter
house proprietors were tricked into
paving S1,270 as brides to Health
Department inspector who posed as an
eager confederate. Twelve proprietors
were indicted. Six pleaded guilty. One
was convicted. Two went to the states
prison and one TO the penitentlary.
One was fined $1,000 and two so0o'
The cases of others are pending Eight
Health Department inspectors were re-
moved.
Then there was the Department OF
Licenses discoveries and punlshments
during last year. While recognizing
the department evidence was obtained
showing that two clerks and seven in
spectors were forcing graft from
license applicants and that another
clerk had misappropriated sl,o26. All
these employees were dismissed; ons
was convicted Of receiving an illegai
fee; some have already been indicted
and others have been held for the
grand jury.
Exposed Coroners' Graft
During 1915 Commissioner Of Ac-
counts Wallstein made his famous in
vestigation of the coroner system.
Out-and-out protection Of abortionists;
announcement of death by suicide a..
a natural cause; the summoning OF
packed juries; absolute omission OF
necessary post-mortems; forcing the
employment of favored undertakers
and excusng jurors for a considera-
tion-all Of these rank instances OF Of
fetal perversions were dug up.
A body was exhumed, after four
years burial, and from it evidence was
secured that convicted a physician Of
manslaughter in the first degree, based
upon a criminal operation. The rotten
conditions disclosed in the coroner sys-
TEN resulted in the abolition Of the
Office by legislative enactment.
A probing of graft charges made
against certain of the personnel OF the
Bureau of Supplies of the Board Of
Education brought a sure and swift
result last year. Two clerks, under
pressure, confessed they received graft
for inducing teachers to request that
supplies furnished be of kind sold
only by one firm. Jobs for the friends
and relatives Of clerks had been OBJ
tanned by these clerks with favored
firms. One clerk conducted profitable
"loan shark" business on the side. One
of these clerks was dismissed, and
charges against the other are pending
before the Board of Education.
And so the probe results go on.
The bribing of foreman of the street
Cleaning Department so that illegal
dumping was permitted; the issuance
CT fraudulent snow removal tickets re-
sulting in three convictions for lar
ceny; the stealing Of money paid into
the Domestic Relations Court; the
Civil Service examination "leak" in