The New York herald., 1921-03-18
BURGLAR ACCUSES
OWN PROSECUTOR
AS A BOOTLEGGER
Sentence of SO Years Is the
Courts Reply to Charge
Against Attorney.
SEEN AS VINDICATION
Prisoner Protests That He
Had Official Promise of
Full Immunity.
ADMITS MANY CRIMES
One Murder, Burglaries and
Robberies Are RecOmted
on Witness Stand.
ADMITS MANY CRIMES

A sentence TO States prison for fifty
nine years was the answer given in
the Richmond County Court yesterday
to William Connolly. a defendant who,
while on trial for burglary, charged
that one of the officials, connected with
torney Alfred v. Norton. had been
engaged in the Illicit whiskey traffic
and had paid him $25 week to ride
on a bootlegger's truck as guard.
Connolly made his charge while on the
witness stand in his own defence, and
subsequently Mr. Norton. taking the
stand in rebuttal. denied 1t in every
detail. AS practically the whole is
sue in the case was one of veracity
between Connolly and his prosecutors,
and as the jury which found Con-
molly guilty deliberated only half AN
hour. Mr.. Norton stated after the trial
that the jury had returned all the
answer which, in his opinion, need be
made to Connolly's accusation.
Connolly was on trial yesterday for
a burglary committed last October, in
which he admitted having participated.
His defence was that he was entitled 70
An acduittal because OF promise Of
immunity given TO him by Mr.. Norton's
chief District Attorney Maloy. A mo-
tion to quash the Indictment, made by
his counsel at the beginning of the trial
on the basis of the alleged promise OF
immunity, having been denied. the whole
trial turned upon the question OF
whether such promise had been given.
The prosecution contended that Con-
molly had earned immunity az a Grand
Jury witness. in respect to half dozen
crimes which he had committed, put
that it had not been promised and had
not been earned for the burglary Tor
which he was on trial yesterday.
Connolly, when he took the witness
stand. readily admitted that he was an
habitual criminal. He gave formi-
dable list of burglaries and robberies IN
which he had had hand. and admitted
participation in the murder of a restau-
rant keeper at Mariners Harbor. For
this crime one man is awaiting electro
cution and two others are serving twen-
ty year sentences on the strength OF
"squenT' by Connolly. lie explained
also that for the five years preceding
March. 1920 he had been doing n
stretch up the river" for burglary,
After reciting the list of his crimes nc
said:
Last fall acted as guard on
booze truck for Mr.. Norton and Archie
Fulton, clerk in the medical exami-
ner's office / met Norton in a saloon
in West Brighton and he said to me:
our truck has been held up and think
some OF your gang done 1t. Do we
have to pay you people to guard us?
If We do. will you take s25 a week.
Il said all right and was told to 90
to the ferry at st. George the following
night. There l was taken aboard
truck and rode to a saloon with six
cases Of bootleg Two nights later
made another trip from the ferry TO a
saloon in Elm Park and met Norton
there. A man IN the saloon gave him
500; he gave Fulton 800 of II, me s25 of
II, the chauffeur a little piece of il, and
kept the rest for himself"
After Mr.. Norton had denied all this,
William Brown. a stenographer in the
Richmond county Sheriffs office. was
sworn and stated that Connolly had
told him that unless he was let Off with
a year in Jail he would frame the
whole works" Connolly, recalled to the
stand, contradicted this, saying that
"shoot the works" was the expression
he had used And he insisted again
that immunity had been promised, but
that he had agreed TO fall" for a year
in jail for Appearances sake.
County Judge Tiernan, IN charging
the jury. announced that IL they acquit-
ted Connolly the charge against Mr.
Norton would have to bo given serious
consideration. After Judge Tiernan had
sentenced Connolly he thanked the Jury
men and informed them that Connolly
would have to serve at least forty-four
years of his fifty-nine year terms and.
in addition 10 that. the two years which
were taken off his last prison term for
good behavior.