Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-03-05

Wisely, ola not use CEe telephone
of the steamship company for
their Illicit business. They would
drop into the Hotel Aston and
drop a nickel in the slot to make
a phone call. A feeling Of conf
dence about the pay station tele-
phone betrayed them. The Treas
ury agents tapped every public
telephone In the Aston and in a
nearby restaurant frequented by
Nardone and his associates.
Syndicate Tapped
Nardone's syndicate had bad
luck in 1885. One of the rum rum
ners was in a collision and put
into New London, Conn, for re-
pairs. The agents heard long
distance telephone conversations
on arrangements to pay for the
work. Then a big shipment from
Europe. $4,000 gallons of alcohol,
arrived on a freighter at st.
Pierre Miquelon. The freighter
steamed south along the coast.
Off the coast of South Carolina
about 10000 gallons was trans
ferred to a smaller vessel owned
by the syndicate which attempted
to make port. It was boarded at
sea by the Coast Guard and the
cargo conf1scated.
The freighter put into Bermuda
will $500 gallons still aboard and
the Coast Guard still watching
it. It put to see again and man
aged to effect a rendezvous with
an innocent-looking collier, carry
ing coal from Norfolk to New
Britain, Conn. The collier was
owned by the syndicate. It man
aged to land the alcohol in New
York Harbor and it was for this
Nardone and his associates were
tried and convicted.
The case came to the Supreme
Court in 1887 on the defense con-
tention that the tapped telephone
conversations should have been
held inadmissible-that their use
was a violation of section sos of
the Federal Communications Act
with its prohibition of intercept
ton and divulgence to ANY per-
son."
Justice Roberts wrote the opin-
ion Of the court. He said the
language Of the act included law
enforcement officers within its
sweep" and added:
Second Reversal
Congress may have thought
it less important that some Of
tenders should resort to methods
deemed inconsistent with ethical
standards"
The court had plenty Of prece-
dent for ruling otherwise. The
country justice of the peace idea
that the motorcycle policeman is
not in violation Of the speed law
when he goes 10 miles an hour to
catch a motorist going IS, has
been upheld at high judicial levels.
Nardone and his associates were
tried again without the tapped
telephone conversations in the
record. The defense challenged
the Governments whole case as
being based on wire tapping. The
court ruled his challenge out
without giving the defense an OPP
portunity to prove the point.
The case came to the Supreme
Court again on the narrow issue
that the trial judge erred in this.
Again the high court reversed
the conviction. Justice Frank
furter, who wrote the opinion of
the court, said the judge should
have given the defense that op-
portunity. The burden Of proof
in this would be on the defense,
he wrote, and an experienced trial
Judge should be able to make the
determination. To help in this
matter he observed:
Sophisticated argument may
prove a casual connection between
that wire tapping and the Govern
ment's proof. As a matter Of
good sense, however, such connec-
ton may have become 80 attenu-
ated rs to dissipate the faint"
Sometimes even experienced
trial judges must wish that JUS
tice Frankfurter could be a little
more explicit in telling them
where to draw the line.