The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-11-04
JURY POWDERS
FATE OF RUM
RING SUSPECTS
lust Helps His Friends Is
Modafarri'S Defense to
Booze Charge.

Evidence Of widespread operations
OF what federal officials termed In
dianapolis' most vicious liquor
gangsters," was scanned this aft
ernoon by a federal court jury de-
liberating booze law violation
charges against Giovanni (Joe)
Modafarri and eight Of his alleged
agents.
The jury took the case before
noon after arguments by govern
ment and defense attorneys.
1t is the duty Of the jury to.con-
Wet this vicious gang Of booze max
ers, rum runners and gunner"
George Jeffrey, United States dis
trlct attorney, declared.
Called big Hearted"
Defense attorneys said Modafarri
was not a booze king" but a big
hearted" individual who paid rent
and utility bills for his friends
The governments case revealed
that in each instance where Moda-
farri paid house bills, a still was
found on the premises.
Modafarri and his brother, Paul,
are named in five counts charging
manufacture Of liquor and two
charging conspiracy to violate the
liquor law
Others charged either with con-
spiracy or manufacture of liquor
are Mrs Mary Skaggs, Patsy Rossi,
Charles Fosso, and his wife, Antonio,
Roscoe angalla, John We-z, and
Cyril feathers.
Il help out all my friends. I am
not a whisky whatsoever"
was the defense Modafarri offered
against charges that for almost four
years he has been the Little
Caesar" of the alky racket in IN
dianapolis.
BaItzeII Loses Patience
The alleged big shot had his
chance on the stand Tuesday, but
muffed it, for before he concluded
his testimony Federal Judge Robert
G. Baltzell burst out:
I'm tired of hearing this man
testify"
After a brief cross examination
the judge ordered the dapper little
Italian American from the stand,
where he had insisted that he mere
ly is a real estate operator with a
soft heart for fellow countrymen,
who frequently come to him for aid
in buying real estate, automobiles
and other articles entailing refer
ence and contract signatures.
rs it merely coincidence that all
these houses you helped your friends
buy and all these cars you aided
them to purchase, later were in
vOlVed in distillery raids and liquor
seizures, Joe?" asked the judge.
Joe knew most of the questions
and answers, but not quite all of
them-not that one.
Star witnesses for the govern
ment we're Mrs Bertha Anderson,
former paramour of the mob's
chieftain; Ralph Fisher, ex-law stu
dent, who confessed bootlegging for
wv eAAA Law clA " ~ OCNllll3 CHCCld1
prohibition agent, who tapped tele-
phone wires leading to Modafarri's
headquarters at 231 South Noble
street, and recited to the jury sew
eral conversations he overheard.
Identifies Papers
Devlin also identified a collection
IF o<ylaflNifc
water, light and other payments at
several addresses where stills were
seized, and told the jury he found
those papers in Modafarri's desk.
1t was this collection that Moda-
farri explained by testifying that
he was the innocent victim of Sa-
maritanism toward illiterate Italian
friends.
Mrs. Anderson told of five-year
love affair with Joe, and declared
she and her brother hauled liquor
for the big boss and that she ac-
companied him many times when
he superintended delivery of booze.
Fisher told of having sold whisky
for Modafarri, until his sedan,
driven by Herbert Skaggs, husband
of one of the defendants, was seized
by police and conhscated because it
had liquor in it,
Asserts Main Tapped
Joe, he said, then gave him an
other car, in which he was caught
with three gallons of liquor the
same day.
Repeating the telephone con-
versations he tapped Devlin said
Joe called Werz, an Irvington
plumber, after a raid on house at
1929 Moore avenue, and told him to
hurry out and remove a gas line
that had been tapped on the main
behind the meter to serve the still
without registering through the
meter.
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