Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-12-01
PIunlmer First
In Raid Arrests
ABC Unit May Order
Study Of Case Against
KopeI, Freed by Jury

Of gambling charges late yester-
day in District Court. One of his
walters, Walter c. Danny Plum
mer. was found guilty on two
counts.
The conviction of the waiter is
the first resulting from the wide
spread gambling raids Of March
Is directed by United States At
torney George Morris Fay. The
trial Of William (Snags) Lewis
and IS others arrested the same
day in a raid on q Bladensburg.
Md. house that Melted a truck
load of gambling paraphernalia,
ended Saturday when a jury failed
to agree.
After the raids, Mr.. Fay said
that Hammels restaurant was an
example of the many otherwise
legitimate establishments where
bets amounting to $100.000.000 a
year were placed and said he was
notifying the Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board so that its liquor
license would be revoked.
Board to Study Case.
Alan w. Payne, chairman OF the
ABC Board, said today that Mr.,
Fay's Office probably will notify
the board of the results of the
case against the restaurant pro-
prietor and that when the notif1-
cation is received 1t will be turned
over to Assistant Corporation
Counsel Robert D. Wise for study.
The board has cited several
restaurant proprietors with liquor
licenses in the past for permitting
gambling in their establishments.
Mr.. Payne could not say whether
the jury's verdict that Mr.. Kopel
was not guilty of permitting
gambling in his place would pre-
clude any action by the board.
The restaurant. which is at
416 Tenth street NV, is pa
tronized by top men in the nearby
Department of Justice and by
judges Of the District Court.
Plummer, convicted of felony,
setting up gaming table," and
a misdemeanor in accepting So
bet on horse race, faces possible
sentences of three years on the
first count and one year on the
second.
$500 Bond Continued.
Judge Richmond B. Keech al
lowed him to continue at liberty
under his $500 bail bond. noting
that this was a first offense con-
viction. Plummer, who u 81, sis
a native Of Damascus. Md, and
has worked In the restaurant for
10 years with the exception OF
service in the Pacific with a ground
crew of the Air Forces which
ended with a medical discharge
after a Japanese air raid on
Saipan.
The jury deliberated for five
hours and As minutes, taking only
half an hour at lunch. Just at
S o'clock there were two sharp
raps on the jury room door and
the defendants and their lawyers,
who had been lettering in the
hallway became alert. The word
was passed that the jury had
reached a verdict.
Judge Keech was summoned and
at Sis the jury filed in. The
foreman, John L. Bishop, 50, of
1912 Lawrence street NE, an adj
ministrative assistant in the Navy
Department. came in first and the
jury lined up beside him.
The clerk of the court asked
what the jury had found on the
first count against the defendant
Kopel permitting gambling in his
establishments.
mot guilty." said Mr.. Bishop.
Cleared on Second Count Also.
The clerk asked about the Sec
ond count. This was possession of
q numbers slip. The marshals
had identified q 35-cent number
play slip as having beens taken
from his pocket and the jury had
asked for it and taken it into the
jury room.
met guilty." Mr.. Bishop said
again. ~.
Then the clerk asked about the
two counts against Plummer and
in each / case the answer was
guilty" Plummer stood straight,
fighting back tears. 1,
Judge Keech then discharged
Mr.. Kopel and continued Plunmer
in bail. He probably will be SEN
fenced in two weeks.
The testimony against Plum
mer was given by two youthful
employees of the United States At
torney's Office, Wilfred Barrett
and Mrs. Edith Wildrich. It was
that Plummer had accepted
money from one or the other on
March II, March % and March
"a to play on the horses. Plum
mer said he had placed the bets
cas- an accommodation" His
lawyer argued that it amounted
to legal "entrapment" which has
been defined in high court deci-
sions as using decoys to ensnare
the innocent or the law abiding.
Mr.. Kopel was represented by
Alvin Newmyer. The case was
prosecuted by Assistant United
States Attorney Arthur j. Nc
Laughlin.
Three Escaped Prisoners
SOUGHT in D. Area