Bleacher Trial

Prisoner No. 1 was "Tootsie" Herbert. Prisoner No. 2 was Dave Kaufman. Prisoner No. 20 was Charley ("The Bum") Gershowitz. Prisoner No. 45 was Herman Berman. Prisoner No. 65 was Abraham Pepper. Prisoner No. 73 was Goodman Levy. Prisoner No. 86 was Hyman Matofsky. There were, in all, 81 prisoners (five of the 86 being absent, nolle prossed or admittedly guilty). New York poultry men all, indicted under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, all being tried simultaneously in the court of Federal Judge John C. Knox, they presented several difficult problems in the administration of justice.

First problem was the courtroom's seating capacity. Solution: Carpenters banged and hammered, put up a six-tier bleacher, collected $417. Cross-pieces of white pine, at 16-inch intervals, marked off the benches into 86 numbered seats. Each prisoner had a number corresponding to his seat so that a roll could be called and absentees quickly detected. Lawyers for the defendants vainly objected to the cramped quarters of their charges.

Second problem was getting a jury. With 81 defendants, the trial seemed likely to last two months or more. Veniremen viewed the case with alarm. On the first day of the trial there were so many veniremen and so many accused that the prisoners had to move out into the corridors. The Government summoned 106 veniremen before a jury could be selected.

Third problem was rounding up the prisoners, who, out on bail, were still conducting their businesses and living in their homes. Several sent brothers, friends or other proxies to answer to their names and numbers. One morning 13 prisoners arrived several minutes after proceedings had started. Judge Knox had to threaten to keep all the accused in jail until the conclusion of the trial if attendance records did not show an improvement.

Fourth problem was getting witnesses to testify. The 81 accused, technically a trust, are really claimed to have operated a "racket" in poultry similar to the food rackets common to all large U. S. cities nowadays. They had formed a poultry association, lined up the poultry butchers (chiefly in Jewish sections of Brooklyn), raised poultry prices and divided the increased profits between butchers and association. The Government claimed that member-butchers were allotted certain customers, that nonmember butchers were intimidated and assaulted. One Government witness, a onetime association member, apparently remembered nothing of the story he had last winter recited to a Grand Jury. "I received an injury to my jaw." said he, "and it affected my memory."