Evening star., 1940-03-05
a Accused Officials
Arraigned in Detroit
Graft Inquiry
PIeus of Innocent
Entered; Al Others
Also Indicted

BY the Associated Press.
DETROIT, March 5.-Taken into
custody by Coroner Albert A.
Hughes according to ancient legal
custom, Sheriff Thomas c. Wilcox
was escorted from his residence to
the Wayne County DetroiD Court
house today for arraignment on q
charge Of conspiring to protect
gambling.
The sheriff was one OF a group
of county ofncials including Prose-
cutor Duncan c. McCrea, indicted
by Circuit Judge Homer E. Fergu-
son. sitting as q one-man grand
jury investigating gambling and
graft.
I'm sicker than a goat" re-
marked Sheriff Wilcox: Il ought to
be back in my sick bed" The sheriff
has been ailing for some time.
Shortly afterward McCrea and
his chief investigator, Harry Col
burn, appeared voluntarily at police
headquarters and Bernard E. Nc
Grath, chief deputy sheriff. was
brought In by Detective Inspector
Charles E. Searle. All. with Carl
Staebler, chief Of the civil division
OF the sheriff's office; Albert J. Gar
ska, president of Crosse Pointe
Park, a suburb. and IS other persons
were named in the indictment.
Released on Bond.
Wilcox and McGrath stood mute
when arraigned before Judge Fer
guson and pleas OF innocent were
entered for them. They were re-
leased under bonds of $1,000 each.
McCrea and Colburn appeared
later, entered pleas Of innocent and
were released on similar bonds. Ex-
animation Of all the public officials
arraigned was set for March II.
One of the first non on-onicials ar
rested was Gustav Pines. an invest
ment broker accused by the grand
jury of being AN agent and en-
ploye" OF Wilcox in the alleged
conspiracy.
Prosecutor McCrea and Investi.
gator Colburn are already under in
dictment by the grand jury on
charges Of conspiracy to protect or
operate $1,000. .000-a-year baseball
pool in Detroit.
The indictments followed by only
a few hours an attempt by the pros
ecutor's men to invade the grand
jury headquarters. Judge Ferguson,
calling out police riot squads for
protection. charged the prosecutor
was seeking to seize the grand jury's
records and prevent a court exami-
nation OF the earlier indictment to-
morrow.
Assaults Charged.
Explaining his attempt to invade
the grand jury headquarters last
night, the prosecutor charged men,
bers Of the jury organization with
assault to do great bodily harm or
worse" and said he had afidavits
from three or four" grand jury
witnesses stating that they had
been beaten by grand jury lnvesti-
gators. .:.-.. -.
The attempt to enter the grand
jury rooms. his aides said, was for
the purpose of identifying the room
In which the witnesses claimed to
have been beaten.
The indictments were the second
group to be returned by Judge Fer
guson in two weeks after q six
months investigation into allega-
tions Of a link between gamblers
and law enforcement officers in
Wayne County. Like the other
group. they followed an attempt by
Prosecutor McCrea to halt the ac-
tivity of the grand jury.
The baseball pool indictments,
which named former Supt. of Police
Fred w. Frahm along with McCrea
and Colburn. followed an attempt by
McCrea to obtain an extortion war
rant for Chester P. OHara. special
prosecutor for the grand jury.
Telephone Police.
It was OHara, working with
Judge Ferguson in the grand jury
chambers last night, who received
information of the impending at
tempt to gain entrance, and tele-
phoned police.
Il want protection. I want all
the protection We can get" he de-
manded There are Is men from
the prosecutors oflce attempting to
raid this office and seize our
records"
Riot squads went racing through
the downtown streets to the build
ing housing the grand jury shortly
before midnight.
CONGRESS in Brief