Evening star., 1950-01-24
HitzSummingUp
Gamb|ingCase
.AgainstLewis
Calls Co-Defendonts
Minor Operators in
Numbers Racket


ney William Hitz today began
summing up the Governments
gambling case against William
(Snags) Lewis and two other de-
PENDANTS in District Court.
He endeavored to picture to the
jury how trickles of 10 and 25 cent
numbers plays from many tribu-
taries swelled into a river of
money flowing through the Lewis
establishment at Bladensburg,
Md, at the rate of $14000,000 a
year.
The prosecutor called the other
defendants minor operators con-
tributing to one of the many &C
counts seized in the March 25 raid
on an nnocent-looking bungalow
just across the District line. There
was multiple proof in the case, Mr..
Hitz said, that the establishment
was under Lewis control. -
The prosecutor said the second
defendant. Atillio Acalotti, the
Fourteenth street news dealer
known as the Mayor of Thomas
Circle" was a numbers banker
but on such small scale that he
had to lay off any money played
on single number in excess of
ST.. The layoff. the prosecutor
said, was made with Lewis.
Billeci Called Between.
Frank Billeci. the third defend
ant, was the go-between who
picked up Acalotti's money for
Lewis. according to Ma. Hits ac-
count of the operation of the
business.
The prosecutor told the jury
how he had arrived at the $14,-
600, ,000-a-year figure. He remind
ed them that $4,000 in cash was
seized in the knotty pine strong
room of the Bladensburg bunga-
low. That sum, multiplied by the
number of days in the year, except
Sundays. would come to $7,000,000.
And it is a conservative esti-
mate" the prosecutor said, ito say
that an equal amount was carried
on the books as credit"
The tall prosecutor held one of
the account books seized in the
raid in his hand during much Of
his summation. He pointed out
account 81 and reminded them
that there was testimony that
this account was the one used by
Acalotti. He showed that the
account totaled $4,000 in three
week period.
~ Mentions Del Negro.
"We think account 81 was that
of Bernard Del Negro" the prose-
cutor said. Del Negro. one of the
men seized in the raid on the
bungalow, was a defendant IN the
trial of Lewis and 13 others for
conspiracy to violate the District
lottery laws, which ended in
hung jury.
| Del Negro, who was wounded by
| a mysterious gunshot several
weeks after the raid, made a brief
appearance in this trial but re-
fused to answer questions on
rounds of standardization.
The prosecutor also showed the
jury the many duplicate Walters
checks from Wearley's Restau-
rant. 418 Twelfth street NV. He
reminded them that waiter had
testified that the penciled nota-
tions were his own numbers plays
and that he had seen Billeci pick
up the bets day after day at the
restaurant. The Wearley's checks
were among the papers seized on
the Bladensburg bungalow raid.
Defense Calls No Witnesses.
Judge Alexander Holtzoff linn
tied the three lawyers represent
ing the three defendants to As
minutes each for their summation.
The Government was given time
equal to the total allotted the de-
fense, two hours and Is minutes.
1t appeared doubtful that the case
will get to the jury before to-
morrow.
The defense attorneys. William
L. Collins. Myron P. Ehrlich and
Charles E. Ford, elected to make a
legal defense to the jury instead
of calling witnesses.
At the close of the Govern
ment's case yesterday, Judge
Holtzoff denied defense motions
for directed verdict of not
guilty. In arguing for their mo-
tions, defense attorneys contended
the Government had failed to es-
tablish that a joint enterprise
existed among the defendants.
The defendants were not in
dicted as conspiring to operate
lottery. Instead the Govern
ment has sought to prove they
were in a business together-an
illegal business.
Judge Holtzof said he would
let the jury decide whether there
had been a joint enterprise.
"Of course" he said at one
point, eff there is no joint enter
prise, there is no case"
hLL @.xI %.A:-