Direct examination by Dwight H. Green:
Green: Do
you know
Alphonse Capone?
Bragg: Yes.
Green:
Point him
out, please?
Bragg: That
gentleman with the dark blue suit and blue tie [indicating
Capone].
Green:
Describe
your first meeting with Capone.
Bragg: In 1925 I
was with a group from the West
Suburban Ministers' and Citizens' Association on a raid at 4818 West 22nd Street, Cicero.
It was the Saturday of Derby Day, in the month of May.
Green:
Did you
have any conversation with the defendant?
Bragg: Yes.
Green:
Who was
present?
Bragg: A number
of people of the raiding party and some of the employees of
the place, inside the saloon.
Green:
Describe
the conversation.
Bragg: Well, my
job was to watch the front door and keep
anybody from going in or out. A big powerful man tried to get in and
finally
forced the door open. I got sore and asked him, “What the hell do -you
think
this is, a party?” and he said, “Well, it ought to be a
party, I'm the owner of this place.” So I said,
“Come on
in, Al, we're waiting for you.”
Green:
What did
the defendant do then?
Bragg: He went
upstairs with Mr. Morgan, one of the raiding
party.
Green:
Did you
have any later conversation with the defendant?
Bragg: Well, I
was present at
several conversations. One was upstairs when Capone asked Mr. Morgan
and the
Reverend Mr. Hoover why they were always picking on him. “Why don't you
lay off
of me in Cicero?”
he said, and Mr. Hoover said they were not picking on him. “This is the
last
raid you'll ever pull on me,” Capone said.
Green:
Describe
what you saw upstairs?
Bragg: There
were roulette wheels, pool, billiard and crap
tables, and chuck-a-luck outfits.
Green:
Did you see
Capone again?
Bragg: Yes, when
Judge Hamilton of LaGrange, who was with us, was
asked to issue a warrant for him. Shortly after that Capone disappeared.
Michael Ahern
cross-examined.
Ahern: What's
chuck-a-luck?
Bragg: I don't
know.
Ahern: Then you
can't say whether there were chuck-a-luck outfits there?
Bragg: I mean I
don't know'
exactly. It's something like a parrot's cage and dice roll in the
center.
Ahern: In how many
raids have' you taken part?
Bragg: I was on
another one in Stickney.
Ahern: Was
there
any attempt made to arrest Capone in the raid at 4818 West 22nd Street?
Bragg: I don't
know. I
didn't see any.
Ahern: Were others
arrested?
Bragg: Warrants
were drawn for the minor help.
Ahern: You saw no
warrant drawn for the man who said he was the owner of the place?
Bragg: There was
a
demand made for the warrant and I saw a man start to draw it, but
before the
warrant was ready Capone was gone.
Ahern: Why was the
warrant not served?
Bragg: I don't
pretend to know the intricacies of the law in
such cases.
Ahern: Oh, you
suspect that there was skullduggery, do you?
Bragg: I know it
was a rotten job not to
go through with the arrest.
Ahern:
How do you have such a distinct recollection of this raid?
Bragg: Well, if
you had
your face busted like I did you wouldn't forget it for a while.
Ahern: Oh, you
were beaten up? Where was that?
Bragg:
Outside, as I was leaving. My nose was
broken by a blackjack or brass knuckle.... |
