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Al Capone — Part 36

62 pages · May 23, 2026 · Broad topic: Organized Crime · Topic: Al Capone · 62 pages OCR'd
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s [a = within afew weeks he 26 * 40 ris -newspaper ‘attacks ‘he Underworld and upon city unty officials, Then the Min- Bag law, passed by the state . jn 1925, was invoked : Guilford and his partner,~ Year, co-publishers of the Sat- Press, The case against them osecuted by Floyd Olson. press gag law was pecullar nesota alone. It permitted vunty or state officials to sup- without trial by jury, pepers published matter of a “mall. scandatous, or defamatory” Process of suppression was lows: The county attorney aly go before a court, make ‘sation against a paper, and e judge ‘ssue an injunction ing publication, The judge auld decide whether the ac was justified and the mat- ted in the paper actually ‘us, scandalous, or defama- Olson appeared in court Near the injunction against issuance of the Saturday as granted. The case was to the Minnesota Supreme afch upheld the lower court, at the paper was a nuisance law valid. time the case was attract- jon-wide attention, The Newspaper Publishers’ as- took St up, supplying $5,000 through contributions to- JRDAY PRESS” bein ess of Dec. 14, 1935, ablisher. Within a short Ume Ritten worked ‘out an crrangement with Alderman = Giebenhain of the Tenth ‘ward, a Jabor representative, and J. Russell Sheffield, Eighth ward,to ‘accept money which would later be divided among the trie. Certain other aldermen, including John P. Eckberg, a labor party politician from the Twelfth ward; Fred Maur- x, another Jabor man from the ‘Third ward, and E. J. Sweeney and W. H, Hendell intermittently took Part in the boodling. ms All went well with the ring until Sohn Woodward and Werner H, Ruff offered Ritten $1,000 to get enough votes in the council Jicense committee to enable them to obtain 8 license for a cabaret to be named The Stables, which they proposed to open. Ritien informed Wood- ward, who offered the bribe, that {t would cost at least $1,500, This incident occurred in the summer of 2928, Ritten's confession, given on Feb. 15, 1929, follows: : * “The following day Woodward came into my office with the money, but a few days later he asked for it again, stating he needed it for other purposes. I returned tt to him. A few days later he returned and handed me back the money, “The license was acted upon fa- vorably both in the Ioense commit- tee and by the council. George Sheffield received $500, Giebenhain got $500, and I kept $500 for myself. “A few days after my return from New Orleans in December, 1928, Giebenhain called me by phone and told me by all means to get in touch with Ruff. I told him 1 would if I could, Ruff had given Woodward the $1,500 paid us. The next day 1 arranged for a meeting with him at the home of a friend in north Minneapolis and begged Ruff not to mention my name in connection with the cabaret license. I admit: ted to him I had received the money from Woodward, and declared to Ruff that I would make everything right with him after the investiga- tion had blown over if he would remain silent. I told him I would do anything in the world to keep my name out of the papers in con- nection with this matter. “He promised faithfully that he would say nothing. This meeting was in the afternoon. The next day I called Frank Brunskit: (then the chief investigator for County Attor- ney Floyd Olson, having been re- moved by Mayor George Leach from the post of chief of police} because he was a very good friend of mine, and asked him to see me. “He came to the office early in the afternoon, I told him about my meeting with Ruff. He told me before the grand jury d try to get immunity, on advice Cary. The confession continues: “A few days later Cary arranged for a: meeting between myself, County Attorney Floyd B, Olson, and himself in a room at the Minne- apolis Athletic club. At that time I told the county attorney every- thing I knew, except the payments to Woodward. The next conference was in the office of the county at- torney on the morning of the day I appeared’ before the grand jury. I was alone with the county attor- ney part of the time. I had got there early to avold being seen. The county attorney told me he would get me into the grand jury room as 500n as the jury convened. “After I had been in-the county attorney's office for a short time Cary came in with a document signed by Judge Bardwell granting me complete immunity, Cary told me I was ‘absolutely clean’ on ev- erything up to the time I went into the grand jury room, “Before entering the grand jury room I was told by the county at- torney to answer all questions that he or any member of the grand jury asked me, which I did. After I had completed my testimony the county attorney stated that I had made a good impression, in his opinion, on the jury members. I remained in the county attorney’s office until the grand jury adjourned, and then he assisted me in getting out without anybody noticing me.” From the testimony given by Rit- ten to that grand jury indictments were returned against Aldermen Eckberg, Giebenhain, Maurer, Shef- field, Sweeney and Rendell. A group 8 qory- “He then te * “+ Morrly Stsenstadt, eaner and dyer, convicted of giving bribe, paid $1,500; James E For, off broker, pleaded guilty to givlng——- ‘vribe; paid $750. = nab ~ Charges Dismissed. Consent of State J. Russell Sheffield, “silk stock- ing" Eighth ward, indicted for re ceiving bribe; Don Green, agent for fire apparatus manufacturing company, indicted for giving bribe: Irsae} Ridker, real estate broker, indicted {or giving bribe; E. P. Brown, business man, indicted for giving bribe; Henry M. Basker ville, business man, indicted tor giving bribe; Emil Sheffe, garage Proprietor, indicted tor giving bribe. Not Indicted Louis N, Ritten, “silk stocking” Second ward; John H. Woodward, cabaret proprietor. A glance at the table shows that only Jabor representatives were given prison sentences. Ritten, the self-confessed leader of the graft ting, came free untouched and today is a grain merchant in Minneapolis, Fox, the oil broker, resisted ex: tradition from St, Louis, Mo., for nearly 8 year. Then he threatened in speeches made to newspaper re porters to “biow the roof off the county building in Minneapolis if not granted Immunity.” After sev era] conferences with County Attor ney Olson the defendant picaded guilty and was fined $750. Yet it wes this incident which made it possible for Floyd Olson to run for governor in 1930. He was elected by a plurality given him by the labor voters. der in Minneapolis” will appear in an early issue.” ‘When I feel run down’ headachy, half sick—when the children get irritable, cranky—then I know it’s a sign of con- stipation, 1 get out our family box of FEEN - A- MINT, the chewing-gom lax- ative. There used to be a time when we took old-fashioned, barsh, “ail-at- once” cathartics, bat that’s all over now. We just chew FEEN-A-MINT for three minutes before going National Aroaeor Night, TUNE IN sire smash bie eh Ray Perkina, Arnold Johnaon, and dcaten Btare~ Colombia, Network, SP. M., C. 8. T., Every Bundy, | forme ‘all-at-once’ catharties’” “No more half-sick feeling no more harsh tobed—(that’s why it’s called “the three minute way”)—snd it goes to work easily, pleasantly, and gradually. There are no cramps, no nausca, no bad sfter-effecta, Our family wouldn't be without it for anything. Costs only 15¢ and 25¢ a box,
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