Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1920-09-03

drawn first from the box in open
court at the trial the next day.
"The committee selected one man
to sit in at the trial with the list of
the twelve selected names and check
off each name as it was drawn from
the box.
"These distinguished citizens, fam
iliar as they thought they were with
every detail of court and jury system,
of course, thought that Riccardi was
mad, that such an unheard o. nanip-
ulation of the sacred instrumentA'of
justice was utterly impossible, COR
rupt and powerful as the McDonough
ring might be. But the committee
mems agent went to court with his
list and the twelve names were drawn
from the box one after another just
as Riccardi said they would be drawn.
And when the trial was ended the
jury disagreed just as he said it
would!
"The demonstration was complete.
The most amazing control of the pro-
cesses Of justice was established"
For some days Riccardi refused to
make public how the trick was per-
formed. He kept the city in fever
of suspense. Finally he told.
Jim Groom, the court clerk, was
the magician who made the twelve
handpicked names come out of the
box as Riccardi wanted them.
Jim Groom supplied Riccardi with
an advance list of the jury panel in
violation of the law.
Before court opened, Jim Groom
went over the thirty-two slips in the
jury box and separated the names
Riccardi wanted from those he didn't
want.
Jim Groom made bundle of the
names Riccardi didn't want and bound
this bundle up with rubber band.
The only slips loose in the box
were the slips carrying the names of
the twelve handpicked jurors.
Groom whirled the box all right.
He went through all the motions of
an honest jury drawing. But the
cards were stacked. There were only
twelve slips loose in the box. The
rest were segregated by rubber
band. When drawing out the last
slip of the handpicked twelve, Groom
released the names in the bundle by
slipping off the rubber band. He
palmed the ruber band and with a
twist of his fingers scattered the
names that had been segregated.
GROOM, MARK YOU, WAS THE
MAN WHO PICKED THE MOONEY
JURY OUT OF THIS SELF SAME
BOX.
Riccardi's explanation of how he
was able to announce the verdict of
jury in advance of the trial and be-
fore scrap of evidence had been
submitted was substantially this:
The frame-up ring had established
two sets of professional jurors who
served month in and month out. One
set was composed of "convictors.
The second set was made up of sac
quittors."
The mannikin jurors were all known
to the members of the ring. If a
conviction was wanted, twelve "con-
victors" We're drawn with the aid of
a rubber band. If an acquittal had
been paid for, jury of "acquittors"
was drawn. Ii a disagreement was
the program, a mixture of the two
was drawn.
When some offender with lots of
money would hire the gang to free
him (of anything from murder DOWN
disagreement or two would be
staged in order to bleed the defendant
> of more money.
| With one glance over the twelve
names selected by the test committee
in the Groom case, Riccardi was able
to announce a verdict of disagree
ment.
There were men on that list who
would have voted for acqulttal in
face of plea of "guilty" from the
defendant.
There were men on that list who
would not have voted for conviction
in face of overwhelming evidence of
guilt.
: WARREN X. BILLINGS WAS
SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISON-
MENT ON A VERDICT RENDERED
BY A HANDPICKED JURY OF
PROFESSIONAL CONVICTORS.
Clerk Frank Butler drew the Bill
lings jury. He has been removed
since Riccardi told the story of the
rubber band.
With the purchasing power" in
her pocket and the union label in her