Norwich bulletin., 1921-07-14
CoAKLEY CLAIMS NO
 AGREEMENT WITH TUFTS

Boston, Julx 13.-Iiestimony before the supreme court in the proceedings through which Attorney General J. wes- ton Allen is seeking the removal of tA- torney Nathan A. Tufts. os Niddlesex county, switched late today from the MishaHum Manor midnight festivities in March, 1917, 10 the escape from pris- on and the subsequent capture of Her man L. Barney, convicted slayer of a policeman. One of the attorney generals allegations against Mir. Tufts concerns the part the latter had in returning Bar ney to Charlestown state prison. from which he escaped on the night of May 80, 1920.
 Assistant District Attorney General Hulrburt called to the witness stnnd Stephen C. Bresnahan, an attorney, who testified that in Northampton, on the night of the day before Barney was taken, MT. Tufts, Barney, officers of the Newton police department, and the wit ness had driven together in an automo- bile down a street in that city.
 Bresnahan testified that Barney had come to his home in North Cambridge the night after the escape and that he had met the fugitive on three subse- quent occasions before. Barney left the vicinity. The witness said he later met Barney at the home of Joseph Meica ill Northampton.
 Previous to the testimony on the Bar ney incident, Daniel IT CoakIey, to whom some New York motion picture produc- | CTS appealed in their efforts to keep out of the courts and out of the newspapers | after 2 midnight dinner at Mishawunl Manor in 1917 testified that hea=reed to 1 handle the ease for one hundred theus- and dollars and take a gamblers chance 1 of obtaining fee out of what remained | after settlement of all claims.
 There remained after the claims had l been settled, releases obtained and ex. penses paid, between sS1.00e and s53.- 600 MT. Coakley said. In addition member of his office staff had received | thirteen thousand dollars.
 Ceakley is charged by Attorney Gen 1 eral :. Weston Allen with being a co. conspirstor with District Attorney Ma | than A. Tufts in a scheme by which money is alleged to have been extorted from the motion picture men under ; threat of prosecution on account of thu events at the dinner.
 Coskley testified that he never haC had an agreement with Tufts that th matter of the Mishmawum dinner woult not be presented to the sand jnry if h could get rid of the people complaining who were understood to be relatives 0 some of the women at the dinner. H was satisfied, he said. that. no eviderc, ! would be presented if there was none t, present and he worked to eliminate an. evidence there might be. He never tolt Tufts, he said, how much his clients pait or how much he received himself
 The witness said he regarded the wo men at Mshavun Manor as innora and he never believed that any of then had legitimate claim out of the affair but added that his job was to see tha no suits were brought" T worked | that end but when I paid believed the. were all bad claims, all phoney and dis honest" he said
 He testified that soon after he cam into the case Hiram Abrams, Waite Green and Harry Asher came to Cam bridge and introduced them to Distric Attorney Tufts so that he might see tha they were decent, respectable busine men of high standing"
 Tufts said that his information iron the police was that it was q "had par ty." according to Coalzley, and that h did not think smalll town like Wo , burn tenderoin practices that might g in big city should be tolerated. Tuft he said told him that unless he (Coakley l heard from him, the eases would not b presented to the grand jury before tn following month Coakley having aske an opportunity to show that his client | had done nothing wrong.