by Bruno, Joe
McIntire repeated this statement to a group of newspapermen, and when they asked him his basis for an appeal, McIntire said, “I can tell you no more.”
It wasn’t until 12:55 a.m. that Helen Becker was able to walk out of the courthouse. She was whisked away in a car by her relatives. But not before she released a statement to the press, which was relayed by her brother-in-law, saying, “I was so shocked. I could not believe it. To think that this thing could happen to my husband, it seems impossible.”
Despite the fact that the Becker family was now devastated, things looked quite rosy for Bald Jack Rose, and his fellow gamblers Bridgey Webber and Harry Vallon. As per their agreement with Whitman, after the trial of the four actual shooters was completed, all three gamblers were to be set free from their cells in the Tombs. Sam Schepps, because he did not participate in the planning of Rosenthal’s murder, was immediately set free after Becker was found guilty.
As for Whitman, it’s safe to say he put on a big bender after Becker’s conviction. The word quickly spread around town that Whitman would become the next mayor of New York City.
However, Whitman had set his sights much higher than that.
He announced to the Saturday Evening Post, “I’d like to become Governor of New York State instead!”
On October 30, 1912, Judge Goff sentenced Becker to death in the Sing Sing Electric chair, during the week that started on Monday, December 9, 1912.
The following day, Becker was taken from the Tombs, and, handcuffed to a sheriff, he boarded a train to Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. While at Sing Sing, Becker hired attorney Joseph Shay, to represent him for his appeal.
The four killers, who actually shot Rosenthal, went on trial before Judge Goff on December 8, 1912. Originally, through their lawyer, Charles Wahle, all four men had requested separate trials. But at the last moment, Wahle convinced “Gyp the Blood” Horowitz, “Whitey Lewis” Muller, “Lefty” Rosenberg, and “Dago Frank” Ciroficci that it was in their best interest to be tried together. Whether this was the right course of action, or not, is hard to determine. But the results speak volumes. (Wahle must have figured he had four losers, so why go through the task of four time-consuming trials for one payday?)
The trial of the four killers lasted a week, and the same cast of characters whom had testified at Becker’s trial, especially Bald Jack Rose, was called to the stand by District Attorney Whitman, who tried this case himself without any help from Assistant D.A. Moss.
Predictably, the results were the same as in the Becker trial.
This time it took only one ballot and a mere 25 minutes for the jury to come back with a guilty verdict.
As he was led from the courtroom, “Whitey Lewis” Muller complained to the press, “When I heard Goff make the charge to the jury, I knew we was dead. The jury would have convicted a priest after listening to that charge.”
After various appeals were denied, all four killers were executed in Sing Sing Prison in April of 1914.
The day after the four Rosenthal killers were convicted, as per their arrangement with Whitman, Bald Jack Rose, Bridgey Webber, and Harry Vallon were released from the Tombs prison. They were soon seen circulating in the Tenderloin, doing what they had been doing before they had been arrested; so much for justice.
But all three men had targets on their back, since it was well-known in the underworld that all three were rats, and rats don’t have a long life expectancy in the mean streets of New York City.
Attorney Shay was able to obtain several delays to Becker’s execution, and Charles Becker was still alive in the spring of 1913. However, Shay, who had never handled a criminal case before (his specialty was personal injury), resigned and was replaced by Marion Manton; a bulldog of a criminal attorney, who had been given the moniker of “Praying Manton,” because of his ability to trap people on the witness stand into saying things other than what they had intended to say. Manton also was a bigwig at Tammany Hall, and Becker needed all the help he could get.
The only problem was – Shay worked cheap and Manton commanded big bucks. Not having the money to pay Manton, Helen Becker signed over the deed of the Becker’s Bronx house to Manton as payment for his services.
Becker got a tease in early 1913, when New York State Gov. William Sulzer, an old-time pal of Big Tim Sullivan (and close to Manton too), said that documents that had been submitted to him proved Becker’s innocence. Sulzer said that after the appeal decision came back from the Court of Appeals, and if Becker was not given a second trial, Sulzer would use his powers as governor to commute Becker’s sentence.
However, Sulzer, who took over as governor on January 1, 1913, had difficulties of his own, and he never got his chance to help Becker.
Sulzer’s first setback came when it was uncovered that he had diverted campaign contributions into his own personal coffers, and then, when confronted with the evidence - he lied about it. However, Sulzer’s biggest blunder was not playing ball with the head of Tammany Hall: Charles “Boss” Murphy.
Murphy, as payback for getting Sulzer elected, wanted certain men appointed to prestigious positions in Sulzer’s administration. The biggest fish Sulzer turned down for Murphy was James E. Gaffney, the owner of the “Miracle” Boston Braves. Murphy wanted Sulzer to appoint Gaffney to the State Commission of Highways, but Sulzer told Murphy to take a flying leap. Sulzer said, instead of appointing a man to that position, he would put the plum appointment up for a vote.
This was not a smart thing to do to the man (Boss Murphy) who just got you elected governor.
Murphy then used his powers at Tammany Hall to induce the New York State Assembly to impeach Sulzer, which they did on August 13, 1913, by a vote of 79-45. Sulzer was replaced by Lieutenant Gov. Martin H. Glynn, who acted as if he didn’t know Charles Becker ever existed.
Becker always had a big ally in Big Tim Sullivan. However, as early as the beginning of 1912, Sullivan had begun experiencing extreme bouts of dementia. Big Tim escaped from his upstate asylum several times, but he was always found at one of his New York City haunts, playing cards and drinking like a fish.
The last time Sullivan escaped was on August 31, 1912, and he did so after waiting for his guards to fall asleep after an all-night card game. Two weeks later, an unidentified body turned up in an Bronx morgue. The man had apparently been run over by a freight train in Pelham, New York. No one claimed the body, but before the body was buried in Potter’s Field, a policeman recognized it as the body of Big Tim Sullivan.
Big Tim was given a proper sendoff, as 25,000 people followed his casket from a downtown funeral home to his funeral mass at old St. Patrick’s Church on Mulberry Street, just south of Houston Street.
Despite the setbacks of Sulzer’s impeachment and Big Tim Sullivan’s demise, Becker finally got a lucky break.
On Feb. 24, 1914, the New York State Appeals Court, by an overwhelming 6-1 majority, ruled that Becker’s first trial had been grossly improper. The main reasons given by the appeals court were the dubious actions in the courtroom by Whitman and his staff; statements presented to the jury that were certainly prejudicial against Becker and should have been objected to by Judge Goff. As for Judge Goff, the appeals court cited his obvious one-sided performance in the courtroom; favoring the prosecution and constantly lambasting the defense. Judge Goff was also taken to task for dismissing Bald Jack Rose from the witness stand when McIntyre could no longer physically function in court because of heat exhaustion.
There was also the problem of the so-called “Harlem Conference,” which was alluded to by Rose, Bridgey Webber, and Harry Vallon; all co-conspirators in the plot to kill Herman Rosenthal. Rose, Webber, and Vallon said the plot to kill Rosenthal was hatched by Becker in front of a Harlem gambling house three weeks before Rosenthal’s murder. The appeals court ruled that since all three men admitted they were in on the plot to kill Rosenthal, there was no independent corroboration that this meeting actually took place.
The appeals c
ourt also stated that Judge Goff’s charge to the jury was so contemptibly prejudicial to Becker, only a guilty verdict was possible. Also, new evidence had been uncovered that was not available in Becker’s first trial.
Justice Nathan Miller wrote in his ruling: “In my opinion a new trial should be granted because the newly discovered evidence imperatively demands it in the interest of justice, because the verdict is shockingly against the weight of the evidence, and because the trial was so conducted as to insure a verdict of guilty, regardless of the evidence.”
Judge Frank Hiscock was particularly forceful in his denunciation of Judge Goff.
Hiscock wrote: “On some occasions, the ruling of the trial judge passed beyond the limits of digression and were erroneous as a matter of law.”
CHARLES BECKER’S TRIAL No. 2
Becker’s second trial started on May 5, 1914, at the New York City Courthouse. The day
before the trial Becker was taken from his cell in Sing Sing Prison and plunked back into his old digs at the Tombs.
The judge in the second trial was Samuel Seabury, who had once been the youngest judge in New York State, but was now a very ambitious 41-year-old with political ambitions. Although Seabury did not act as outlandishly prejudicial against Becker as Judge Goff had done at Becker’s first trial, he was decidedly pro-prosecution and anti-police.
The same cast of characters in the first trial took the stand in the second trial. The prosecution was directed by District Attorney Charles Whitman, who had thrust himself back into the Becker case, instead of letting his subordinate, Moss, do all the heavy lifting. Whitman’s re-involvement in the Becker case was despite common knowledge Whitman was in campaign mode and actively running for governor of New York State. Whitman correctly deduced if he prosecuted another conviction of Becker this would certainly earn Whitman enough brownie points to propel him into the Executive Mansion in Albany.
After a few top-of-the-order witnesses were put on the stand by Whitman to set the table, the cleanup hitter for the prosecution was Bald Jack Rose.
The New York Times described Bald Jack Rose’s unusual physical appearance on the witness stand as such:
“Rose looked prosperous, well-dressed and in good health. His head is still without a single hair and as shiny as it was two years ago. His chin was just as peaked and his widespread ears finished the picture of one of the most eccentric figures that ever walked into a courtroom.”
However, eccentric and duplicitous are two different things, and Rose certainly was both.
On the witness stand, Rose told the sorrowful tale of how he was a reformed gambler just trying to get on with his life. As Rose related his sad narrative to the court, tears welled up in his eyes and cascaded down both sides of his waxen face. He made no attempt to wipe away the tears, but instead let them dry on his cheeks, making his face shine like a fishbowl.
Rose’s tears came in a torrential downpour when Rose told the jury of a meeting between himself, Bridgey Webber, Harry Vallon, and Charles Becker in a darkened doorway near Sixth Avenue and 43rd Street soon after Rosenthal’s murder. Rose said it was at this meeting that Becker assured the three men that he would use his commanding police powers to make sure none of the three gamblers or the four shooters would be hurt by the law.
Outside the courtroom, after his command performance on the witness stand, Rose was asked about his crying.
Rose shuddered and said, “Yes, I guess I did cry. Like a flash, the whole scene came to me again! The scene after the murder! Oh…!”
Like in the first trial, Rose said Rosenthal told him more than once that Rosenthal and Becker were partners. Then Rose dropped a bombshell, when he intimated that Rosenthal was a “spy” and a “stool pigeon” for Becker (although he did not use those exact words on the witness stand, they were in the headlines in the following day’s newspapers). This is something Rose had not mentioned in Becker’s first trial. This statement led credence to the defense’s contention that Rosenthal was killed by other gamblers in retaliation for Rosenthal giving up the location of their gambling houses to Becker.
Rose said that on one occasion Becker had sent Rose to ask Rosenthal for $500 to help one of Becker’s underlings who might be indicted on a murder charge (we’ll meet Charles Plitt later).
Rose said Rosenthal told him, “No, I can’t do it. Tell Becker there isn’t a chance in the world. And I will let him raid me if he can get the evidence legitimately. But there will be no friendly raiding around my place.”
Rose said he felt Rosenthal’s attitude was very disturbing, so he said to Rosenthal, “There’s no use you talking that way; he started you, why don’t you do this and save everybody a lot of trouble?”
Rose testified Rosenthal then told him, “You don’t know what I’ve been doing for that fellow Becker. I’ve been doing things I would have never done for anyone else on earth. It was me who made it possible for him to raid every place on the avenue so as to help him make a show. If Becker couldn’t get the goods on a place, I would go in for him and get the layout. I would get a couple of fellows from the gambling house and parade them on the sidewalk. You know Detective Foye on the Strong Arm Squad? It was me who placed him on the squad, and he’s Becker’s best man. Why only last week, Becker collected $1,000 on a place that I wised him up on.”
With Whitman’s prodding, Rose fully explained the details of the Becker-led conspiracy to murder Rosenthal. Rose told the court that he had enlisted the gunmen at Becker’s urging, and that Becker had told him that if the gunmen balked at doing the job, Becker would frame them on trumped-up charges that would put the four men behind bars for a very long time. Rose also told the court the details of how he obtained an affidavit on the Sunday night before Rosenthal’s murder from Dora Gilbert, Rosenthal’s first wife, which would “blacken Herman’s character” as nothing but a cheap pimp who forced his first wife’s to sell her sexual favors for a few bucks.
Rose said when he informed Becker that he had obtained Dora Gilbert’s affidavit, Becker told him, “I’m glad you got it. Now get Rosenthal off the earth and everything will be alright.”
The next day, Rose said Becker was not so keen on the affidavit. Rose said Becker told him, “We won’t be needing it now.”
Editor’s note: Why would Becker tell Rose to get an affidavit from Dora Gilbert if he were planning to kill Rosenthal anyway?)
Concerning the night of Rosenthal’s murder, Rose told the court how an automobile containing himself, San Schepps, and Harry Vallon had broken down in front of Tom “Sailor Tom” Sharkey’s Café (Sharkey was a world-class heavyweight boxer who had unsuccessfully fought twice for the heavyweight title).
From Tom Sharkey’s, Rose had phoned for “Shapiro’s machine.” When Shapiro arrived, he took Rose, Schepps, and Vallon to Harlem to pick up “Dago Frank.” Then they drove downtown to Webber’s poker rooms, where they met up with “Gyp the Blood,” “Whitey Lewis,” and “Lefty Louie.” Rose left Schepps, Webber, and Vallon behind, and he accompanied the four killers in Shapiro’s car to the Metropole Hotel where Rosenthal was killed.
Rose said after the murder he went back to Webber’s poker rooms and phoned Becker. Upon hearing about Rosenthal’s demise, Rose testified Becker said, “Good boy. That’s fine work. You wait for me. I’ll be downtown as soon as I can get there.”
On cross-examination, Becker’s attorney, Manton, bitterly fighting for his client’s life, tried to get Rose to slip up and make a mistake. Time after time Manton would barrage Rose with a verbal assault, but whatever Manton asked, Rose deftly evaded the question. Manton produced transcripts from Becker’s first trial showing discrepancies concerning the meetings between Becker and Rose. Rose simply admitted the discrepancies and offered no explanation. Then he slumped back in his chair, with a satisfied smile on his face, knowing he had survived Manton’s attack unscathed.
The next on the witness stand was Bridgey Webber, who was described by the press as “extremely nervous” and “
teary eyed.” Under questioning by Whiteman, Webber said he had been a collection agent for Bald Jack Rose and that he had met Becker through Rose. Webber also said he had been present at a conference outside a Harlem gambling house where Becker had discussed with him and Rose the plot to murder Rosenthal.
Webber testified, “Becker told me of Rosenthal’s threat to squeal to the district attorney. Then Becker called me aside and told me he wanted the boys to croak Rosenthal. I said there would be a lot of trouble if that were done, and Becker replied, ‘I’ll fix everything. There will be no trouble. I will see to that.’ So I agreed to have Rosenthal croaked.”
Webber then described how the four gunman met in Webber’s poker rooms on the night of the murder. Webber said he then went out and succeeded in finding Rosenthal in the Hotel Metropole. Soon afterwards, the four killers gunned Rosenthal down. Later that morning, Webber said he and Rose met with Becker. Webber said, “Becker congratulated Rose and then borrowed $1,000 from me to get the gunmen out of town.”
Upon cross-examination, Becker’s attorney, Manton, tore Webber’s testimony to shreds. Manton got Webber to admit that he had lied to Deputy Police Commissioner Dougherty after Rosenthal’s murder about his whereabouts on the night of the crime. Manton also pried out of Webber the fact Webber had said things during his direct examination by Whitman earlier in the day that he had omitted in Becker’s first trial. Manton also got Webber to confess that in Becker’s first trial Webber had made affidavits that he swore today were false.
While Manton spat out his forceful cross-examination, Webber trembled in the witness chair. Sometimes his mouth quivered, and sometimes his lips curled into a snarl. At times, Webber tried to defy Manton to get him to contradict himself. In other instances, he gave way to despair when Manton was easily able to do so. When Manton mentioned the executions of the four gunmen in the electric chair, Webber, like Rose had done in the same witness chair before him, broke into tears. Webber gripped the arms of the witness chair to steady himself, and then he continued with his testimony.