Evening star., 1949-11-08
u. 5. Seeks 10 Link
Lewis 10 Repairs on
Raided Bungalow

to prove that William (Snags)
Lewis. alleged head of a $4,000.
0oo-a-year gambling syndicate
paid $4,000 in 1s47 to remodel q
modest cottage in Bladensburs
into a headquarters for his mum
bers game operations.
Records Of Associated Contrac.
tors, Inc. introduced to show that
the company had been paid tc
remodel the bungalow at 431C
Forty sixth street and that it car
Tied the account in the name OF
william Lewis"
The courtroom was crowded in
the expectation that a mystery
witness" whom Chief Prosecutor
William Hitz had said would be
called today would be Bernice
Franklin. the red-haired waitress
whose evidence was largely re-
sponsible for the spectacular
series of raids last March when
Lewis and the 13 other defendants
were arrested. She failed to
appear before the luncheon re-
cess, however. ~
Sam Lieberman, president of
the contracting company, said he
had known Lewis "all of my life,"
but emphatically denied that the
defendant. who is being tried with
13 other men on gaming charges,
had paid anything for the cottage
remodeling job.
Says Shapiro Paid for Job.
Mr.. Lieberman said his COM
pany was retained by the late
1sadore (Shep) Shapiro, a well
known figure in sporting circles,
to remodel the Bladensburg cot
tage. r., He said Mr.. Shapiro paid
him in cash on several occasions
to do the job.
When Mr.. Hitz showed Mr..
Lieberman penciled notation on
one of the William Lewis job ac-
counts which said, "Snags told me
the lazy in the house would take
care of the vestibule," the witness
identified the handwriting as his
own.
MIR. Lieberman, however. in
sisted that he had never talked
to Lewis about the Bladensburg
Job and could offer no explana-
ton of the notation.
Judge Admonishes Spectator.
At one point Judge Matthew F.
MCGUIRE threatened to clear the
courtroom when he detected a.
front row spectator grinning at the
testimony of Miguel Gonzales.
If you think these proceedings
are funny I'll clear the courtroom,
Judge MCGUIRE said. II mean you
in the front row with the glasses.
Mr.. Gonzales, who operates al
10-chair barbershop, said Mr.. Lie
herman sent him a $50 bonus for
giving him a lead which led to the
contract to remodel the Bladens-
burg cottage. The Cancelled check
was introduced into evidence and
Mr.. Hitz emphasized that it was
marked IRE William Lewis &C
count"
Miss Franklin, whose informa-
ton was credited with arrest of
10 men during the gambling raids.
became a key figure when Attic
Acalotti, 40, Of the 900 block of
Fourteenth street NV, was
charged with intimidating her as
Q witness. Government attorneys
said Acalotti, one of those picked
up in the raids, threatened to shut
Miss Franklin's mouth "perma-
nently" If she did not keep quiet.
Man Denies Advice to Mother.
The first witness called this
morning was Gilbert Stanton, IS.
. beer salesman of Hyattsville,
whose mother. Mrs. Sadie STAN
ton. owns the bungalow in
Bladensburg.
Mr.. Stanton denied that he ever
had told his mother "to get out
of this business" He also denied
that at the time of a raid on the
house his mother said in the pres
ence Of deputy marshals, "If I had
listened to Gilbert I wouldn't be
in this trouble"
Mr.. Stanton said one of the tele-
phones in the cottage was listed
in his name. He said he had it
installed in 1885 because the cot
tage was in a bad neighborhood
and I didn't want my mother to
live there without a telephone"
Defense Calls for MistriaI. |
At the conclusion of Mr.. STAN
tons testimony. Defense At
torney Myron G. Ehrlich asked
Judge MCGUIRE to declare a mis-
trial because the witnesses testi-
mony was not linked to the
charges against the defendants.
Curtly overruling the motion,
Judge MCGUIRE told Mr.. Ehrlich,
"You have been around long
enough to know the procedure
here. I don't want to hear argu-
ment from you. State your mo-
ton and I will rule"
Mr.. Hitz succeeded yesterday In
presenting testimony placing Lewis
In the Bladensburg bungalow.
The witness was Sanford C.
Zissler, q carpenter and brick
layer. of 1912 Thirty ninth avenue,
Colmar Manor. He testified also
that he cut a peephole in an out
side door leading to large room
Of the house.
When Mrs. Stanton was on the
stand she did not tell Of this room.
She testified the house had seven
rooms and then listed the kitchen,