The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-02-23
|21INDICTED IN
MICHIGAN PROBE
TO Be CALLED
By DOUGLAS GRAHAM
United Press Staff Correspondent

United Press Staff Correspondent
Lansing, Mich, Feb. %. (UP)-
Examination of 81 grand jury de-
PENDANTS charged with criminal
conspiracy to effect a $4,000 graft
"pay-off" to influence action on
three bills before the 1889 Michigan
Legislature is scheduled Feb. % be-
fore Circuit Judge Leland W. Carr.
Ten of the 81 are members of the
present State Legislature.
The defendants slated for ap-
pearance at the mass examination
are among 26 indicated by the spe-
cial one-man grand jury investiga-
ton still being conducted by Judge
Carr. Two have pleaded guilty,
while three are not apprehended.
OF the inexperienced men, two are
in the armed services and one in
Mexico.
Capitol circles, shocked by an
nouncement of the indictments Jan.
A. wait the examination date with
unconcealed anxiety since it will
bring out for the first time the
states case against those caught
in the grand jury net. The original
warrants containsd no clue to de-
tails of the charges, merely citing
each defendant with blanket
criminal conspiracy charge.
Statehouse apprehension has run
at fever pitch since announcement
of the &c indictments by Kim Sigler,
DISTINGUISHING special prosecutor,
who said the warrants represented
"only the beginning" of the grand
jury's inquiry into alleged lSgiSla-
tive corruption.
Sigler recently said the states
case will depend upon testimony
of two conspiracy defendants who
have pleaded guilty and turned
witnesses for the prosecution. They
are Miles M. Callaghan, Reed City
Republican, who was a member OF
the Legislature Is years until forced
to resign his House seat Feb. as
a result of his guilty plea, and
Ernest Prev, Detroit, vice-president
of the General Finance Co.
The alleged conspiracy hinged
on three Senate bills fixing maxi
mum interest rates which can be
charged by finance companies for
| personal loans of less than $500,
regulating installment sales con-
tracts, and restricting deficiency
judgments in chattel mortgage fore
closures. Six finance company Of
,cials in addition to 20 members of
the 1899 Legislature are named in
the indictment.
One of the defendants is STAN
ley j. Dombrowski, Detroit Demo-
crat, who is now serving 31a-to-
15-year sentence in Southern Mich.
igan Prison for perjury in grand
jury testimony. He resigned his
seat in the House Feb. 2.
Legislators who appear Feb %
for examination include:
Sen. Leo j. Wilkowski and Sen.
Charles c. Diggs, Detroit; Sen.
Jerry T. Logic, Bay City; Rep. Will
liam G. Buckley, Rep. Edward j.
Walsh, Rep. Earl c. Gallagher, Rep.
Martin A. Kronk, Rep. Walter N.
Stockfish, Rep. Francis j. Nowak,
and Rep. Joseph j. Kowalski, De-
troit
Ex-legislators include:
Stanley j. Dombrowski, William
M. Bradley, Michael j. Clancy, JOS
eph l.. Kaminski, Ernest G. Nagel,
Detroit, and Henry F. Shea, LanS-
ing.
Finance company officials in
clude:
Abraham Cooper, Detroit, presi-
dent of the Union Investment Co.:
John Hancock, Detroit, assistant
vice-president, Associates Discount
Corp; George Omacht, South Bend
Ind, general counsel, Associates
Discount Corp; Mark S. Young, De-
troit, branch manager, National
Discount Corp; and Samuel Hop
kins. Detroit. vice-president Of the
Union Investment Co.
Those indicted but not yet ar
raigned include Rep. Adam w.
Sumeracki, Detroit, and former
Rep. Isadore A. VEGA, Ontonagon.
both of whom are in the Army
and former Sen. D. Stephen Benzi,
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