New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-12
'Accuser of Dry
Officer Defies
Judge and Jury
Hotel Man Must Appear To-
day for Examination on
Hush Money Complaint
or Show Doctors Affidavit
Son-in-Law of Deputy Mar
shall Is Charged With
Stealing u. S. Evidence

Further confusion was added to the
Ign yesterday.
Daniel j. German, proprietor of the
Annex Hotel at Concy Island, refused
to testify before the grand jury inves-
tlgating the charge made against Ben
son X. Laverte, Federal prohibition en-
forcement agent, that Laverte had at
tempted to extort "hush" money from
German on threat of arrest for violat-
ing the Volstead act.
Alfred r. ketchun, son-in-law OF
William Parry, chief deputy in United
States Marshal Powers office, was ar
rested on the charge of stealing num-
Der of cases of assorted LIQUOR from
the room of William D. Allen, chief
prohibition enforcement agent for the
Brooklyn district. The liquor had been
seized in various raids and was being
held as evidence. Ketchun was ar
raigned before United States Commits
sloner McCabe and held in $500 bail
for further examination Wednesday,
iAS 4OSS VI 1itiS liQuuI, IL was SdlU DY
Federal officials, will result in the fail
ure of the governments cases against
alleged violators of the Volstead act.
Ketchun is employed as Waterman
IN the Brooklyn Federal Building and
resides at 323A Sumpter Street.
Several other arrests are expected.
Also Defies Federal Judge
German appeared before the grand
jury yesterday when the jury was
about to adjourn. After his refusal to
testify he was then taken before Fed
eral Judge Garvin and also refused to
testify before him. Asked by the court
to explain his refusal to testify be-
fore the grand jury, German said that
he was suffering from pneumonia and
did not wish to excite himself. Judge
Garvin told him that he must either
appear before the grand jury to day
or produce physicians affidavit for
excuse
The Van Cortlandt Park golf course,
which Federal agents have believed
was equipped with nineteenth hole"
especially during this blistering
weather, welcomed two new players
yesterday, all logged out in the latest
golf aphernalIa, and who went over
eighteen holes with the gusto of ex-
perts. They waited at the eighteenth
hole for the other players to come up
IN the hope OF finding the nineteenth
hole" "rollow u.s." choruscd several
players.
At the Van Cortlandt Inn, conducted
by Thomas f. Farrell, the two visitors
a, cS,1, OF +ob i
two rounds of drinks, were served and
then arrested Edward L. Edelweiss,
bartender. They told the host that
they were Revenue Agents John Gull
hane and Peter f. Thomas, and took
Edelweiss before United States Com
missioner Hitchcock, who released the
bartender on $500 bail. John Donohue,
bartender at 1881 Eighth Avenue, also
was held in bail of $500 for violating
the Nolstead act.
Blind Tigers" Infest Brooklyn
Brooklyn is infested with "blind
tigers and pig alleys" Magistrate
Harry Dale in the Gates Avenue court
declared yesterday when Charles Bal
mann, twenty-five years old, of 26O
Quincy Street, was brought before him
on the charge of hurting "a rock through
the plate glass window Of q real estate
office conducted by Edward T. Walters
at 1919 Broadway. Walters claimed
that Balmann was intoxicated when he
did the damage. Balmann said that he
had been in the back room of Walters's
Office drinking whisky ali afternoon,
paying Walters 80 cents a drink. Magis-
trate Dale continued the examination
until tomorrow with this observation:
when l was in Congress and the
nlJpSti0O of DrOh hit on carnp IN
ed that if we had prohibition in Brook
lyn we would soon have blind tigers
and pig alleys such as they have had
for years in the dry states Of the
South. Walters, l don't say that you
sold whisky, but it looks to me as
though Brooklyn is infested with places
such as | have mentioned"