Evening star., 1928-11-01
CORRUPT CONDUCT
LAID TO ASA KEYES
Grand Jury, lndicting Los An
geIes District Attorney, De-
mandS His Removal.
BY the Associated Press.

| BY the Associated Press.
LOS ANGELES, November IAN
indictment against Asa Keyes, district
attorney of Los Angeles County, charg-
ing "willful and corrupt misconduct in
office" was returned here last night by
the county grand jury, which also filed
an accusation" in Superior Court de-
manding his removal from Office
The indictment charged that Keyes,
who gained widespread publicity in the
investigation of the Aimee Semple Nc
Pherson disappearance case and in the
conviction of William Edward Hickman,
who was recently executed, had accept
ed money from several persons in ex-
change for dismissal of indictments
| against them. or. failing in that, acquit-
tai at the hands of juries.
One Of the counts alleged that Keyes
took $4,000 from Jacob Bernan, alias
Jack Bennett. in consummating an al
legged agreement by which Berman
| escaped conviction on charges growing
out of the failure here last Fall of
the Julian Petroleum Corporation for
several million dollars
| Secret indictments against an I'M
disclosed number of other persons also
were returned.
Among the charges In the allegation
| seeking KeyeS' removal from office was
one that he unlawfully possessed and
transported IL quarts Of whisky in his
automobile. Among the other charges
were that Keyes accepted a $500 plati-
mum wrist watch from E.. H. Rosenberg
before Rosenberg and nine other per-
sons were acquitted in the State courts,
and that the district attorney accepted
an unknown sum from A. I. Lasker for
dismissing a felony charge against the
| latter.
Mr.. Keyes recently announced that
| he would retire from Office December
| 5, allowing his successor, Buron Fits
who was elected last September, to take
office then. Fits gave up the lieuten-
ant-governorship of California to run
| fo. district attorney in Los Angeles
| County on an anti-vice platform.
| KeyeS made the following statement
last night concerning the charges: 81
really don't know what this is about.
was never called before the grand jury
nor was there apparently any effort
made to get anything but the state
ments of some outside parties. / un-
derStood that the names of some of the
witnesses appearing before the granc
| jury on which the indictments and ac-
| cuSationS are based are people who
tried to blackmall man out of the
money on the theory that they coulc
do just what was Gone
"It is also significant that the chief
party instrumental in producing these
matters is a discharged employe.
81 expect to investigate and find out
what this is all about and make a COM
plete statement"
Disclosures of the grand jury inves.
tigation was closely followed by the dis
patching of score of deputy sheriffs tc
all parts of the city seeking those ac-
cused Keyes himself was not mo-
Tested by warrant servers. Bail fol
each of the others named in the in
dictments was set at $4,000, and they
we're ordered held in outlying jails fol
| arraignment today
1t was intimated by authorities here
that summary removal of Keyes pend
ing trial would be asked of Attorney
General U. S. Webb.
Keyes for a quarter of century has
been figure in the district attorneys
Office and for nearly six years has been
its head.