Evening star., 1954-11-30
.Wiretaps Link
Slots
And Phenix City
Legislature Member
Retained by Kinepin. .
AIobumun Asserts
Special Dispotch 10 The Stor

a st. Marys County slot ma
chine operator, according to
John Patterson, attorney gen.
eral-elect of Alabama.
Mr.. Patterson said the re-
cordings are among some 200
Phenix City Roeketeer Serving Life Term
Gets w Yeors More. Poee A-3
that came into possession of a
reform group through a series
Of mysterious telephone calls last
July when Phenix City was in
the midst of a cleanup of gam
bling and vice elements after the
assassination Of Mr.. Patterson's
father, Albert L. Patterson, anti
crime crusader.
The recordings have been held
in a bank vault under guardsever
since they were turned over to
the reform group by a mysteri-
Gus "Mr. x"
Shepherds Voice Heard.
Several of them, MIR. Patterson
said today, are conversations be-
tween Hoyt Shepherd. kingpin of
the slot operators here, and the
Marylannder identified as a men,
ber of that States General As
sembly at the time.
Mr.. Patterson reported that
Shepherd apparently had trans
ferred the slot machines to a
Maryland man on a "fifty-fifty
deal"
1.-THE Maryland man didn't pay
for the machines" Mr.. Patterson
said. "And when Shepherd didn't
get his money, he got in touch
with the politician there either
to get back his machines or the
money"
The Maryland legislator, Mr..
Patterson said, is alleged to have
explained to Shepherd the pur-
ported political tie-in" there
regarding slot machine opera
tionS.
Four counties in Maryland
have legalized slot machines
st. Marys, Calvert, Charles and
Anne Arundel.
Marylander's Memory Fails.
The former Maryland legis-
lator allegedly mentioned in the
tapped telephone conversation
said today that he could not re-
call them.
IT can tell you that I've never
owned a slot machine in my
life," he said.
"It may have been the owner
Of slot machines that I was rep
resenting as an attorney, and if
that was the case, then I
wouldn't be able to talk about
them because of the confidence
that must be respected by a
lawyer and client"
Mr.. Patterson said he believed
the wiretap conversation on the
recordings took place around
1850, a year before the Federal
Government clamped down on
gambling by banning interstate
shipments of slot machines or
parts.
Shepherd Begins Term.
Shepherd and his lieutenant,
Jimmy Matthews, yesterday be-
gan serving 90-day terms in
prison for leasing properties for
gambling purposes. They also
were fined $1,000 each.
The reform groups mysterious
benefactor called the leader one
day last July and said:
II have some telephone re-
cordings for you and I will have
some more If you follow my in
structions."
The next day a batch Of re-
corded discs arrived by mail. Sew
eral days afterward mfr. x" di-
rected the leader of the reform
group to a telephone booth in
nearby Columbus, Ca, where
more had been left.
In recent magazine article
Mr.. Patterson contended that
the Phenix City mob "has spread
its tentacles to eight or 10 other
counties in Alabama, and is con-
nected with the interstate under
world in Maryland, Illinois.
Georgia and Florida"
Limited martial law has pre-
vailed here since July %, when
national guardsmen, hand picked
for their background Of law en-
forcement training. took over the
PheniY Citv Police DeDartmenf.