New-York tribune., 1922-02-12
Rickard Held
loCrand jury:
Bail $4,000
Magistrate Simpson Says He
Is Convinced Beyond
Doubt of Truth of Girls,
Stories Regarding Rickard
More Arrests Promised
Prosecutor Hints Additional
Defendants May Be In.
volved in Promoters Case

lex Eickard was held In $4,000 bail
BY Magistrate Simpson in West Side
Iol1ce Court terday to await action
or the grand jury on CHARGES nre-
1erred against him by four girls rang
ing from eleven to fifteen years In age.
After some delay he obtained bail and
was released. Alice Ruck and Anna
,iess were the girls whose testimony
was given in court at the instance of
INC Ne" York Society for the preven-
ton Of Cruelty to Children and. al
though Max .. Steuer, Richards attor-
ney, argued that discrepancies in their
stories made them incredible. Macis-
trate Simpson took occasion to saw
tnat lie believed they had told the
truth as to events in the apartments
on West Forty-seventh Street and that
re believed they had met Richard in
those apartments and elsewhere.
1T is amazing" said the magistrate,
how these two girls of tender wears
could remember with such detail what
happened in the rooms and could de-
scribe those rooms and their furnish
ings with such detail
Court Believes Girls Stories
III they were there | cannot con-
ceive of their being there for any
other purpose than for the pcrpetra-
ton of the crime mentioned IT is
beyond human ken for me to believe
that these girls could stand up under
tho griling ss-examination they
were subjected to and still stand by
the stories they originally told In
view Of the stories they tell without
hcing shaken particle in the main
details, ] am convinced they told the
truth rs to what happened it, the
house, beyond & reasonable doubt, and
that this is all the District Attorney
needs TO make out prima face case
sufficient for the magistrate to hold
the defendant TO await the action of
the grand Jury.
"There is no doubt in my mind that
these girls met Richard, both in and
seventh Street"
Further Arrests Predicted
Mr.. Steuer protested when Ferdinand
PecOra, CHIEF Assistant District At
torney. asked that bail be fixed at
$4,000. MIR. Steuer thought that the
$1,000 which his client bad furnished
during the preliminary hearing ought
to be sufficient
ready the case vas becoming more
complicated that it had appeared at
first. Nathan Podd. accused of spirit
ing away one of the girls whom the
Children's Society is holding as wit
ness. had been indicted by the grand
jury, and Mr.. Pecora said that other
defendants might appear before the in
vestigaticn was completed.
When we get all the evidence ready
for the grand jury in these cases." he
said. "it is possible that We will make
further arrests
Rickard remained in the courtroom
nominally in the custody of his counsel
until bail had been obtained, when
Magistrate Simpson returned to the
bench to accept it. Many of Richards
friends were in court, including Billy
Gibson and Anthony J. Drexel Biddle.
The courtroom was crowded during the
hearing, many of the spectators being
women.
Steuer Attacks Testimony
Mr. Steuer had prepared document
in which the discre epancies in the testi-
mony given by the Hess girl and the
Ruck girl were arranged in parallel
columns Their stories differed in de-
tail only, but Mr.. Steuer insisted that
in view of the serious nature of the
charges they made these very details
should have been impressed indclibiy
upon the minds of the girls.
The girls did not agree as TO the
rrrnocv Of times they had met the fight
promoter, nor as to where they first
inad visited him. Ono said that their
first call OF him had been in The tower
of Madison Square Garden and the