New Britain herald., 1924-12-20
LIQUOR WORTH $500, OOOAND
 BRITISH SCHOONER WITH g SAILORS TAKEN OFF COAST
GAMBLING MACHINE
 OPERATED IN COURT
Judge Sees It Work and Fines Restaurateur
 S10 and Costs

Amid the clink of nickels and the grating of gears, members of the To- cal force attacked a slot machine in 1 the police court thle morning with 1 all the enthusiasm Of a youngster r 1 with new Christmas toy, even
 carrying the simile so far as to have the mechanism taken apart and put 1 together again. The continued case i Of Alfred Roy, who conducts a res 1 taurant at 420 Main street, was up i for disposal, Roy being charged with running a gambling game with the slot machine. Expert testi- 1 mony was produced by NJ. A. Sex 1 ton, who represented Roy, design 1 ed to show that the machine was for vending and not gaming, but Judge William c. Hungerford. who was on the bench, said that he thought the apparatus was q gamb- | ling machine and imposed fine of $10.
 Officers Patrick OMara and | Thomas Feeney testified that they had been sent by Chief William c. Hart to bring in the machine, fol- lowing a complaint received at headquarters. They said that they l had spent well over a dollar and { then satisfied themselves that 1t was gambling machine and 1 brought it to the police station. The i machine Is used for vending either packages of mint or gum, while sometimes the purchaser receives In addition metal tokens which are redeemable in trade at the store where the ''salesman" is located.
 Both O'Mara and Feeney testified i that, although the machine was sup posed to register in advance the i number of tokens to be received, tt 1 did not do so when they used It.. 1 President Moore of the company which manufactures the machines was called by Attorney Sexton and said that this improper registering must be due to a temporary defect in the mechanism. He introduced a ] mechanic, who testified that the failure was caused by weak spring. Attorney Sexton asked to have a
 perfect machine brought in, but Judge Hungerford ruled that the case was to be decided on this ma chine alone. The mechanic removed 1 the back Of the salesman" and ad- 1 justed the works by releasing a catch, saying that it had become l stuck. Officer 0'Mara claimed that he merely released 1t temporarily and that it might be fastened again when put in use.
 Prosecuting Attorney Joseph c. Woods attacked Moores statement | that there was no gambling element | connected with the instrument, stat | ing that, even when the machine | told in advance how many tokens would be. received, the man operat- 1 ing it would always be playing to have a big number register. when he would play another nickel and get | the tokens. In summing up, he said | that this was 'an olen and fragrant 1 violation of the gaming laws If there ever was one" and claimed con- viction under the statutes. Mir Sex ton read a definition of games as risk of money" and said that there was none here, as the player always received his package Of hints.
 Judge Hungerford declared that, at least in it's condition when brought in to headquarters, the apparatus 1 was a gambling machine and tha;
 even In perfect state he thought it was one. He imposed a SIC fine and
 expressed himself as wiling 10 have an appeal taken under $l0o bonds
 The continued case Of Axel Dal- gren of A Kensingto on street was brought up following short recese, The case was the result Of an auto mobile collision on December 10 be-
 tween machines driven hv Dalgren
 and Mrs. Robert Bulde on Green wood street. Through Attorney ! George W. Klett, Da)gran changed
 his plea Of no; guilty 10 rolo con- tcnaere, and Judge Hungerford sus-
 pended judgment