Evening star., 1952-01-20
Informers Prove
Key Witnesses
Al Nelson Trial
IS Former Employees
Of Numbers Racket
Expected to Testify
By w. n. Shippen


being able to produce many "in-
side" witnesses.
The Government is known to
have under subpoena at least Is
persons. mostly women adding
machine operators, who are said
to have worked for the Nelson
syndicate at one time or another
in a dozen places in Washington,
nearby Maryland and Alexandria,
Va.
Scheduled to continue her tes-
timony tomorrow is Mrs. Helen
Lorraine Brown, who told the Jury
Thursday that she ran an adding
machine at the home Office Of the
big racket while it moved II times
in seven years.
Detectives Named.
Mrs. Brown and Dorothy Ridg-
ely, 81. Seat Pleasant, Md, adding
machine operator and mother of
five children, linked the operations
bossed by Nelson and his wife with
Detective Sergt. Robert G. Kirby
OF the homicide squad, now under
suspension, and former precinct
Detective James E. Lowry, who
retired from the force in 1947.
Mrs. Ridgely. under cross-exam-
ination by defense counsel. named
rs women who. she said, had made
up the headquarters staff of the
syndicate at various times. Five
OF these are among the defendants
and at least 10 others, Mrs.
Ridgely indicated, have been
called by the Government.
Assistant United States Attor-
ney John w. Fihelly, in charge of
the prosecution, is believed to
have more former employees of the
Nelson's who will testify for the
Government. The trial is expected
to last another three weeks.
Lewis Trial Recalled.
The availability of so much
"first-hand" information is un-
usual. Heretofore. such big shots
as Sam Beard and William
(Snags) Lewis had to be convicted
without benefit of "informers."
Perhaps the nearest approach
was the Governments ace witness,
Bernice Franklin. who testified
against one of Lewis associates al
though she admitted having lived
with him.
The red-haired waitress, how
ever, was a rank outsider as far
as Lewis big numbers syndicate
was concerned.
Nobody on Lewis wide spread
payroll "squealed" on the boss. At
one time the syndicate was said to
be handling $14 million annually,
and the United States Attorney
called Lewis "the biggest num-
bers man in Washington.
Lewis was tried twice with 10
co-defendants, and he and two
lieutenants pleaded guilty last
March to gambling conspiracy in
the middle of the second trial.
Drew 6 to Is Months.
Judge James r. Kirkland, wi.o
Is presiding at the Nelson trial,
sentenced the three men to six
to 1S months in prison. Eleven
employees of Lewis, arrested in a
raid on the Bladensburg, Md,
headquarters in March of 1949,
were acquitted.
The number IS proved very
unlucky for Sam Beard here in
1885. although the IL employees
who went on trial with him never
showed any disposition to tell the
Government about Boards big
"horse" gambling syndicate.
Never sit down to a table of
49," muttered one of the de-
PENDANTS when a District Court
jury found them all guilty.
Beard served time in the Fed
eral penitentiary at Atlanta. Some
idea of the extent of Boards
operations can be obtained from
the Governments efforts to COL
lect more than 81 million in back
income taxes.
Emmitt Warning and his BROTH
ers. Charles (Rags) and Leo Paul,
were convicted Of income tax
fraud in 1899. although no en-
ployes Of their "two-million-
dollar-a-year" numbers syndicate
took the stand against them.
Better Wages A Factor.
The Warnings. Beard and Lewis,
however. are said to have paid
better wages than Nelson. Mrs.
Ridgely said she went to work for
Nelson and his wife in 194l forl
SIS a week, and Mrs. Brown de-
clared her starting pay in 1914
was only $40 for a six-day week.
While the hours were attractive
only two or three a day while
the horses were at the track-the
occupation had other hazards in
addition to the law. Mrs. Ridgely
was an eyewitness to one hold-up,
and heard about another attempt
by gunner to collar the numbers
take" she said.
Office work for the syndicate
also presented q transportation
problem. The headquarters of Mel
sons racket was highly mobile.
Sometimes the girls would be pro-
cessing bets in the garage at Mel
sons opulent stock farm at|
Ritchie. Md. and again the whole
outfit would move to the "Rich-
ardson home" at Seat Pleasant,
or to Alexandria, Va, or North
Beach. in Calvert County. Md.
Drove Own Cars.
Some of the women employees
drove. their own cars, picking up
co-workers at appointed places.
Others travelled in the automobiles
of the principals. Now and then,
Mrs. Ridgely said. the car in
which she went home from work
was followed by a car driven by
Lowry.
Nelson, according to testimony =.
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