The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-12-18
KILLER BURKE
BRANDED Vote
fraud LEADER
Made Bargain to Frame
Lake County Polls in
1928, Says Butler.
U. S. ACTION is FUTILE
Government Agents Failed
to Clean Up on Tips,
investigator Ayers.

HUNTINGTON, Ind, Dec. 18.-
Fred Burke, killer of a policeman
at st. Joseph, Mich; accredited with
the st. Valentine day massacre in
Chicago; identified as the bandit
who robbed a Peru bank, and known
TO the police as the most danger
Ous man alive" made the bargain
under which truckloads of Negroes
were brought from Chicago ana
voted in Lake county at the 1923
election.
This is the statement of Robert
Butler, indianapolis newspaper man,
confined to hotel here as the result
of injuries in an alleged assassination
attempt Saturday night.
Butler is said to have unearthed
the evidence under which the fed
eral probe of crime and corruption
in northern Indiana was started.
Name Given to U. S. Agents
Burke was the man whose name
was given to the federal authorities
as the chief figure in the election
frauds. He was pointed out as the
man who arranged for importation
of fraudulent voters to Indiana.
When the federal officials re-
ported that they were unable to
serve subpoena upon him, news
paper men located Burke, then liv-
ing in south side Chicago hotel
This fact was reported to officials
When they went to serve the sub
pena, Burke had checked out ten
minutes before their arrival. There
was suspicion that he had been
tipped OFF.
1t is known that since that time
Burke robbed banks in Indiana and
Wisconsin. In the home which he
maintained, more than 100000 in
bonds were discovered. There also
was a fully equipped arsenal of ma
chine guns and other weapons.
The trail of election frauds, news
paper investigators say. led to Burke.
AffidavitS were offered to the gov
ernment, they declare, showing the
Importation of voters. Some of
them admitted voting as many as
fifty-tWo times. But the federal
officials, including prohibition
agents, never produced Burke.
Arsenal Is Found
In the Michigan home which
housed the arsenal and in which
the loot was recovered was the
common law wife of Burke, known
as Viola Daniels. She formerly
operated a resort at Ft. Wayne and
was prominent in Steuben county
scandals of year ago, when the
sheriff was tried for the murder of
Tommy Burke, a gangster.
The charge was made at that
time that this was the funnel to
the liquor route into Indiana
Burke was supposed to be the
gllnman for the Capone interests
and in charge of the safe conduct
of liquor through the northern
part of the state.
Butler is confined to a hotel by
his injuries In addition to q.
slight bullet wound in the ear, he
suffered a fracture of the pelvis.
AS soon as he is able to leave the
hotel he intends again to call at
tention of the federal officials to the
connection between Burke and the
election frauds, he declares.
Thus far the federal probe has
had negligible results. In the most
important case of liquor violation
involving the alleged hiiacking of a
truckload of beer by policemen, the
indictment was drawn so faulty that
it was dimiSsed without trial. This
case had been expected to develop
the connection of not only police
men in the northern cities. but OF
certain state highway police, in q
conspiracy to protect rum-running
through the state.