The Key West Citizen Newspaper, February 26, 1953, Page 1

Warmest City In Nation “Today Was KEY WEST 74 The Associated Preas Teletype Features and Photo Services. For 73 Years Devoted to the Best Interests of Key West. ———. VOL. LXXIV. |THE SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER IN THE U.S.A. KEY WEST, FLORIDA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1953 No. 49 PRICE FIVE CENTS BERVALDI WITHDRAWS RETIREMENT APPLICATION Farcical Defense Attempted By Davis PAIR FOUND GUILTY ON ASSORTED CHARGES Rep. Lantaff Fights To Retain Key West Postmaster In Position ___ Representative Bill Lantaff announced today that he is fighting to save the job of Key West's Postmaster Hollon Ber- Taft Predicts Deep Cut In ES Cdr. Byrns Is Out Of Running valdi, who has decided to withdraw an application for retire-| For Postmaster By DOROTHY RAYMER Looking like a couple act- vrs out of Jessie James or Dalton Brothers melodrama ora couple of Dead End Kids grown up by ten years after reaching a first “dead end,” two men who tried ‘a! jail break on January 16 at) the Monroe County jail went on trial yesterday afternoon for unarmed robbery and felonious assault with vio- lence on the person of Jailer Gerald Labrada. Both Albert Denver Davis and Joseph V. Jackson were found guilty by a six man robbery. In this case, the unarmed robbery charge was based. on the fact that cell keys were taken by force from the jailer. County Soli- citor Allan B. Cleare, Jr., ham- mered home repeatedly , that the seizure of the keys was taking property of the United States, gov- ernment. : The. accused sat close together chain smoking, getting up af in- tervals to question witnesses, the judge, the jury end’te in- ferrupt the prosecution. Davis is a slight wiry young man with a shock of wavy brown hair, a hawk nose, large alert eyes and sense of the theatrical. Now and then a contemptuous. half smile or a sneer crossed the thin twisted mouth. He alternated be- tween defiance and deference and was much more confident than his partner. who with a Navy Shore Patrol-| verbal onslaught by the two man arrived at the jail in a pat-| defendants. rol car after Mrs. Labrada, the! The third witness, Jessie Tho- jailer’s wife, telephoned for help. | mas, negro prisoner, said he saw He said he found the two men, Davis hit Labrada with his fist Davis and Jackson, in the “run-|in the “‘bull-pen,” but that after around” or bull pen at the old | that they were out of sight around jail between the cell blocks along a corner. He heard Davis call to with the trusty and the jailer. | Jackson “Get him,” and then saw Both of the latter were bleeding | Jackson pick up a flashlight in about the face and nose. Conley| the fight. He banged ‘Jockey’ said ‘they. arrived at’ about 8:17|Luoni on the head six or seven ment. But Post Office officials in Washington said that it may be too late and that they are to ni -Post- master to take office pe Pr gag Se Lantaff told The Citizen by phone this morning that he had received a telegram from Bervaldi asking that he intercede with the Post Office department to have his application for re- tirement cancelled because of a “misunderstanding.” He has held the $6,000 per year post for 14 years and is a veteran of 39 years service with the department. Reason he gave for his retirement February 20th was that he was in poor health. However, when Lantaff phoned j bi h Jackson, lean and anemie in jury after over three hours| Jorng ‘with sharp features, of testimony by a series of! washed-out blue eyes and. the witnesses and statements by | dead-pan expression of a ‘B” mo- the jailbreak attemptees themselves. Sentence bv Criminal Court Jute Thomas S. Caro will be herded down on Friday. Alone with it will be sentences for vetty larrenv on the art of Jackson, and three combinations counts against Davis who earlier yester- dav stond trial Sy jury for leav- int a 55 mile long trail of acci- dents, destruction of property and physical’ assavit on a highway patrolman. resisting arrest, and » driving while intoxicated, all on nicht of December 13. That beth men have lengthy Previous criminal records “was: not brought uo ati their trials “for current. charaes: Only once. did Davis inadvertently admit that he had faced a judae be- fore. Said he in one of his sta- gey outbursts, “This is the first time I’ve been in court’. . . well fm this courtroom.’* The prisoners were without eounsel since Florida’ State. law provides defense attorneys only in case of major criminal charges like murder and rape or armed Vishinsky To vie bit. player, was less’ confident. He leaned over for confidential coaching from Davis before mak- ing most of his interruptions. His nervousness was given away. by the large dampish spots of sweat at the armpits and the intertwin- ing of thin, almost feminine fin- gers. His: sandy reddish hair was so long it curled up in the back and formed a pompadour in front. He bummed his smokes from Da- vis, stared sometimes with: a look of feigned candor. The session got underwey shortly after 2.p.m, Otte Aquere, dames on his person. In the, course of testimony, # was brought out that Jackson beat a trusty, Oliver Wesley Luoni ever the head and face with « dropped flashlight. First witness was Herman Con- ley of the City Police Department Helicopter Rescue “\eial and. offered a few minutes after the call or) the night of January 16. He said, | “I took my nightstick and went | to work.” Davis ran. back into | his cell saying, ‘You don’t have to | hit me. I'll go.’ Second witness was Otis Rey- nolds, a colored prisoner awaiting trial. He was witness to the first assault which took place when La- brada was in the bull pen just af- ter opening the white cell block, and to Jackson’s beating of the trusty with a flashlight. Reynolds said all he could see of Labrada, after Davis jumped him, was his feet, but that he did see Jackson come running out cf the cell block with some keys which he tried on the outer door. “They wuz the wrong ones, suh, and this Jackson fellow threw them down and said, ‘these is the wrong keys,’ ‘‘then went back for the second set.” Reynolds and the other witness- es all said that Jackson went back | to Labrada who was’ evidently ly- | ing on the floor pinned down by Davis, his head caught under, a low table inside the white section cell block. “I jes’ saw Mr. Labra- da feet.” 1¢ as were all witnesses as. to whether-‘or: not he had been. ' ‘by: any. bf the officials the or by any court offi- court leniency for testifying, Reynolds said, “I’m not looking for nothin’.”’ At this point Davis asked to question the witness and loudly veiced an opinion that he “didn't think. it right for one prisoner te testify against another.” This was the first of the chain fission Squadron Reply To US. [Does Outstanding War Work Charges In UN By OSGOOD CARUTHERS UNITED: NATIONS, N. Y, ®— Stung by U. S. charges that Rus Key Westers Are Slow To Register sia is prolonging the Korean War, | City officials fear that there Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Y. \ will be a lot of Key Westers stand- Vishin’ky worked today on the re- ply he will make before the United Nations. Vishinsky promised—but did not say when—he would answer the charges made yesterday U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot \Lodge Jr. in the Eisenhower administra- tion’s first major policy statement to the U, N. Lodge said the Rus- sians could stop the war at will, No other speaker chose to fol- low the opening American blast immediately in the Political Com- mittee. None had asked for the floor in today’s meeting, scheduled for 3 p.m, Diplomats appeared to be wait- Ing for the Soviet Union to make the next move. ing in long lines under a hot sum- mer sun this year if the rate of registration does not speed up. Deputy Supervisor of Registra- tion Agnes Lowe said today that only 1086 voters have appeared to jregister for the November city elections. Since ten-thousand voters are expected to cast their ballots this |year, she said that the registra- } tion must speed up or there will be a serious jam at the office in ' By OLEN CLEMENTS ABOARD USS VALLEY FORGE ‘Somewhere Off Korea (#—It was a scowling day. A flight of Douglas attack bombers catapulted off the deck of this carrier and headed | for the snow-whitened hills of | Korea. * Suddenly, one faitered, turned and headed back. The motor sput- tered as the bomber twisted andj plunged into the sea on its back. | The man. manning the flight deck bull horn sounded the alarm | with the one word “Splash.” The | Valley Forge's loudspeaker flashed | it over the ship: “Plane in the| | water off the port quarter.” | Only the tail fin of the bomber | | bobbed in the water as the Valley Forge pulled away. After what) ; Seemed an eternity a head bobbed up from the sea. It was 40 seconds times. He got and tried two sets of keys and then Miss Carrie came and Jackson yelled, “‘She’s got a gun, so they ran back into their cells.” William Redus who shares the same cellblock with the accused was obviously nervous, trembling as he took the. stand, and at first stated “I refuse to testify on the grounds that I might incriminate myself.” Redus is the young sailor who disrobed outside a home and climbed into bed with a Key West woman while her husband slept beside her. Redus, who looks barely out of his teens, brought a reproof from the court when he explained “I might get tried for perjury.” Ser- ious but half smiling, Judge Caro said that couldn’t happen if the witness told the truth. Cleare final- ly said if necessary they would send out for the testimony given at the preliminary hearing of the jailbreakers whea Redus original- ly testified. Caro reassured the obviously intimidated witness that no. trouble could come of reitera- Dade County Authorities Hunt Conviet MIAMI Wp—Dade Cotinty author- ities continued arch today for Joseph Albert, convicted murderer who swung from a 20th story win- dow Tuesday night to escape from the county jail. Two telephone calls to Head Jailer Lee Sanders Wednesday convinced officers that the near- sighted Albert, object of a state- wide search, wants to surrender. “I hope so,” said his brother, George, and a sister, Mrs. Rose Pierce, who issued a plea begging their 20-year-old brother ‘to give himself up. One call came in mid-morning and the other at noon, but San- ders was on another floor at the time and couldn't be reached. The caller identified himself as “The guy that went wrong last night.” tion, so reluctant Redus finally consented to talk and told how he | missed the first part of the fight! because he hi ed. | “T was’ in see ‘Davis ot Labrada. 1 saw-daekson, and the trustee..1 heat one +f them’ say, ‘Keep still and I won't burt you.” At this point Jackson stared hard at the young witness but nothing further was asked Redus. Longest and most detailed a counts were given by the trust; | Oliver Luoni, known as “Jockey.” Luoni said he was holding the (Continued On Page Two) Blood Committee For County Will Be Formed Soon A Monroe County Blood Commit- tee will be -formed to facilitate procurement of blood for resi- dents of Monroe County when emergencies arise. Those taking part in the organi- | zational meeting yesterday at the | La Concha Hotel were the Rev. | Ralph Rogers, Everett Winter, Joe | Allen, Earl Adams, Joe Pinder, | Willard Albury and Chet Cold. The purpose of the committee will be to maintain a list of donors within Monroe County and to maintain an account with the Dade County Blood Bank for Monroe County residents. It was decided to call the first meeting Monday, March 9, at 8 p.m. at the County Court House. The chairman of the blood com- mittees of all organizations within the county and any other resi- the city hall. She repeated ber | by stop watch since the bomber | dents interested in working on this earlier request that all naturalized American citizens bring their papers with them when they re- gister. }hit the water. Seemingly out of nowhere a heli- copter swooped down and hovered over the spot as the Valley Forge plowed oa. project are invited to attend. Elec- tion of officers will be held at this | meeting. } Belief that the calls were bona fide persisted de: three hoax calls Wednesday ni that result- ed in arrest of a woman for giv- information to officers is a teres ig outside, at them and laughing. “i She admitted she made the calls because “1 like te see the cop cars.” She was booked as Delores Wiseman, 44. Albert and William Chapman were convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 99 years on Jan. 28 for killing Dr. Clifton C. Springmyer in an attempted robbery of his clinic June 24. Albert, Chapman and Harry Johnson, who was held on a grand larceny charge, slugged Jailer Joe Fronkin and escaped from the 2ist floor cell block in the skyscraper courthouse - jail Tuesday night. They rode to the 20th floor on the prison elevator, anchored a rubber hose. to a window, and Al- bert climbed down. He was be- lieved to have swung into a win- dow on the 17th floor and taken an elevator to the street level. Chapman and Johnson were cap- tured on the 20th floor and Sheriff Thomas J. Kelly said “They must have lost their nerve when they looked out of the window at the ground 20 floors below and at the police station across the street.” Housing Officials In Key West For Conference Today Mr. A. R. Hanson, Director of standing |the Atlanta Fieid Office for the Public Housing Administration and 4 R. E. Bates, Asst. Fieid Office Director for Mi | and Disposition from the same of- the Post Office Department in Washington, he was informed that they could not make a commit- ment to retain Bervaldi since, in BULLETIN The Citizen at noon today con- tacted Republican National Com- mitteeman C. C. Spades’ secre- tary in St. Augustine. The secre- tary stated that the Committee- Defense Cost By JACK BELL WASHINGTON ‘#—Sen. Taft (R- Ohio) predicted. today Congress will cut deeply into military spend- jing in an effort to balance the | budget—a task President ‘Eisen- | hower has described as terrifically difficult. The Ohioan, the Senate’s Repub- \lican leader, told reporters he doesn’t believe the military can claim exemption. Senators Byrd (D-Vq), Ferguson (R-Mich) and Dirksen (R-Ill) agreed on that score. House members who heard Sec- retary of Defense Wilson testify Tuesday in a closed session said they got the impression he be- man had received Congressman |lieves few substantial reductions Lantaff’s wire, ‘but had not yet ;©an be made in the 46 billion dol- replied to the wire. lar military program outlined in —— | former President Truman's 78 bil- lion dollar budget. conformance with the policy of the new Republican Administra- tion, they had already asked C. C. Spades, St. Augustine Republican National Committeeman for a recommendation for an acting- Postmaster, Lantaff added that he had ask- ed a deputy in charge of post office operations if he would telegraph Spades and tell him that Bervaldi was withdrawing his resignation. The deputy replied that he would -have to have a direct request from Bervaldi be- ever, that if it is agreeable with Spades, the retirement application could be withdrawn and Bervaldi could retain his position. Following is the text of a wire sent by Lantaff to Spades on Wed- nesday: “Hollon Bervaldi, Postmaster at Key West for 14 years, recently of- fered his resignation due to a mis- understanding. He has asked my help in having it withdrawn. The Postoffice Department is reluctant to cancel Mr. Bervaldi’s retire- (Continued On Page Two) McCarty Is Hospitalized TALLAHASSEE (#—Gov. Dan McCarty was admitted to Tal hassee .Memorial Hospital here Wednesday night, apparently victim of the flu. The governor complained of an upset stomach and was advised to enter the hospital by his phy- sician, Dr. L. L. Dozier. The doc- tor said the governor apparently had contracted virus influenza. His condition is not serious. The governor's executive assist- ant, Warren Blackmon, said that as a result of his iliness McCarty has cancelled his engagements for the rest of this week, including a planned trip to Miami Friday. ;day that it Told about this, Taft : 4 think the military fists be cut. Pressed for figures, the Ohioan indicated he blieves the reduction will be substantial, but he wouldn't estimate how much. Taft agreed with Eisenhower's news conference statement yester- will be a terrifically difficult thing to bring revenues and spending in balarce. Ferguson hower'’s a i | | $1073.72 Added To Polio Fund Key West Junior Chamber of Commerce president Paul Esquin- aldo, March of Dimes chairman Jim Keen and March of. Dimes treasurer Chet Cold Paul J. Sher with a chee! $1073.72 as the contribution year’s fund from Dimes Ball which w: Casa Marina. Commander Ray W. Byrns, who last week an- nounced that he had been offered the appointment | as Postmaster in Key West following the announce- ment by Hollon Bervaldi that he is retiring, reveal- ed today that heis no longer in the running for the $6000 per year job, At the same time he revealed that he had recommended former Navy man Lee Goddard for the post. “Due to the top age re- quirement, [ found that I Police Officer ppointed Today Painted on the side of the cwop-| Track Receipts To per was one of the most welcome ; Go To Baby Jasper signs known to Navy pilots downed | The entire net gate OT C in the Sea of Japan off Korea’s; proceeds at the Key West Kennel Examination for Master ¢#st coast: “Last Chance Taxi." | } Club tonight will be given to a} , | What appeared to be a horse ee nece t, maien and Journeyman Plumber's! —_ (Continued On Page Two) Past performances by Vishinsky License. To be held at Ci | < fund for the se 21 | fndicate th paratively brief Walker to the Maps| rei of Amencas ole woud |Hall at 8 P.M., March 4, SOLIS Chie. Sockener,, Minweuin ort produce two hours or better of | 1953. THE WATCHMAKER treatment of a serious illness be Vitriolic rebuttal, The Soviet for-| New Address Aronovitz, track president has nounced. @ign minister usualiy takes his | Is 816 White Street | Aronovitz said that he dec! time to work up cach replies after (Continued On Page Two) (Continued On Page Two) |fice, are in Key West today con- lferring with the officials of the Key West Housing Authority it was announced by Ralph Betan- court, Chairman of the Local rd. Routine matters and additional housing for this area will be dis- they are to see officials of the U. wy concerning the trailer in the Salt Ponds off Flag- Avenue. expect to lea’ tomorrow Atlanta, Ga. Lodge deciared in his 12-minute speech that the new Republican administration intends to stand by the Indian resolution adopted by the Assembly in the first half of its seventh session last fall as the Key West Garden Club FLOWER SHOW Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, Feb. 28 through March 3 SHOW OPENS SAT. AT 6 P.M. ' admission | A. OS Abe an- Chetrmon: of Qrord| ided | | | | t ener GRAND OPENING § THE ISLANDER DRIVE-I RDAY N THEATRE