, 1926-12-29
COUNTY AND CITY
OFFICERS CLASH
AT GREYBULL
Raid by Woman Mayor of GreybuIl
Results in $4,000 Damage Suit
-Thelma Benedict Olson
Plaintiff
basin Rustler)

a SltuatlOn developed at GreyDull
on Sunday evening last which is
causing considerable comment. Be-
cause We have no personal infor-
nation with regard to the facts.
The Rustler asked for a statement
from Greybull, and we print it as
follows.
"a warrant was issued for liquor
search for a certain house in Grey
bull on Sunday evening, the search
ing party being led by the mayor,
Elizabeth Wiley, and a party con-
sisting of the following additional
members; Ed Cusack, constable.
who is also chief of police, and
Frank James, deputy sheriff.
THE party were kept out in the
cold a long time before the woman
in charge of the house came to the
door. Cusack and James went in
j. side and made search for liquor.
but were unable to find any. The
mayor remained outside.
1.-THE occupants of the house were
a certain woman well known in
Cody and Greybull n the sheriff
of Big Horn county.
1.-THE house has but one door,
which was locked. The raid &C.
Cured some time between $3.50 and
10 o'clock Sunday night.
1.-THE complaint was signed by
the mayor and she says she gather
ed the information on which to
base It,"
Yesterday morning we called up
Sheriff Burgess and asked him If he
cared to make a statement with
regard to the above mentioned af-
fair. He said he did. and at once
came to our office. where he made
a statement which he claimed that
the whole affair was a frame-up
on the part of the Greybull author
tiles, He stated that for some
thing like eight months he had
been receiving tips on bootleggers
from Mrs. Thelma Olson. She had
been paid for her services and had
proved herself to be very helpful.
On Sunday night he had gone %
\he- home to await the receipt of
information upon which he pro-
posed to make another raid. He
thought it might be necessary to
wait until as late as 1870 for the
information which he expected to
get.
1t was while waiting that the
officers above mentioned knocked
on h door. Mrs. Olson thought
perhaps 1t was her brother, who
sometimes dropped in in the even
ing to play cards. and as they did
not wish to be bothered with him,
she did not answer the knock.
When the knock was repeated for
the third or fourth time, Burgess
told her she had better answer it.
AT the same time he told her tina
If they were officers to insist upon
seeing their search warrant. She
did SO and upon being shown the
warrant permitted them to enter.
The officers searched the place
thoroughly. From the front room
they passed into the bedroom,
wher there was a trap door lead
ing into the cellar. This door was
underneath the bed. They found
nothing and came back into the
room where Burgess was seated on
the lounge. Burgess her asked to
see the warrant, which was shown
to him, and he pronounced it IL
legal. Cusack replied that he guess
ed he ought to know what was a
legal ear warrant. Then fol-
lowed some discussion, ii which
Cusack said he had wanted to see
Burgess and Burgess replied that
he would be right there for a
while, possibly as late as 1870. Gu
sack replied that he was in no
hurry. and the officers left. Burgess
insisted that the whole affair was
intended merely to embarrass him
in his effort as sheriff to dc effec-
tive work in Greybull.
Late yesterday afternoon Mrs. OIL
son, the woman in the case,
through her attorneys, Bronze &
Bronze. filed suit in the district
court against Elizabeth Wiley, Ed
Cusack, Frank James and E. A..
Draper for damages in the sum of
$4,000. 1t is held that the warrant
was Illegal in that it failed to state
any fact pon which the complaint
ant based her conclusion that liquor
was being sold or possessed in the
house which was searched.