The Key West Citizen Newspaper, September 23, 1954, Page 1

Attend The Big Safety Week Rally In Bayview Park T. onigl ) Key West, Florida, has the most equable climate in the country, with an average range of only 14° Fahrenheit & Che Ken West Citisen VOL. LXXV Ne. 226 Love Triangle Slaying Case Defense Heard Dr. Mentzer Testifies In Hearing Today By BEN SMITH LAKELAND (#—Dr. Dodge D Mentzer testified today he sh golfer Billy Leigh only after Leigh Tefused to heed spoken warnings and a warning shot. The. prominent physician, ap- pearing before Justice of the Peace J. Tom Watson at a prelimina: hearing on a second degree mur- der charge, said the shooting fol- lowed a long series of warnings he had given Leigh to stay away from his wife. He said he had stayed up all the night before, upset by the situa. tion, knowing Leigh and his wife were together. He explained Leigh, 22, and Mrs. Mentzer, 38, came back to the fashionable Mentzer home at 6 a.m. Taunts Described Mentzer testified that Leigh taunted him with “I can do more for your wife than you can any- time, any place.” After Leigh refused to leave the home, Mentzer continued, he went out of the television room where the three had been talking, got a .38-calibre pistol and returned. “I told him that I had warned him last Christmas. I didn’t know what else to do if he kept after my wife except shoot him, but I did not shoot even then,” Mentzer testified. “His (Leigh’s) fists were knot- ted. He was leaning toward me on the balls of his feet, He moved toward me. I shot at least two feet to Hees, but he kept coming toward me. ai * “] shottwice at hibPiegs. At that he broke. I tried to get out of his way and let him out, but he said, *You s--0--b--—--’ and jumped me.” Gun “Went Off” At that, he said he fell back- ward, both struggled for the gun “and it went off.” Leigh was shot twice in the up- per thigh and once just below the breast bone, the latter wound caus- ing death. Dr. Mentzer testified he and Leigh became good golfing friends about four years ago but with the passing of time saw that Leigh and his wife were becoming more than friends. He added that on one occasion— the month before the shooting— his wife was away from home three days without letting him know where she was. Also in the month before the shooting she instituted divorce proceedings but dropped them three days later and plans for a reconciliation were approved by the court. Humiliation Told Dr. Mentzer saic that he felt humiliated and heart broken about the persistence with which his wife and Leigh saw each other. “It’s something to find your wife running around with a 22-year-old boy,” he said. “I’m 40. It takes a good man to put up with that sort of thing.” He said Leigh was bigger, stronger and in better health than he was and he felt sure that if Leigh came to his house April 7 after all the warnings Leigh was prepared for a showdown and that he would have to be ready to de- fend himself. Mentzer took the stand after wit- Nesses put on by County Solicitor Clifton Kelly said the doctor had threatened to kill Leigh if he did not stay away from his wife, that | THE installed last night at a meeting held at the VFW home. Front row, left to right, are Arent. Sjursen, Sr., senior vice commander; Reginald Murphy, national adjutant and installing off: Edward Haury, junior vice commander, and Hagry L. Rogers, adjutant. Oliver’ J. Trombly, judge advocate; Napoleon B. Shannahan, guard; Clarence I. Webb. comman- der, and B. G. Johnson, chaplain.—Citizen Staff Photo, Sybil. SOUTHERNMOST. NEWSPAPER KEY WEST, FLORIDA, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1954 Back row, left to right, For Fleming Officer Tried For Conduct As POW Sentenced Today By BARL AYKROID FT. SHERIDAN, Ill. (®—Lt. Col. Harry Fleming, first American Army officer court-martialed for conduct as a prisoner of war, was sentenced today to dismissal from the service. In addition he must forfeit all | pay and allowances, under terms! of the purtishment assessed by an! ll-man military court which con-| victed him of collaborating with the Communists while a prisoner in Korea. | The court-martial vf 11 colonels | and lieutenant colonels deliberated for 12 hours before fixing flem- ing’s punishment. The officers con- sidered the extent of the penalty from late yesterday afternoon until 3:30 a.m. today. The court-martial reassembled at 9 a.m. (EST) to deliver its verdict. Tense Listeners Most of the prosecution and defense witnesses were in the court room when the sentence was an- nounced. Many of the men who were prisoners of war in Korea with Fleming stood tensely in the | courtroom waiting for the court’s decision. “Thank God I’m out of prison now—this one and the Commu-} nist’s,” Col. Fleming said. After | the sentence was pronounced he added: “Tl do everything I can to clear my name.” al “Dismissal from the service is Mentzer did shoot the youth and| a few minutes later told a neigh-! bor, “That’s the boy I’ve been| looking for.” The state’s star witness was | Mrs. Mentzer, who described the| shooting in the television room of | the Mentzer home OPENING TODAY CIFELLI'S RESTAURANT 920 TRUMAN AVENUE Opening Day Special HOME MADE LASAGNE OPEN 4 TILL 9 DAILY Except Mondays |here.”” | CONTRIBUTION TOLD the funeral. \ROYALTY LEAVES pretty hard to take. I don’t intend | to stop the fight which started | The colonel said he wished to/ express “his tremendous thanks to | his friends and to those who never heard of me before this thing but) who have responded with hundreds of letters wishing me well. Members of the Key West Po- lice Department made a contribu- tion of $8.50 to the Roosevelt Cash family and also sent a wreath to} NEW YORK (#—The Duchess of Kent and her daughter, Princess | Alexandra, left for home * yester- | day on the Queen Mary after a Canada. jbout 1:40 a. brief tour of the United States and | City Postpones Action On Tax Revaluation Program At Meet Dismissal From City Fathers To After Consolidation Voting eovPhe city eommissiyn moved to make further study’ of three low bids for a general reassessment program for the city, but they will take no action until after the No- vember general election whe on whether or not the city and county tax offices will be consolidated. Bids presented to the city commission yesterday at a special meeting ranged from 30 to 60 thousand dollars for a “complete reassessment to from $8,700 to 30 thou- sand dollars for “consultation.” ‘ Wait Until aie n Florida voters will decide eee Store Manager Is Sought For Embezzlement Police here and in the Mia- mi area today were looking for Philip Longmire, 53, manager of Gold Coast Casuals, 423-B Duval St., who ippeared with more than $1,200 of the store’s money in checks and cash. The sheriff’s department said Longmire was charged with embezzlement by Richard Rud- inger of Miami, an owner of the store, before Justice of the Peace tra Albury. Witnesses, the sheriff's office said, saw him enter the store about 8 a, m. Sunday. Long- mire, who lived at the La Con- cha Hotel, has not been seen since. A state-wide alarm has been broadcast for his yellow Buick sedan, the sheriff's department 3 Whisky Is Stolen From Bar Today Thieves who broke into the Mid- get Bar, Simonton and Greene Sts. | early today, will be able to have | a real party, according to the po- lice department, | Thomas Russell, proprietor of the ; establishment said that they made off with two cases of whisky along' with six loose bottles. Russell, who closed the bar a- m. today, said that} he discovered the theft when he prepared to open for business this morning. The thief gained entrnce by forcing a side door. The sheriff's department is in- vestigating the case. RECRUITING DRIVE HONG KONG (#) — Peiping says that China’s Red Army will recruit 450,000 men as “reinforce- ‘political fence” Equipment for Restaurant ment and replacement to the armed forces.” City Tax Assessor Robert Pollock presented the fig- ures after obtaining bids on the proposals. He was in-| structed to make a study of | possible reassessment by the city commissionseveral weeks ago. City Commission- er Paul R. Roberts has spear- | headed the drive for reas-| sessment. | Of three members present at yesterday’s meeting, Commissioner Roberts spoke out strongly in favor of the proposal, Commission- er Louis Carbonell opposed it flat- ly and Commissioner Jack Delaney was non-committal during the dis- cussion. Wants The Facts Tax Assessor Pollock said that he was not recommending reassess- ment, and neither was he oppos- ing it. “I was just told to get the facts,” he said. Commissioner Roberts said that he asked for the meeting to re- quest a program of reassessment “to correct some obvious inequali- ties in the tax toll rolls.” “Do you think the tax rolls are equalized,” commented Commis- sioner Roberts, “Some people are} paying high taxes and others are! getting away with murder. rn! take the tax book page by page and show you it isn’t equalized.” Carbonell said: “I am not going to pick on any one person or group. | You are out to get the big fellow you’re after and you'll get a lot of little ones.” “Inequality” i When Carbonell said ‘there is inequality on both sides of the Roberts replied: “The fact that I am for a pro-| gram of this sort is proof that I) am not playing sides.” He held that the survey would, (Continued on Page Five) For Sale! For Sale! For Sale! Complete Kitchen Including Stainless Steel Auto- | matic dishwasher ... Like new TELEPHONE 2-7500 \eration Flashbulb, a joint Navy- |up. The engine of AVR 87 went jalso was on the project. |Jo Ann Johnson and Olga Yglesia. sisi ene Ts kee Oe IN THE U.S.A, For Quick Communication, Use CLASSIFIED Ads! You'll reach buyers and sellers— tenants or workers . . . Just DIAL 2.5861 or 2-5662 Today At 8 NTS Bridge Dist. Commission Won't Join SRD In Sui All Seven Members Of Croup Make Decision Wednesday £50,000 In Budget Needs Told To Chest Organizations affiliated with the Key West Com- munity Chest will require more than 50 thousand dollars for their operation this year, Family Of Injured Man IsGrateful Roemhilds Express Gratitude For Aid In Son’s Accident The. parents of a sailor who lost his foot in a towing accident last week today told The Citizen they “want- ed to thank everybody for being so nice and kind to Bobby.” Mr. and Mrs. Harry Roemhild, of Philadelphia, came here after fhetr son, Robert James Roemhild, 19, a fireman aboard AVR 87, lost his left foot in a towing accident off Dry Tortugas Sept. 16. His foot became entangled in a bight of the tow line. “Everybody has been so _ nice and considerate to Bobby,” Mrs. Roemhild said. Thanks Expressed “We told him we wanted to thank everyone,” Mr. Roemhihi said, “but we don’t even know the names of all the people who help- ed Bobby.” “He suggested that we go to The Citizen,” Mrs. Roemhild added. “We tried to get in touch with the Navy doctor who treated Bobby at the scene of the accident,” she went on, “but we couldn’t reach him, They told us he was out on a submarine.” Mrs. Roemhild was referring to Lt. James Ellis Stark, MC, USN. } Dr. Stark was © board a nearby AVR (aviation rescue vessel) at the time. Swims To Aid Although his left forearm was in splints, the seas were running eight to 10 feet high, and it was a Pitch black night, Dr. Stark leaped overboard and swam 50 yards to reach the injured sailor aboard AVR 87. The Roemhilds also wanted to thank Ledr. Charles A, Hooper, of- ficer in charge of the Navy’s Un- derwater Photographic team. Ledr. Hooper is in charge of Op- Sylvania Etectric Corp. project that involves photographing a mid- get submarine underwater at night and in color. H It has been planned to shoot the | photo that night but a storm canie dead and it was while the AVR was being towed that the accident | occured. Tourniquets Applied H When the tow line snapped young | Roemhild’s leg, Ledr. Hooper! quickly put three tourniquets on) the injured man. The Roemhilds also named Bill | Jones, lab technician in the Navy’s | Photo Center in Washington, who Jones and Ledr. Hooper return- | ed to Washington yesterday. Ed Ciesinski, 504 Simonton, Key West diver who also was working on Operation Flashbulb, came in| for an expression of thanks, too. “We just want to thank every- one for being so nice and helpful (Continued on Page Five) Blow — Storm!! I’M SHUTTERED with MATERIAL from STRUNK LUMBER 120 SIMONTON, near Bank it was revealed at a meet- |ing of the organization in the county court house Wed- nesday night. Chest president William R. Neb- lett, presided at the meeting, at which time the following organiza- tions submitted budgets: The Sal- vation Army, NCCS Sclub, Monroe County Juvenile Council, Com- munity Servicemen’s Center, Key West Youth Center, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, USO, the Bookmobile, American Heart Society and the Monroe County Blood Bank Com- mittee. Hearings Set The Budget and Admissions com- mittee will begin hearings tonight in the offices of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Commission, Southard St. Paul J. Sher and Joe Pinder are co-chairmen of the committee. Members are Mrs. Mary Sinclair, Ernest Ramsey, Earl R, Adams, and Manuel Lopez. Meanwhile, Sam Collins, general chairman of the Chest drive an- nounced the names of the follow- ing ‘‘Colonels” who will head up principal divisions: Colonels Named Navy, Capt. D. H. McClintock; Business, Louis Carbonell; Govern- ment, Gerald Saunders; Commerce and Industry, M. E. Bennett; Pro- fessional, Ignatius Lester; Clubs and Organizations, Mervin Thomp- son; Special Gifts, Roy Duke and Colored, Marie Welters. Neblett also announced last night that Leroy E. W. Schaefer, loca! insurance man, has claimed the privilege of being the first contri- butor. His check for $100 was turn- ed over to the treasurer by Neb- lett. LSS FALL FOR THIS? Today is the first day of Fall. Notice anything different? School Beauties Selected As Queen Candidates Eight of Key West’s most charm- ing school girls have been selected by their classmates from the four upper classes of Key West High School and the Convent of Mary Immaculate as candidates to reign for one year as Safety Queen of Key West. From these, one will be selected by the Key West Safety Council board of judges and wil be crown- ed with appropriate ceremonial rites by Mayor C. B. Harvey at the colorful safety rally scheduled for eight o’clock tonight at Bay- view Park. In addition to the glory thereof, the Safety Queen will also receive a more practical reward in the form of $15 worth of dry cleaning credit at the Poinciana Cleaners thru the public spirit of Key West Safety Counci! member Frank Bar- | talone. The queen will be chosen from the selected group which includes Jane Begin, Fabiola Agaisse, Ka- therine Pratt, Dorothy Pinder, Ile- ana Fueyas, Madeline D. Barcee, The Local KIWANIS CLUB Will Play the UPPER KI- WANIS CLUB ina... BENEFIT COMIC SOFTBALL GAME SATURDAY NIGHT AT 8:00 P.M. IN BAYVIEW PARK The game promises to be one of the most hilarious of the year. Tickets are on sale from any Kiwanis member. They can al- so be purchased at game time Saturday night. By DENIS District yesterday afternoon dollars in allegedly misspent The meeting was in the seven commission members —————————w Police Search For Errant Motorist Police issued an appeal to- day for possible witnesses to an automobile scooter accident which occurred on Roosevelt Bivd. early last evening. Patrolman Bernard Waite said today that the driver of the scooter, J. T. Soulis, of Pearl’s Trailer camp, Stock Is- land, suffered a ‘broken arm when he was forced over the road by a black Mercury se- dan. The accident occurred a- bout 500 yards south of the Navy Ho: | triangle. Both vehicles were travelling north. Since traffic was heavy at the time of the accident, Waite theorized that some passing mo- torist may have observed the accident and be able to identify the automobile, Wife Of Navy Captain Dies Suddenly Here Mrs. Christine McOsker Momm, 49, died suddenly last night. She was the wife of Capt Albert 0. Momm, USN, Commander, Sur- face Anti-Submarine Development Detachment. The Navy’s Public Information Office here, which announced the death this morning, said that the office had not been given details as to where, when or from what cause Mrs. Momm died. She is survived by Capt. Momm, three children, and a brother. The children are Mrs. Barbara Jean Karcher, 24, whose husband, Ensign Robert Karcher, is aboard the USS Perkins at San Diego, Calif.; Eleanor Francis, 19, a stu- dent at the Convent of the Holy |Name, Rome, N. Y.; and John Al- bert, 14, a student at Valley Forge Military Academy, Wayne, Pa. The brother is Alan K. Mc@M- ker, Auburndale, Mass. Mrs. Momm was born Sept. 6, 1905, at Lowell, Mass. A spokesman at the Naval Hos- pital said Mrs. Momm was dead on arrival at the hospital where she was brought in a Navy am- bulance. Demeritt, chairman, said today. An autopsy will be performed on the body, the spokesman added. School Building Needs Here To Be Surveyed Preparations fur the survey of | school building needs here are be- ing sent to Horace O’Bryant, sup- erintendent of public instruction, he said today. } | He received this information in a \letter from Dr. F. A. Rhodes, as- sistant in surveys, of the state | school system. The letter said the preparations |for the arrival here of the survey jteam should include: 1. Spot maps showing where each student of each school lives. 2. Charts showing attendance et each school by years. This will in- dicate a trend in school popula- tion. 3. The number of pupils now at each school. 4. Sketches of each school site and a plan of the building. SNEIGR Commissioners of the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge voted not.to join the State Road Board in a suit to recover a quarter of a million district funds. county court house and all were present, Anthony The commissioners had been scheduled to meet to- morrow at 5 p.m. with James McEwen, Hillsbor- ough state attorney, and George Dayton, road board attorney, who filed the suit here September 14. Whether or not that meeting will still be held after yesterday’s de- velopment was not known when The Citizen went to press today. Dayton Is Told Demeritt said he talked with Dayton by phone about noon today and told him of the commission's decision. Dayton, according to Demeritt, said he saw no use in coming here but that if he and McEwen decided to make the trip they would wire Demeritt. Dayton was in Dade City when he talked with Demeritt today. The decision was made at yes- terday’s meeting, Demeritt added, because two commissioners — Tique Esquinaldo, Sr., and Carl Bervaldi — said they would not be able to attend tomorrow’s meeting. Dayton and McEwen had asked that all seven commissioners be Present. Unanimous Decision The decision not to join the suit was unanimous. The motion not to join the suit was made by Commissioner Joseph Cleare and seconded by Bervaldi, The motion by Cleare was: “Inasmuch as several members of the board of commissioners had served notice they would not be available for a meeting requested by Mr. George Dayton and Mr, James McEwen on Friday, Sept. 24, and as it is the opinion that the full attendance be present at the special meeting, that the com- mission for expediency, all mem- bers being Present, express the view that considerable political Play appears to have occurred re- cently in reference to the affairs of the Bridge District and that t would be unwise to engage in liti- gation based on audits of which the commission is not informed and the commission is not in a pos- ition to judge from the information it has received whether or not it should join in the suit and there- fore leaves the matter of litiga- tion up to the parties who are res- Ponsibile for the audit.” Misspending Claimed Dayton and McEwen filed the suit for an accounting of about a quarter of million dollars in dis- trict funds which the bill of com- Plaint alleges was misspent. The suit was filed on behalf of the members of the State Road Board. At the time the suit was filed, McEwen predicted the commis- sion would join the suit. Named as defendants were: Alonzo Cothron, a contractor. Brooks Bateman, former general manager of the toll district. Floyd Lamb, as an individual and as owner of the Floyd Lamb Construction Co. The Fidelity and Deposit Com- pany of Maryland, which bonded Bateman. D. M. Andrew, former employe of the district. Earlier this year Bateman and Cothron were tried on grand lar- ceny charges involving district funds. A Criminal Court jury found them not guilty. At that trial, the prosecution was headed by John Marsh, Dade Coun- ty solicitor. McEwen assisted Marsh.