Evening star., 1935-12-12
EXCHANGES
MARK TAX TRIAL
Case Against Ex.Revenue
Bureau Employees and Con-
Sultant Goes to Iury.

The case Of two former Internal
Revenue Bureau employees and a New
York tax conSultant, on trial for con-
spiracy to defraud the Government in
the so-called McCarter tax case, rest
ed in the hands Of jury Of IL men
and a woman in District Supreme
Court this afternoon.
The jury retired to consider a ver-
dict shortly after noon, following an
impasSioned closing appeal by United
States Attorney Leslie C. Garnett and
careful instructions from Justice F.
Dickinson Let's.
Justice Let's advised the Jury it
must find at least two of the defend
ants guilty Of conspiracy in order to
make a case against them. II only
one is voted guilty of the alleged plot,
he emphasized, all three must be ac-
quilted.
Excerpts Read.
Justice Let's read detailed excerpts
from the lengthy indictment, which
charged John w. Hardgrove, former
associate chief conferee Of the bureau;
Henning r. Nelson, former bureau au-
ditor, and Frank B. McElhill, New
York tax accountant, with conSpiring
to divulge official secrets in violation
of law,
The trial resulted from complaints
made to Secretary of Treasury Nor
genthau by Thomas N. McCarter, New
Jersey public utilities magnate, regard
ing proposals made to him by McElhill
in connection with McCarter's efforts
to resist a S149 900 tax assessment.
LEening the three defendants TO
worms that seek to undermine the
Government" Garnett asked the jury
for a conviction.
ITO acquit these defendants" Gar
nett shouted as he shook his hands
at the alleged conspirators. is to con-
vict the Government witnesses Of the
vilest conspiracy that men ever con-
ceived"
Conspiracy Charged.
Garnett charged that the eminent
counsel for the defense" had attempt
ed to establish such conspiracy on
the part of the two dozen witnesses
who testified for the Government
against the defendants.
We've caught these three defend
ants with the goods on them, and
they can't get out of it." the United
States attorney told the jury If
we can stop the buzzards of the bar
and the worms that seek to under
mine the Government, no cost is too
great"
Garnett declared the prosecution
had forged a chain of evidence of
double-riveted steel that is unbreak-
able" He said the evidence proved
the defendants conSpired corruptly to
serve the taxpayer rather than the
Government.
Asserting that the oss-examina-
ton of Internal Revenue agents by
Defense Attorneys William E. Leahy,
Leo A. Rover and William H. Collins
had served only to polish the gold
of their statements" Garnett asked
did not the ton by the
Government of Defendants Hardgrove
ana Nelson reveal the DraZen talSlty
of their statements?"
The prosecutor referred Sarcastical-
ly to Hardgrove's quoted statement
to McElhill in a wire-tapped tele-
phone conversation that he had no
time for golf. and declared: He had
lots of time to play the races, how
ever" He repeated Hardgrove's tes-
timony that he won $4,000 on the
horses.
The District attorney scared to or
atorical heights at times, quoting
from the classics and concluding his
appeal by reading from a poem which
ended:
i fear the vermin that undermine
the walls of State"