The New York herald., 1921-01-29
10000 BOTTLES OF
REAL BEER SEIZED
Prohibition Agents Raid Bronx
Warehouse and Make Two
Arrests.
PERMITS IN 'LAW OFFICE
Contents Of Captured Keg
Worry Police-69 Taken in
Jersey Roundup.
PERMITS IN LAW OFFICE

Sixty thousand bottles Of old-time
per cent. beer were confiscated last night
by prohibition agents who raided q
warehouse In 1921 Intervale avenue. The
Bronx. The borough has been literally
soaking in first class beer for several
months. and the Government agents be-
lieve that by raiding the warehouse
and conhscating the 10000 bottles they
have shut off the principal source Of
supply.
Thomas Sofia. who owns the ware
house and gave that address as his
home, and Joseph Kramer OF 1883 Pros
pect avenue. The Bronx. a chauffeur.
were arrested. According to the en-
forcement agents. the beer was sent to
New York from a nearby city and was
concealed In sugar barreis. with ten
dozen bottles to the barrel The value
OF the lot was said to be about $4,000.
During the day Government agents
also raided an Office In Brooklyn from
which, they say, thousands of fake or
forged liquor withdrawal permits have
been issued, by means Of which boot
leggers have been able to obtain bpnded
whiskey.
Suspicion having been fixed upon the
law Office" OF Jacob Stein at 3G7 Fulton
of Chief Hugh McQuillan's staff arranged
to purchase fraudulent permits calling
for the withdrawal of 100 cases OF
whiskey from bonded warehouses.
STEMS price, they said. was s8 q case
for the permits.
The revenue men turned over $500 in
marked bills and received. the permits
from Stein. Then they arrested him and
his brother, Harry S. Stein. and Arthur
Devine, alias Feltman. who. they said.
have been doing prosperous business
In permit peddling. The three prisoners
were held In $500 bail each by United
States Commissioner Hennessy.
Sixty-nine arrests were made In Jer-
sey City. Hoboken and Bayonne yester-
day for violation OF the Volstead act
The raids came as surprise TO saloon
keepers who have been selling hard stuff
to all cornere for so long that they had
ceased to fear molestation. The prison.
ers were held in $1,000 bail each for ap-
pearance Monday.
The police tried hard all yesterday 70
find out what was in a keg seized in a
taxicab at Eighty-sixth street and First
avenue on complaint of a clergyman, but
they probably will not be able to learn
until the owner of the keg, Harry Jonas
OF 80 Jennings street. The Bronx. is
arraigned to-day in the United States
District Court. The taxicab driver said
that when Jonas hoisted the keg into the
machine he was told that 1t contained
vinegar.
When policeman arrested him he
said:
ITS full OF wine.'
When Magistrate Tobias asked him
what was in the keg, he said
Its fiiled with root beer"
When he was being cross-examined
he said:
It's fun of grape Juice"
The fingerprint expert OF the Magis-
trate's Court volunteered as q judge OF
wine, vinegar. root beer, grape juice,
beer and whislSey, and the keg was
taken into the corridor so that he could
sample II and tell the worh what 1t
was But Jonas refused to give perniis-
sion to open the keg. and since the
Magistrate could not compel him. the
fingerprint expert was forced to forego
the great test He was greatly disap-
pointed. Jonas was held under tech
nical charge Of transporting liquor with
out license.
Harry Munzer. drug clerk in the
Longacre Drug Store at 916 Seventh
avenue. was arrested charged with SELL
ing wfiskey without prescription. He
was held in $1,000 bail for the Grand
Jury.