Evening star., 1933-11-07
DISMISSAL ASKED
At MARET HEARING
Judge Considers Motion and
Orders Trial to Go On
Over Protest.

Dismissal of the case against Countess
Grace de Benque and George S. Corn
ley charged with larceny Of $4,000 from
Miss Louise Maret. co-proprietor of the
fashionable Maret School for Girls, was
demanded today by defense counsel as
the trial entered its third day in Dis
trict Supreme Court.
Justice Joseph w. Cox took the mo-
ton under advisement and ordered the
trial continued over the protest Of De-
fense Attorney Joseph Turco. represent
ing Gormley, who requested the jury
be withdrawn.
Turco's motion for dismissal came
after Detective Sergt. Earl B. Hartman,
Government witness, had related a
conversation he had had with Gormley
and in which the defense counsel con-
tended Gorm1ey had slandered the
countess. Turco argued that Hartmafl's
testimony prejudiced the case and was
inadmissable evidence, because the
countess was not present during the
conversation.
Judge Cautions Fitzpatrick.
Hartman's testimony concerned q
conversation he said he had had with
Gormley at the fifth precinct after bis
arrest on charges OF extorting $1,000
from Miss Maret as "hush money to
be paid q policeman" who had .ar-'
rested. Gormiey and Miss Marst ina
parked automobile on Bro0kyille road
in October, 1891.
Judge Cox cautioned Assistant United
States Attorney John r. Fitzpatrick
not to continue the line Of questioning
and promised to hand down ruling
on Turco's motion later. Miss Maret
completed her testimony under cross
examination as The trial opened this
morning and deftly payried Turcos
efforts to disprove her story of how she
claims the countess and Gormley swim
died her. She admitted Gorrnley had
advised her ne would pay two $1,000
notes she had given him in addition to
the $1,000 in cash and testified she
went to the Countess de Benque's home
to complete its transaction.
She said before going to the house
Gormley had sent an emissary who
said he had $4,000 in Racquet Club
bonds At the countess home she
said she saw two notes being burned
and thought they were hers.
Complainant's Sister Called.
Miss Martha Maret, sister of the
complainant, was called to the stand
by Fitzpatrick A blind, small, gray
haired woman. apparently in her COS,
Miss Martha Maret called Gormley a
parasite" and denounced both de-
fendants so strenuously that Judge
Cox had to admonish her.
She corroborated her sisters testi-
mony as to meeting Gormely, who was
represented by the countess as build
er, and told how he came to their
home and took her sister riding After
the alleged arrest" she said Gormley
put the whole responsibility" on the
countess and quoted him as saying:
The countess had us both followed" ]"
When she concluded her direct testi-
mony and Fitzpatrick had turned her
over to defense counsel for cross-ex-
animation, she recalled suddenly. you
didn't ask me when met the countess
the first time, Mr.. District Attorney"
Tells of Meeting Countess.
Turco then took up that line of testi-
mony and learned she had met the
countess in the Fall of 1929, and said it
was through the countess that she and
her sister came to know Gormley She
said he wanted to remodel their school,
and at one point in her testimony, dis
cussing a dinner at the Maret home,
said:
These people (the countess and
Gormley) don't have much culture or
intelligence or distinction" Her answer
came in reply to question by Turco as
to the conversation at that dinner.
Again she related how often Gormley
had called her sister on the telephone
She said her sister once asked, "I Won
der what he wants now?"
There's no doubt what he wants,
I told her. He is a parasite"
She told proudly how she was re-
Sponsible for the arrest OF the couple
and said they owe it to me that they