The Wilmington morning star., 1946-06-18
Fair Enough
BY PEGLER

oought a country estate at Lake Mahopac.
Westminster county, N. Y, on April % The
consideration was $26, 500 and the property is
now being improved on a scale similar 10 that
adopted by George Scalise, the Capone gang
ster, when he bought a pretentious old estate
at Ridgefield, Conn.
In the case of Scalise, the venture into high
suburban splendor was the false step that end
ed a career of crime in uaionism. His display
of wealth aroused the official interest of Tom
Dewey, then district attorney in New York
where the Scalise mob was prosecuting low
bracket Wage-earners, and his prosecution as
an extortioner and inconle-tax evader resulted
in two convictions which will keep him in pri-
son for some years yet to come.
Pross, a criminal with two convictions and
with a history absolutely bare of legitimate
work, is an uncommonly arrogant and brutal
boss over the unfortunates who are compelled
to join his unions. Several Of these victims
have said that they are afraid to ask for a
copy OF their union constitutions, afraid to ask
aim the terms of his contracts with employers
and afraid to complain lest they be beaten up
and fired. One war veteran who did protest
when the union turned a group of workers
over 10 a Subcontractor at Suo-standard
wages, was knocked doWn and kicked and,
when interviewed, was limping and said his
spine mad been injured, the sub-contractor was
a relative of one of the union bosses.
The crime for which Pross served a term of
three years and four months in Atlanta was
a bankruptcy fraud. He approached a man
named Henry Schneider, who already was in
bankruptcy, and proposed that Schneider rent
a store, stock it with furniture on credit, move
the furniture out to other locations and then
go bankrupt. In presenting the case to the
jury in the Federal Court in Brooklyn in July,
1923, Morris E. Packer, the prosecuting at
torney, said Schneider demurred on the ground
that because he was already in bankruptcy he
could not get credit. To this, Pross replied that
he, Schneider, could adopt the name of Samuel
Cohen and said: Il will get you a woman
named Selma Cohen and you can open the
business under the name of Cohen and call
yourself Samuel, the husband of Selma, and
buy the goods that way"
This fraud was conceived in May, 1927, and
the criminals opened several storage and sales
rooms in Manhattan to accommodate the turni-
tIre moved out of the Brooklyn store. A few
weeks later the bankruptcy petition was filed.
Schneider pleaded guilty and got a year and
a day in Atlanta.
Pross applied to the Department Of Justice
in 1912 for a full pardon and restoration of
his right to vote and hold public office, giving
his occupation as "union official" He was
turned down. Nevertheless, even before that,
he had acquired control of the wine, liquor
and Distillery Workers Union and ne was ex-
tended his power to an unknown number of
small unions including groups of workers in
cosmetics, drugs, upholstering and baking. He
also runs a union of wine and liquor statesmen.
Within the last year, nc was tried and ac-
quilted of a charge of using his union power
to acquire $4,000 cases Of whiskey which ap-
peared in the black market in Southern states.
The acquittal was a surprise to me. However,
the matter of the estate at Lake Mahopac, be-
ing now called to the attention of the appro-
pirate authorities, may result in new inquiries
and this is the more likely because the cor
ruption in the liquor industry has gone beyond
control and is no longer an exclusive acti-
witty of common underworld characters.
Benjamin Pross' power in the union rackets
and politics is indicated by the fact that, al
though, because of his criminal record he can
not vote or hold office, he nevertheless does
hold a license as a commissioner of deeds. A
commissioner of deeds is, roughly speaking, a
notary public whose authority is restricted to
the five boroughs of the City of New York.
To obtain a commission the applicant must
have three sponsors who will certify that they
know him to be a person of good moral charac-
ter and one of these must be a member of the
City Council. The name of Councilman Samuel
Di Falco was signed to Pross's application.
The other two sponsors whose signatures ap-
pear to be Ruth Solimer and Herman R. Viii
eek, both gave their business address as 1860
Broadway, which is the address of the Wine
Liquor and Distillery Workers Union. Ruth
Solimer's occupation is stated as Secretary"
In answer to one of the questions in his ap-
p~lication, Pross frankly admitted that he had
been convicted of a crime.
The name of the attorney who notarized the
documents in the real estate deal is given as
Robert Eleakley, which is the name of the son
Of former Judge William F.. Bleakley, of White
Plains, N. Y, republican politician of great,
though waning, powers. Judge Bleakley adj
mitted two years ago the receipt Of several
thousand dollars from racketeers of the Com
mon Laborers' and Operating Engineers IN
ions, for legal services.
During this inquiry it was discovered that
Herbert Pross, a brother Of Ben, had a per-
NIT to carry a pistol. Police Commissioner
Wallender's attention was directed to this and
he announced in "a hours that the license had
been revoked. Herbert's wife. Madge, was con-
victed of running a gambling house in March,
1945, and paid a fine of $3.50 and received a
suspended sentence of 80 days.
The police records snow arrests of Herman
Pross for felonious assault. Hyman Pross on a
gambling charge, and Herbert Pross Tor al
legged viola ton of the Vclstead act. The Her
bert Pross who had the pistol license is known
to have used the name Of Herman at times
and his father, Max, testifying IN one OF the
many Pross bankruptcies, swore that Herberts
correct name was Hyman. ;
Another brother is variously called Robert,
Reuben and Richard Pross.