The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-03-29
BOOZE RUNNING
CASE HEARING IN
!. MUNICIPAL COURT
cassstss sis''sAMs,.,, o. Charged with
Attempt u Rob
TRAFFIC DEVELOPMENTS
Ralph Bortel Describes Transac-
tion Resulting in Three
Arrests
lAFFIC DEVELOPMENTS

me preliminary nearing IN Inc case
of Chauncey Burdick of North Adams,
one OF the four men charged with
completely in a holdup in Pownal on
the night Of March II, when Yer.
mont automobile was held up and re.
lieved OF a quantity OF contraband
liquor, was begun before Acting Mu-
nic!pal Judge f. C. Bennett at the
county court house this morning.
Geo. Hamele also of North Adams,
has already pleaded guilty to assault
in connection with the holdup and has
been sentenced to not more than three
years and six months or less than
three years in the state prison at
Windsor He has not yet been com
mitted but 1t is expected that the
papers will be signed some time dur
ing the day.
This afternoon Burdick was placed
on the stand by his counsel Henry
Chase, to testify in his own behalf.
He insisted in his testimony that he
did not know that the party OF three
consisting of Hamel, Frank Amlaw
and Gaylord Jennings and which he
took to the lonely spot on the Pownal
road was making the trip for the pur-
pose of transporting liquor He also
testified that he objected to taking
rar: u each transportation after the
liquor had been transferred from the
Vermont car to his own automobile,
insisted that it be removed and that
1t was removed upon his insistence.
H denied that he even knew at the
time that a holdup had taken place
but did recall remark OF jennings
that the liquor had been secured with.
out paying any money for 1t. t
Frank Amlaw, one of the four men
alleged to have been implicated in
the ho'dup and who has already plead
ed guilty to a charge of grand lar
ceny in connection. with the affair,
was the first witness He testified
THAI he had been engaged by Gaylord
Jennings to go to Pownal on the night
of the ra d for load of booze" Am
law testified that the party which was
made up of himself. Burdick, George
Hamcl and Jennings made the journey
in Burdicks car and that Burdick was
at the wheel The witness described
how the car was driven to a point on
the cd road between North Adams
ard Pownal and was stopped by Bur-
dick directly across the highway,
The Vermont car, according to the
witness, halted at distance OF about
twenty feet: Hamel with a revolver
ordered the Vermonter out of the car
and the witness and Hamel togther
with three of the rum runners pro-
ceeded to transfer the liquor to Bur.
dicks car.
Cross examined, Amlaw testified
that Burdick remained standing near
his car during the entire procedure.
He also testified that during the jour
ney to North Adams Burdick objec'
ted to having the liquor in the auto
mobile and protested that he was not
hired for the purpose of carrying
booze
Ralph Bortel who conducts night
lunch cart on North street, testified
that he was engaged to pilot an au-
tomobile from Bennington to North
Adams on the night Of March II.
Bortels cross examination develop
ed the act that he was the go-between
in the sale of the liquor that was
seized in the raid. The contrahand
which consisted of five cases of Cor
don gin and 25 gallons OF whiskey,
was purchased of John Kelley of Rut-
land, according to Bortel, for Jen'
nings. Bortel admitted that he was to
receive one case OF the gin for his
part in the transaction. He denied
that he knew any one of the three
men in the Vermont car.