New-York tribune., 1920-08-28
Hylan Suspends
POllcem an in
VI hisky Inquiry
Continued from page ons)

Police Commissioner Enright to forth
with suspend Sergeant John F. Smith.
VINO tor the past two or three months
has been assigned to the office of Dis
trlct Attorney James Maloy, Rich
mond County.
"Police Commissioner Enricht has
advised me that he assigned additional
detectives from Police Headquarters
to Staten Island to work on and clear
up the case of Eckert, who is said
to have been murdered by the alleged
whisky ring operating in Richmond
County.
yesterday I requested the acting
chief magistrate to assign \ raagis-
trate to sit in the police court in Staten
Island in place of County Judge J.
Harry Tiernan, who was sitting as q
police magistrate in the absence of the
local magistrate, who had reported ill.,
The acting chief magistrate complied
with my request and to-day assigned
Magistrate Simpson to sit in the police
court, Staten Island, until such time as
the present investigation of this case
has been completed"
Police Sergeant Smith is brother
in-law of Judge Tiernan's stenographer,
persons at the Richmond County court
house said yesterday. His alleged con-
nection with the bootlegging ring was
not cited by the Mayor.
District Attorney Maloy refused to
disclose any of the questions put to
Agents Mcclure and Weldon, or any
of their answers.
Not Interested in Bootlegging
He said he was not interested in
bootlegging, and that information with
regard to the bootlegging situation
was all that resulted from his examina-
tion of the agents.
His attention was called to the Fed
eral statute, which says state officials
shall be coactve with Federal agents
in inforcing the law" and he replied:
THE policy of the police is not to
inforce the law"
Does that situation obtain on Staten
Island alone? ?"
"No; everywhere" he said.
| Cooperation with Federal authorities
is not compulsory, Mr.. Maloy said, add
ing that he did not intend to aid in the
investigation into alleged wholesale
traffic in liquor in Richmond County
He did say, however, that he would fur
nish the Federal departments inter-
ested with report on the six-hour ex-
animation of the agents.
Mr.. Maloy will furnish Governor
Smith with the evidence he has of
Illicit traffic in liquor, and a special
grand jury may be called within two
weeks to investigate the whole affair.
There is absolutely nothing to show
that William j. Mcclure and James
Weldon, the prohibition agents on my
staff, who were summoned before Dis
trlct Attorney Maloy on Staten Island
TINS afternoon, are in any way con-
nrected with the Eckert murder" said
Mr. Shevlln upon the return of the
agents to his Office
~ have been informed that District
Attorney Maloy has finished with
them" he continued. Mcclure and
Weldon were actually implicated in
bootlegglng operations on Staten ISL
and to the extent that they had infor-
nation that liquor was stored on
Staten Island. They were working on
the case at the time of the murder, but
mad no positive information that
would enable them to complete the
case and make seizures and arrests.
l make every effort to locate and seize
stocks of liquor"
Detectives questioned Max Katz, who
is held on short affidavit charging
homlclde. katz is a chauffeur, who is
alleged to have transported a load of
Hquor in a motor truck for Eckert
about two weeks ago.
katx Still Held
His attorney asked for his release
IN the Stapleton police court, in the
absence of any specific evidence against
him. Magistrate Simpson extended
the short affidavit forty-eight hours
to give the District Attorney that time
to present any evidence in his pos
session
AS he was leaving the courthouse re-
porters asked Judge Tiernan if he had
been in touch with his brother.
II do not believe my brother has
been engaged in bootlegging," he said
These stories are entirely without
foundation. have been in close touch
with my brother, and l know these
stories are without foundation"
William Moloney and Charles Kain,
the two other men charged with par
! tlclpatlng IN the murder, continue to be
! held on complaint made by Mrs. Flor
ence Eckert, the widow
Henry Hugot, proprietor of the res
taurant in which three barrels of
whisky bearing Tiernan's label were
said to have been found by prohibition
officer, refused to discuss Tiernan yes
terday more than to say that the lat
ter rented a house from him and paid
his rent promptly. He denied his place
had ever ben raided. He said the men
ton of his name in connection with the
Eckert case was an attempt of Staten
Island politicians to put him out of
business"
Mr.. Ross announced he would call
Agents Mcclure and Weldon before
him Monday and will make a thorough
inves stigation of all evidence furnished
by the District Attorney.