The New York herald., 1921-10-07
QUEENS SUPER boss,
MYSTERY MAN, GETS
$4,000 in 2 YEARS
See Jack Phillips, Sort Of
Borough Minister With a
Desk But No Office, Uses
an Invisible Power.
CALLED USEFUL LIAR
Contractor Of Sewer Job
Says He Hinted at Gift of
$4,000 to Campaign;
Denied by Connolly.
PAYS TO GET CITY MONEY
Meyer Committee Listens to
Denials by Lockwood and
Murphy of Dwyer's De-
tective Bill RumOrs.
PAYS TO GET CITY MONEY

The same brand of Influence"
which shippers were compelled to
buy at big figures when they wished
to get pier leases from the city -four.
ished in the open fields Of Queens
Borough, where sewers were built.
and the cost out in the big suburban
district was about the same as down
at the foot of Broadway.
Witnesses yesterday before the
Meyer committee in City Hall told OF
missionary" work in Queens which
cost two contractors about $3.50 in
connection with two big jobs. To
John M. Phillips, mysterious power
IN Queens politics. $4,000 was paid
in commissions by Joseph L. Sigretto.
contractor, the latter testified.
Other testimony was that $4,000 OF
that sum went in campaign fund
tor Maurice e. Connolly, Borough
Pl esident.
Mr.. Connolly insisted upon taking
the stand to give indignant dental to
the charge, and in SO doing stirred
up some excitement Although not an
official, Phillips had a desk IN Bor.
ough Hall, and "see Jack" became
the password when officials of con.
tractors wanted to get things done.
cne witness said.
Preached Gospel OF Con .r~te.
4 William F. Matthews, known to
Queens as Doc" Matthews, received
$500 for preaching the gospel of
concrete blocks to the deaf, dumb
and blind" in that borough John
+. O'Rourke, genial and amusing,
told Of this missionary work, which
gave an ss76.000 contract to him.
\ He didn't know, O'Rourke didn't.
whether doc" Matthews was a
physician. but felt quite certain he
was not doctor of divinity.
But in any event, DOC" Matthews
was successful physician in healing
the deaf, dumb and blind" so they
could see the merits of concrete
block, and the job went through. One
check for $4,000 in this transaction
was passed" by Matthews to Phil.
lips.
Half dozen witnesses were sum.
n oned to patch together the finely
fitted pieces of evidence which re.
vealed some Of the operations of gov.
ernment in Queens. officials in the
Hylan administration have been
shouting for weeks that the Meyer
committee was actuated purely by
political motives and did not dare
go into Queens for fear Of injuring
the cause of fusion or the Republican
party. The session yesterday was an
answer to that political canard.
Dwyer's Assertions Denied.
Senator Charles C.. Lockwood. fusion
nominee for Comptroller. and former
Senator Charles F. Murphy. a Repub.
lican district leader in Kings, went OF
the witness stand upon their own re-
quests and denied charges made by
Police Inspector John r. Dwyer. who
had asserted that Murphy received
: $4,000 to put through detective bill.
and that Lockwood knew a lot about
/ the deal" Both declared there was
not a word of truth in the charge and
explained their official connection with
the measure.
Slgretto had contract for con-
structing a sewer to cost 100000 in
Fifty-nrst street. Queens. and wished
TO assign 1t to John ]. Green, another
contractor. This was accomplished
! finally and tho. contract was sold to
Green for $4,000 plus percentage
paid by the city. making the total
about $4,000.
Borough President Connolly or.
dered me to go ahead with the work
and l told him could not because
was tied up on Government contracts
at camp Mills" Mr. Sigretto testified.
Connolly insisted / must start or he
would notify the bonding company to
call the Job abandoned. so asked
John Phillips and another man named
Purcell IL they could sell the contract
for me. They found a buyer for me, a
man named John Green. who made an
offer of about $4,000 for It plus per
cent. on the estimates.
The contractor had known Phillips
for year or two and had taken him
into partnership on one or two con-
tracts for being generally useful"
Phillips was known among contractors
as an agent of the Lock Joint Pipe