The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-02-21
TO HOLD LONGER
OFFICE OF DIS
TRICT ATTORNEY
Court Declares That Every
Presumption of Upright
ness, Rectitude and limo
ence Had Been Invoked
in Favor Of the Respond
ent


Joseph c. Pelletier Of Suffolk county
was removed by the supreme court 70
day. The court found him guilty u
several counts urNer chdirges Of NAL
feasancc. misfeasanee and nonfeasance
in office.
The courts ruling was on charges
brought BY Attorney General y -Wes'
ton Allen that Pelletier had been a
party to conspiracies to extort money
under threats Of prosecution and 70
ruppress indictments. His relations
with Daniel II. Coakley and other lo-
sal attorneys were. characterized by
the attorney general as partnership
In crilse.'
United States Senator James A.
Reed Of Missouri, as counsel for Pei
letter at the trial, presented no testl-
mony in defense, arguing that the evil
dcnce connected him with no wrong
doing and that the charges were mere
ly the outgrowth of a conspiracy by
personal and political enemies.
The decision of the court was unani.
nous. Five Of the seven justices Of
the supreme bench sat in the trial
Chief Justice Rugg and Associate JUS
tees Braley. DeCourcy, Carroll and
Jenney
In its conclusion the court said that
'.every presumption of uprightness, rec
litnde and innocence which commonly
characterized the conduct Of men IN
bubble affairs had been invoked in fa-
sor Of the respondent, but that ths
findings made clear beyond peradven-
ture Of doubt that the respondent
was unfit to hold longer the office OF
district attorney.
"Ofiicial corruption is sufficient cause
for the removal of a district attorney"
said the court. when private favorit-
Ism and personal ACKNOWLEDGMENT are
placed above principles of obvious jas
lice and considerations of the general
welfare by district attorney, the
public good requires that he be re-
moved.
Specifically, the court found Pei
letter guilty in most of the important
instances of misconduct alleged by the
attorney general.
He was found guilty on the charge
That during his campaign for the may
bralty. subsequently abandoned, Pei
letter offered to quash any proceedings
against persons who took into their
Dwn hands denial of reports that Pei
letter intended to resign.
The district attorney was found
guilty also in the Emerson motors
fase in which that company was said
TO have paid s20,500 TO stop prosecu-
tion in Suffolk county. Peiletier was
charged with threatening to prosecute
In order to extort that sum.
In this case, and in several others,
The district attorney was alleged TO
have been a conspirator with Coakley
and others, the former acting as coun-
sel and receiving money in which IT
was alleged the prosecutor shared.
In the case of Warren c. Daniels. a
security salesman. who also was in
volved in threats TO prosecute, YER
iict Of guilty was found against Pei
letter 1t was held in the Emery case,
In which Pelletier, Coakley and Will
liam J. Corcoran. former district at
lorney of Middlesex county. were
named as conspirators 70 extort $50
BOO from Mrs Jennie 5. Chase. Mrs.
Curtis w. Emery, her daughter, and
Curtis W. Emery. son-in-law, that the
district attorneys guilt was proved.
The verdict in the Cote case also was
guilty. In that case It was charged
that Pelletier and Coskley conspired TO
make Miss Dorothy Cote drop a suit
against her estrangcd sweetheart for
sonversion Of an automobile that had
been bis gift 20 her.
The s35 900 paid by Benjamin Pis-
.opo. . former hotel proprietor. to
tVert prosecution was held 10 BE- a
payment made in pursuit Of a crimi-
aai conspiracy between Pefletier and
loaklev.
Not proven was the courts find
ing in the charge that Pellcfier failed
from improper motives to prosecute
Merrill ". Shute for larceny of $4,000
from Emma r. Brstkett. an aged won
~ of Bangor, Ne
The court reported il was mot salts
6ed- q guilt in the specification sller-
nr that Peiiefier had failed from i'm
. iropsr mofiFts 70 prosecute George T.
Nerrv. q Bostou attorney. whose uarre
uas involved IN the activities 81 an At
ieced automobile thiefinr rin-.
a reriiri q mot guilty Was rr
iurnrt On ehsrrfs that thf districi al
inrree haf imrrrfzrlV frorpei prose-
r.,f5a~ ~ aEr5Erlf ktrnaaT. uha. -
ftf kftfsr ci Mstawum Ezno-. fr
u-rl ~ ~ trial - vhilh nfstrirt A.