Evening star., 1939-08-07
.Leche, Weiss
Indicted Under
Hot Oil Act
Texas Operator
Also Named in
Louisiunu Probe
BY the Associated Press.

os VIC HsoOtldlcu ETeSS.
NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 7.-Former
Gov Richard Leche was indicted by
Federal grand jury today along
with Seymour Weiss, hotel owner
and powerful political figure, on
charges of violation of the Connally
Hot Oil' Act.
Named with Leche and Weiss in
the indictment, which Attorney Gen.
eral Frank Murphy had studied yes
terday in Washington, were Fireman
Burford. wealthy independent Dali
las (TexD Oil operator, and the East
Texas Refining Co.
Weiss also was charged in an
other indictment with evading pay
ment of income taxes for 1896, and
he and Louis C. Lesage, suspended
assistant to the president of the
Standard Oil Co. of Louisiana, were
named in third indictment as con-
spring together to violate the in
come tax laws.
Weiss and Lesage had been pre-
viously indicted on mail fraud
charges.
Sl04,UVU DeCldTeu lnVOlVe0.
Weiss and Leche were accused Of
receiving $4,000 each in the pur-
ported deal, the latter getting his
in ST 81 900 bills. Leche, one-time
lieutenant to the late Huey P. Long,
quit the governorship six weeks ago,
shortly after announcing the resig-
nation of Dr. James Monroe Smith
~T ,,1to c%1tN I,,,
versity.
The indictment said Weiss and
Leche were parties to an agreement
by which Burford built 59-mile
pipeline from the Rodessa, La, oil
fields near Shreveport to East Texas
and the Pelican Oil Co. was given
a daily allowable increase from
1850 barrels to 10000 barrels by
the State conservation department.
The Government alleged the East
Texas Refining Co. agreed to take
100000 barrels of the hot OIL"
but that only 100000 barrels we're
actually shipped on which commits
sions of s48,800 we're paid Weiss for
distribution. The pipeline. which
cost $4,000, then was sold for
reputed price of s95O0 and $780,
900 paid Weiss as a commission.
After payment of s14,800 as attor-
neys fees, the Government charged
Leche and Weiss split the remaining
$l34,000 in equal shares.
Crippled with arthritis since jan
uary, Leche gave ill health as the
reason when he resigned June rs,
one day after resignation and dis
appearance of DR. Smith, whose al
legged manipulations with school
funds plunged the State into mani
fold Investigations.
Il shall probably fool around some
in the oil business the handsome
Governor said at that time.
Leche, strapping 6-foot-3inch
former athlete and attorney forged
ahead rapidly under the political
tutelege of his close friend, the late
Senator Long He was only 38 when
he was elected Governor by great
landslide in January, 1896. He took
Office in May and served three years
and a month of his four-year term.
| His resignation gave the Gov
ernor's chair to Early K. Long,
brother of the slain "Kingfsh"
Charges Against Weiss.
In the income-tax indictment
Weiss. whose indictment on income
tax charges in 1885 later was
dropped by the Federal Government
after failure to convict in the Abe
Shushan income-tax case, today was
also charged with having waited un-
til 1887 to report $27 500 he reported
ly received in double sale of Bien-
vile Hotel furnishings to Louisiana
State University in 1886. This deal
forms the basis for mail fraud
| charge against him and DR., Smith
The Connally Act was set up by
Congress to prevent movement into
interstate commerce of oil produced
in violation of pro rata permits in
States seeking to conserve their
natural resources by limitation of
production. Such illegally produced
oil has become known as "hot oil"
The jury alleged the deal was en-
tered into in March, 1886, when
Leche was Governor elect of Louisi-
ana and allegedly permitted stepping
up of production of certain wells
near Shreveport from 4,550 barrels
daily to 10000 barrels daily for sew
eral months with the understanding
Burford was to pay Leche and Weiss
10 cents per barrel for oil produced
under said illegal orders"