Evening star., 1950-11-23
Crime Probers AssaiI
2Former Tax Collector,
End Coast Hearings
By the Assoeioted Press


H.. SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. %
The Senate Crime Investigation
Committee concluded it's Western
hearings last night with a denun-
> citation of Patrick Mooney, former
- collector of internal revenue at
Reno.
Chairman Senator Kefauver,
Democrat, of Tennessee, told
: 2newsmen that MONEYS handling
of the Mountain City Consolidated
Copper Co. Of Nevada case was a
very serious, most reprehensible
: matter and a criminal one if the
facts are as presented to u.s."
- The company story was told
to the committee by William
eBurkett, former special agent in
the Internal Revenue Bureaus
intelligence unit. Mr.. Burkett
resigned in protest against what
he said was failure of the bureau
Ito act on fraud information he
obtained.
Mr.. Burkett's story was that
Gertrude Jenkins, convicted
abortionist. had given him an aff1-
-daviG that she had paid $1,000
to escape tax prosecution. She
said she paid the money to Mooney
on the preteXt she was to receive
stock in the incorporating copper
mining company. But, she added,
she never had received the stock.
=. Senator Kefauver said that the
committee is getting a complete
list of the stockholders of the
copper company.
- Official Questioned.
." The concluding hours of the in
vestigation here were taken up
= with interrogation of james
Smyth, San Francisco collector of
internal revenue, and a group of
Revenue Bureau officials, includ-
= ing C. E. Davies. new chief of
the intelligence unit here.
: Senator Kefauver said Mr.. Da-
..yies had agreed to put all his
available men on the Mooney
Mountain City Copper Co. case in
order to bring it to swift conclu-
sion.
n Asked if the committee had in
quired into whether Mr.. Smyth
ssshad any interest in Nevada gam
bling club, Senator Kefauver said
@he had no interest in such matters.
-. On a report that Mrs. Smyth
was active in horse racing, Senator
.Kefauver said that the horses in
question were owned by her IA
ther, who had been racing man
In West Virginia for 40 years and
occasionally ran his own horses
in California under his daughter
: name.
California, Senator Kefauver
said, has some very large criminal
operations which merit continued
Investigation and which tie in with
IN criminals and organized crime in
, other sections of the country.
. The committee, whose other
members are Senators Wiley, Re
: publican, of Wisconsin and Tobey.
, Republican. of New Hampshire will
return to California for further
hearings next year.
ri Club Operator Heard.
=, Earlier the committee heard
William Robertson. club operator
and weekly newssheet owner in
Seal Beach, Calf, and Lou Wolch-
er. coin machine company oper-
ator.
Senator Kefauver said that Rob-
ertson had testified frankly"
about his operations in building
up a fortune of S150,000 while he
was a member of the Los Angeles
police force from 1923 to 1910. He
resigned in 1910 during a police
commission investigation of his
sources of income.
Coin Machine Operator Wolcher
likewise was frank and forth
right" in his testimony to the
committee about his million
dollar-a-year" coin machine busi-
ness, Senator Kefauver said.
"a Wolcher told the committee he
discontinued the handling of slots
when they became illegal in Cali
fornia last July Is.
- The committee also heard Will
liam Chg BilD Pechart about his
Contra Costa County gambling
business and linked him with his
LOST.