Page:Summary Report of Al Capone for the Bureau of Internal Revenue.djvu/12

SI-7085-F in an entirely different spirit. While I was in the near room attempting to 'phone to the Berwyn police station for a patrol wagon, Capone came back into the rear room and said, 'Reverend, can't we get together?' I said, 'What do you mean, Mr. Capone?' He said, 'I give to churches, and I give to charity,' and I said, 'Well just what do you mean?' He said, 'Now I don't mean money, but if you will let up on me in Cicero, I will withdraw from Stickney.' I said, 'The only understanding, Mr. Capone, you and I can ever have is that you must obey the law or get out of the western suburbs.' The conversation closed at that point.

Later, when the gambling apparatus was being removed from the building, a man by the name of Smith, who claimed to be the proprietor, said to me, 'Now Reverend, you have enough for evidence, why not leave these forms and the rest of this apparatus here?' 'Everything goes' I said, to the Sheriff's deputies. At that point, Al Capone, who was standing near said, 'Well this belongs to me, pointing to a valuable piece of gambling apparatus. 'That goes too' I said.

My suggestion at that time to the police officers was that Capone be arrested, but he slipped out.

"Q. What is your recollection as to whether you did sign a warrant for his arrest?

"A. It is not clear, but they left everything to me that day. However, there would be records of it, I suppose. There was a warrant signed, and it occurs to me that I signed it. I was President of the West Suburban Ministers' Association, and I took the responsibility for everything.

"Q. Did you discontinue or drop the prosecution because you felt that perhaps some of your operators might be put in jeopardy?

"A. Yes. They had already been been beaten and assaulted.

"Q. Were some of your operators assaulted at the time of this raid by some of Capone's followers?

"A. Yes, as we left the building and walked across the street to our cars, the crowd broke and gangsters appeared among us and I heard a crack of a blow and - 11 -