Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-07-28
OASIS IN DESERT
RENDERE DRY BY
NOCTURNAL. VISIT
U.S. OFFICIALS
Department Of Justice Officers
Raid Joe FranCeSChini'S S
Place on Mountain Road,
West of Twelfth Street.,
S2,5OO WORTH BOOZE
TAKEN, Is ESTIMATE
Complete BoOtIegging JOINT and
Wine-making Outfit DiSCov-
cred Close to the City Limits
d Albuquerque,

Acting on a tip to the effect that
liquor was being sold at the White
star run by Jose Franceschini, on
Mountain road west OF Twelfth street,
A. r. Gere, investigator for the de-
partment of justice, and his deputies,
Fred Fornoff and Joe Solapo, visIted
the place at late hour Saturday
night and confiscated enough liquor
to stock quite respectable sized sa-
loon.
The place was formerly conducted
as a saloon, but was supposed to have
gone out of business when the state
went dry last October. Since then 1t
has been conducted as soft drink"
emporium. But the brisk business it
was apparently doing, judging by the
string of automobiles that visited the
place, particularly late at nigh,
caused some one to reach the concluS-
ion that perhaps the drinks were not
as soft as they should be, or that they
were of an exceptionally nign quality,
1t also seemed strange that folks
should journey from the city, where
there are plenty of soft drink estab-
lishments, out to an isolated place
like Franceschinis to quench their
thirst All of these things arouse /
suspicion and resulted in thu matter
being reported to the department OF
justice
Customers Frightened Away.
There were no customers in the
1,l Ia, J..
though they saw automobiles coming
away from the resort as they ap-
preached it and several automobile
parties, evidently intent upon visiting
the thirst -quenChing establishment
suddenly decided that they could war
a little longer for Il drink and beat
haSty retreats when they saw the of
ficers i'm the front room and evidcnt 20
ly realized that the place was being
raided.
The former bar room, it was said,
had changed but little from the days
when the place was conducted as "A
regular saloon. The bar and brass
railing were still in place and behind
the bar were empty bottles, which
had contained various kinds of liquors.
Corks and metal caps were scattered
over the floor The officers first dc .
voted their attention to refrigerator
behind the bar, where they found q
dozen bottles OF assorted liquors, a
case of Blackberry brandy and ten
gOllan jar about half full of raisin
wine.
After this haul, the officers ques-
toned Franceschini as to the presence
of additional liquor about the place,
but he maintained a silence that
would have made clam envious He
finally, however, said he had no more
booze. But the officers decided 10
continue their search, and in a small
room adjoining the bar room, appar-
emily the bed room of Franceschinl
and his wife, between the bed and the
wall. they found under some old
clothes. seven gunny sacks full Of
pint bottles of whisky each bottle
wrapped in a piece of newspaper; one
half case of champagne and one-half
case of Italian wine. Continuing
their probe, they found in the wine
cellar. detached from the main build
ing, a barrel of raisins fermenting,
evidently for the purpose Of making
wine. There were no indications, il
was said, that any attempt had been
made to manufacture whisky. But
the officers said the entire place was
the most complete bootlegging joint
and wine making outfit they had
ever seen in a dry state.
FranccsChini's EXpIana ion.
After the evidence had been collect.
ed, FrancesChini was asked where
the liquor came from. He is said to
have replied that it was there when
he returned from the state peniten-
tiary at Santa Fe, after he had serve
a term for selling liquor to a soldier,
August 10, 1918. He also gave the
name of a man, who, he said, left the
liquor there Tnvest'ga tion, however.
showed that some of the newspapers
in which the Whiskey was wrapped
were of recent date one being as late
as July 10. 1919. Furthermore. it
was said that the labels showed that
the whisky had been bottled last fall,
probably in September or October.
and the indications were that it haG
been shipped into the state after the
prohibitory law became effective.
The liquor was taken charge of 1y
the department of Justice officials.
AS no official booze quotations have
been issued recently, only rough
estimate of the value of the confls-
Gated goods could be made. The price
these DAYS depends largely upon how
badly fellog wants a drink. 1t was
stated that whisky has been known
to sell for SO a PINT. Using this as
a basis. there being 1853 pints in the
lot confiscated "a Franceschinis place
It would be worth $1,680. Probably
the other liquors taken by the off
GERS would run the total up to $2,500.
No arrests were made as Francas