Evening star., 1937-11-13
FIRST CONVICTION
FOR GAMING HOLDS
NUCK0LS IN JAIL
Bail for Chief Defendant and
Six Others Denied Pend
ing Appeal Move.
JURY GIVES VERDICT
| AFTER ~ MINUTES
Alleged D. c. Gambling Leader
Faces Sentencing Next Week.
Other Trials in Prospect.

Carroll Peyton (Nubby) Nuckols,
who for years has been regarded by
police as one of Washington's FORE
most professional gamblers, was in
the District Jail today, convicted for
the first time in his career of violat-
ing the Districts anti-gaming law.
He and six other men were found
guilty by District Court jury late
yesterday after only "a minutes of
deliberation. The charge was that
they maintained bookmaking es-
tablishment at 1880 Fourteenth street
NV, which was raided March 10 in
one of the sensational series of 65
raids by picked police squadrons
aimed at smashing the Capitals huge
horse race betting industry.
The trial of Nuckols and his COM
panions was the first growing out of
the 35 indictments resulting from the
raids. Three other indictments still
are pending against Nuckols. One
charges him with conspirihg with 81
others, including five policemen, to
violate the gaming law. Abe Plisco,
alias Jewboy Dietz, is pictured by the
Government as the head of the con-
spiracy and is accused of maintaining
city-wide telephone system over
which racing information was dis
seminated to gambling joints. 9th
ers of the alleged conspirators in
clude men said to have been proprie-
tors Of bookmaking establishments.
Other Trials in Prospect.
The two other indictments charge
Nuckols with conducting gambling
establishments at 1907 and 1909 Ninth
street NV. 1t Is expected he will be
tried on these charges later.
Convicted with him yesterday were
Moe Morganstein, Robert A. Murray.
Lawrence F. Pisani, Anthony T. Cos
tello. Harry c. Adams and George w.
Godfrey.
As soon as the jury reported its
verdict Assistant United States At
torney Samuel F. Beach asked Justice
Jesse c. Adkins to commit the de-
PENDANTS, and Defense Attorney Harry
T. Whelan pleaded with him to con-
tinue them on bail, saying he in
tended to appeal and arguing there
were substantial questions of law in
volved. Mr.. Beach denied that any
question which could be raised on
appeal was substantial.
Justice Adkins said he would COM
nit the men but gave Mr.. Whelan
leave to raise the matter of bail again
when he moves for new trial.
Sentence Likely Next Week.
Sentence probably will be imposed
next week. Under the law the maxi
mum sentence is one to five years
imprisonment.
The trial began Monday afternoon
and was marked throughout by a
stubborn defense fight to prevent
presentation to the jury of alleged
gambling paraphernalia found behind
locked door on the second floor of
the Fourteenth street premises.
Not q single witness was produced
by the defense, nor did any of the
defendants take the stand to deny
their guilt.
In his argument to the jury Mr..
Whelan sought to throw doubt on the
accuracy of testimony offered by CAL
vim M. Green, a rookie policeman,
who was the chief prosecution wit
ness. Pvt. Green had said he en-
tered the establishment unrecognized
on three occasions and placed bets on
race horses.
Mr. Beach called attention to the
physical evidence seized in the raid
and the testimony that the raiders
had followed directions based on Pvt.
Green's description of the place and
its occupants.
Although Nuckols has a police rec
ord, no gaming convictions hereto
fore appeared against his name. He
was indicted in 1882 and again in
1884 of setting up gaming table
the same charge on which he was
found guilty yesterday-but both true
bills were nolle pressed. An accusa-
ton in 1928 of manslaughter was ig-
nored by the grand jury, according to
police records.