Arizona republican., 1919-05-03
LOS ANGELES MAYOR ACQUITTED BY JURY
 OF ALLEGED GRAF I
rRepubIicsn A. p. Leased wirel


 LOS ANGELES, Cal, May z.-Mayor F. T. Woodman. on trial here for sev- eral weeks on charges of having ac- cepted a bribe to protect vice condi tions. was acquitted tonight by jury in the superior court.
 Mayor F. T. Woodman of Los An geles was indicted March q by the grand jury on a charge Of asking, re- ceiving and agreeing to receive a bribe to protect vice.
 It was charged that the mayor had agreed to accept s25,O00 from George Brown and George Henderson in re- turn for allowing them what practically would have been a monopoiy on the operation of certain illegal resorts in Chinatown and other districts close to the business section, without police molestation.
 The s25,OO0. it was alleged, was to be paid in ten monthly installments of $2500 each. Of the s25,000, it was alleged Brown and Henderson actually paid S20t0 in January 70 Horace W. Karr, a. former newspaperman, who was accused of receiving it in behalf of Mayor Woodman for ms Interset and under his direction.
 As a part of the alleged conspiracy for the protection of vice, the indict- ment charged the mayor caused the appointment of Sergeant William Hackett as head of the so-called purity" squad whose duty it was to suppress various forms Of vice Brown and Henderson were indicted on a charge of bribing Mayor Woodman at the same time the true bin was voted against the official.
 The indictment followed an investi- gation by the grand jury under the di- rection of Thomas Lee Woofwfne, dis ! trict attorney. A number of city of ficials testified.
 According to the mayor. the entire affair was a political plot designed to prevent his reelection, as he had 1 just previously announced his candi- dacy MT. Woodman furnished bail ir | the sum of s10.000 and employed coun- 1 sel. Pressure was brought to beal upon him to resign or ask to be sus- pended as mayor pending the outcome ! of the trial, but he refused to do so After spirited debate the city coun. cil voted to allow him to discharge tht duties of his office.
 MT. Woolwine charged the police de. partment was being used to intimidat' state witnesses and to embarass th' prosecution. He issued an appeal t' the citizens asking the,r cooperation in furnishing any evidence they nigh have in connection with the case.
 The defense charged that the dis trict attorney had piled certain wit nesses with liquor and otherwise hal improperly conducted the investigation which resulted in the indictment of tn mayor.
 An important factor in starting tn investigation were telegrams alleged have been sent the mayor by Kar from Sacramento. The mayor. afte his arrest made two of these public They urged him to make a shift an that if he did not do so, "it mean grief" The prosecution contended tn shift" referred to the placing of Hack ett at the head of the purity squat The mayor declared Karr's meanin was not clear to him nor did he al tach any importance to the messae regardless of their meaning. The trial was held berore SuperiC , Judge Frank R. Willis, veteran jn , ist, who had presided over many note worthy criminal trials. including thos of Matthew A. Schmidt and Davi , Caplan, convicted of complicity in tf f dynamiting of the Los Angeles Tim, building.
 Besides the district attorney, W.
 Doran, chief deputy, and Deputy A. l
 NanCott were active in the prosecute
 The mayor was represented by Cal
 tain John D. Fredericks, chief of coul
 sel: Byron C. Hanna, Arthur Veitc
 LeCompte Davis, Jud R. Rush and
 E. Leighton.