Evening star., 1951-08-01

Mike CaSerta, who had been
named by Rogers as his backer,
came into the station house.
| Mcdonald said that CaSerta Of
fered him 5000 if he only would
modify the charge against Rogers
to disorderly conduct. Mcdonald
testified: II refused the offer.
AS he turned away he said, I
will frame you good When he
said that, I grabbed hold of him
and placed him under arrest"
At that point, Mcdonald con-
tinued, Police Capt. Vincent Elwell
appeared and wanted to know
who locked up Mike He ad-
dressed him as Mike"
That night, Mcdonald said, he
was called in to Capt. Elwell's
office and was ordered to alter
his report on Caserta. Mcdonald
claimed he refused and that Capt.
Elwell then told him, stick
around. I want to talk to you" In
about 10 minutes, Capt. Elwell
walked to the door and asked
who is hollering out there?" A
sergeant promptly stepped in and
dutifully announced: "a man is
complaining about being short
some money out here"
Suspended BY Captain.
Thereupon. on Capt. Elwell's
orders, the numbers writer, Rogers
was brought in and complained he
was short about 1923. Mcdonald
was accused of turning in less
money than he had taken from
Rogers at the station house when
he brought him in, and Capt. FL
we'll Immediately suspended him.
Mcdonald gave a picture OF
the operations of the politico-
Igambler-p police triumvirate." the
report continued. He named a po-
liceman who, he said, was known
as the collector" for Capt. Elwell
he would come into the station
house with his pockets "bulging, !"
Mcdonald testified - and a ward
boss who frequently conferred
with Captain Elwell at the station
house. Mcdonald estimated that
protection money paid to police
alone, exclusive of payment to the
|higher-ups," totaled at least $152,-
900 month.
The Committee inquired, too,
into the underworld penetration
of a Philadelphia steel fabricating
concern, which we concluded had
been accomplished through "po-
litical influence" 4 numbers
racketeer named Louis Crusco had
bought his way into the Strunk
Steel Co. by virtue, the commit
tee inferred, "of his close associ-
alton with the son of Philadel-
lphia's mayor" CruSco was an old
friend and neighbor of Richard
Russell Samuel, ST., son of Mayor
Samuel. The numbers man
bought his interest in the COM
pany under extraordinary circum-
stances: he carried the purchase
price. $4,000 in cash in a satchel
to stockholders meeting. Rich
ard Samuel, jr., 19-year-old
grandson of the Mayor, accom-
panied Crusco and, according to
the testimony of one stockholde1
who was selling out, apparently
was the mouthpiece for Mr.
Crusco."
Until Crusco came along" our
report to the Senate summed up
"the company had never been able
to get any business from the city
of Philadelphia but, while Crusco
was negotiating his stock pur-
chase in the company, it received
a contract from the Philadelphia
Transit Co., a local public utility
on which there were no competi-
tive bids. The president. of the
company testified that this deal
had been suggested to him by the
Mayors grandson, who, coinci-
dentally, was placed on the COM
pany's payroll as part of the Crus-
co stock deal"
(TomorrotU-NeU1dd: A Case
Against Legalized Gamblino.D
| Condensed from book, "Crime IL