Evening star., 1951-08-18
Senators to Give
Hearing Record
To Grand Jury
By Miriam Gutenberg
and John V. Horner

a threat OF perjury dCIlOn uuIlB
over the missing Charles E. Nell
son today in the wake of the Sen
ate Crime Investigating Commit
tees climatic finale to more than
a years work.
Nelson, Ritchie (MdO horse
breeder and admitted backer of a
huge numbers operation, failed to
show up for the final hearing at
which he was accused variouSly of
offering bribes and running the
whole numbers show himself.
The bribe offer was reported to
the committee by Prince Georges
County Sheriff Carlton Beall. He
said Nelson proposed a $4,000
monthly payoff to be split three
ways-$5,000 each for the sheriff,
the police chief and the States
attorney.
With one grand jury investiga-
ton already under way in the Dis
trict and another promised in
Prince Georges County, the COM
mittee decided to turn over the
record of its Nelson hearings to
one if not both grand juries be-
cause of "glaring inconsistencies"
in the testimony.
Own Records Involved.
Through Nelson's own ledgers
and records and the testimony of
two bookkeepers and county off,
cials, the committee pictured Nell
son as a man with a criminal
record, who paid the fines
and bondsman's fees of his help
ers, offered to buy his way back
into the county and personally op-
Grated a numbers business that
crossed $50,000 a week last year.
This contrasted with Nelson s
own story of having nothing to do
with the numbers business beyond
guessing" that the firm in which
he invested was gambling.
Nelson had said he wanted to
make another appearance before
the committee, but investigators
were unable to locate him yeSter-
day. Acting Chairman Kefauver
said he didn't know what the
committee may decide to do about
bringing Nelson in, but the extent
and amount of his operations
have been barred. Both Chairman
O'Conor and Senator Kefauver
made it clear that the public
hearings are over.
Senator Kefauver, in summing
up why the committee thought
Nelson had committed perjury,
gave this analysis:
Nelson, in his testimony before
the committee last week, said his
only transaction with Blight Lee,
former Arlington gambler, was to
buy a cord of wood. The record
showed continuous business be-
tween Nelson and Lee ovel a pc
riod of many years.
Number of Convictions.
Nelson testified he was arrested
only once when he was caught
with a keg Of whisky. The record
showed a criminal record with a
number of arrests and convictions
in the District.
Nelson testified that his only
transaction with Sam Beard
Washington gambler under in
dictment for income tax evasion,
was the purchase of a bull. There
was substantial testimony of
other transactions particularly
testimony from Prince Georges
County Sheriff Carlton Beall that
Nelson told him of joining Beard
in paying out $4,000 month
for protection.
Nelson testified that he didn' t
know anything about gambling
operations other than that he had
advanced some money to Robert
NoWland Associates which he
guessed was gambling, and that
it was all Nowland's business.
Nelson's own records and other
testimony showed he was the
main participant and that Now
land was working for him.
1--WE have decided to certify the
record to the United States attor-
(See GAMBLING, Page A-200