Page:Summary Report of Al Capone for the Bureau of Internal Revenue.djvu/19

SI-7085-F few days, Tessem and I visited him and persuaded him to identify the cashier's checks and to explain his deposit of the funds represented by them. He stated that they represented part of the net profits of the gambling establishment in Cicero during his employment as cashier; that the business was operated by the Capone synd1cate;that the principals in the syndicate were Al Capone, Jack Guzik, Frank Nitto and Ralph Capone; that he turned the net profits from the business over to Jack Guzik and took all orders relating to the business from Jack Guzik. It was believed that the witness might become more unfriendly and hostile if held in jail for a long period awaiting trial of the tax oases against the principals in the syndicate so we arranged with Federal Judge Wham to have him released by signing his own bond. As he believed that his life was in jeopardy because of furnishing evidence to us against his former employers in the Capone syndicate, it was decided to protect him in order that he might be available as a witness for the trial. Through the cooperation of the Chicago Association of Commerce his expenses on a trip to South America were paid and we were able to keep his whereabouts secret. Although he continued to be a very reluctant witness, his testimony was of great value in the income tax cases which resulted in the conviction of Al Capone, Jack Guzik and Frank Nitto. His sworn statement made to me on October 20, 1930, was as follows:

"FRED RIES, first being duly sworn on oath, deposes and says:

"I was employed in certain gambling houses located in Cicero, Illinois, known as The Ship, The Subway, The Radio, Lauderbach's on 12th Street and 48th Court, a garage on 25th or 26th Street and 50th Avenue, and a place upstairs over The Subway, from the latter part of 1924 or early in 1925 to the latter part of 1928. These places were controlled or run by a syndicate sometimes referred to as the Cicero syndicate. I was the cashier in these gambling houses, during the afternoon I took bets which the customers placed on the outcome of the horse races, and after the race track business was closed for the day, all the cash remaining after the race track bets had been paid off was placed in the office safe by me. The business of these gambling houses was not confined to race track betting as various games of chance, such as craps, roulette, etc., were run by the house from which the business derived a profit.

"The cash receipts from the gambling games other than the race track bets were also placed in the safe after the business was closed for the day. I left the gambling houses each day after the race track business was finished and the cash receipts from the gambling games was taken care of by other employees -18-