Evening star., 1944-06-29
Fame as Racket Buster
Wos Sprineboord to
National Honors
BY GEORGE KENNEDY.

By GEORGE KENNEDY.
The Democratic party might not
be confronted today by a potential
David named Thomas E. Dewey
had President Roosevelt selected a
United States attorney for the
southern district of New York in his
first months in office in 1888.
This is what happened. The
President entered Office at odds with
the leadership of Tammany Hall.
AS a result, political appointments
were delayed in New York. George
z. Medalie, Republican, was
United States attorney. He stayed
on for several months to give the
new administration opportunity to
select his successor. Finally he
decided to go back to his own
law practice, which was a remunera-
tive one, and he resigned.
The judges of the court elected his
first assistant, young Thomas E.
Dewey, United States attorney, and
Homer Cummings, then Attorney
General, acquiesced in it. He had no
premonition that allowing a 81
year -old Republican to hold the po-
sition until a presidential appoint
ment was made would be danger
ous-that it would provide the op-
position with a candidate who would
threaten the continual
ton of the Roosevelt administra-
ton.
Start Of Gordon Trial.
That was at the start Of the trial
Of Waxey Gordon, beer baron of
the prohibition era, charged with
paying only $50 or so in income
taxes on a one years net income Of
81 .616,690. Mr.. Dewey was prose-
cutting Gordon and his elevation to
the head of the Office gave him full
credit in the New York press for the
I covered that trial. Mr.. Dewey's
was a masterpiece. Cor
don and the mobsters had done
everything to conceal their transac-
tions. OF the so witnesses before
the grand jury that indicted him,
several had met sudden death. One
banker went to jail rather than
Identify the gangsters' bank ac-
counts. They destroyed all can
celed checks returned to them. Two
things trapped Gordon. He did not
know that the New York Clearing
House had installed a microfilm
'ecorder of checks. Mr.. Dewey had
4 photograph of every one. The
other was the necessary use of long
distance telephone. Mr.. Dewey's in
1estigators had checked 10000 calls.
Mr.. Dewey used method we'll
Known in the advertising business
10 "sell'' the jury. He literally
,harted Gordon into prison. The
Jury always had before it one of the
enormous charts Mr.. Dewey had
prepared showing the circulation of
1ordon's money from acceptance at
the beer drops to payments of the
losses of the Hotel Picadilly, which
owned, or to the financing
Of the musical, Strike Me Pink" :"
starring Hope williams and Jimmy
Durante, which Gordon angeled.
Gordon got 10 years.
Wanted to Sing.
He has not gotten along too well
with the press at times, but ali
the reporters covering the Fed
eral courts in the old PostofIlce
Building in City Hall Park liked him.
I remember one day he had an an
for the, press. He was
feeling pretty good. He sang a cdu-
pie Of scales, bouncing the low notes
under the desk. He had come to
New York 10 years before to con-
tinue singing lessons and get into
grand opera.
He scanned the 10 or II reporters
at the table.
Where's Mike Claffey?" he said.
The late Mike Claffey Of the New
York Journal was his gadf1y. He
held up the announcement dt was
of his appointment by the court to
the United States attorneyship) 10
mintues until Mike arrived.
His Michigan background is we'll
known or soon will be. He was born
In Owosso in 1902 His grandfather
was a third cousin of Admiral
George Dewey, hero of Manila Bay
Tom won a bicycle selling a maga-
zine. He learned to set type in his
fathers newspaper office He went to
the University of Michigan at Ann
Arbor. And when he came to New
York he studied law as we'll as sing
ing, the first at Columbia Univer-
sity. He is an Episcopalian.
Later, when Mr.. Dewey was be-
coming famous as a gang buster,
his very success in the courts led
to disputes as to whether he was a
good lawyer or just riding along on
a reputation that convicted every
one he prosecuted.
Dutch Schultz Case.
But the Dutch Schultz case, which
followed close on the heels of Wax
ey's departure for Lewisbure, pro-
vided one of those perfect agents of
proof which scientists call a con-
troll. The Dutchman, beer and policy
overlord, was tried after Mr.. Dewey
left office. The President had ap-
pointed the late Martin Conboy, one
Of the highest paid lawyers of the
New York bar, as Mr.. Deweys sue
cessor. Mr.. Cowboys staff tried
Schultz and the jury failed to reach
a verdict. Mr.. Conboy himself prose-
cuted in the retrial, but failed to get
a conviction. The Dutchman went
free, to be rubbed OUT by gunfire
in a Newark saloon few months
later.
Mr.. Dewey went back to private
practice. He had ended the stage
career of a girl he had met at the
singing school by marrying her. Her
career had progressed as far as
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