Dolan v. United States

• Decision Date: 17 October 1904
• Docket Number: 2,028.,2,027
• Parties: DOLAN et al. v. UNITED STATES. BARRETT v. SAME.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

133 F. 440

DOLAN et al. v. UNITED STATES.

BARRETT v. SAME.

Nos. 2,027, 2,028.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

October 17, 1904

James L. Minnis and Chester H. Krum, for plaintiffs in error.

David P. Dyer and Bert D. Nortoni (Horace L. Dyer, on the brief) for defendant in error.

Before VAN DEVANTER and HOOK, Circuit Judges, and AMIDON, District Judge.

AMIDON District Judge.

This case, like the case of Levin v. United States, 128 F. 826, 63 C.C.A. 476, arises out of the extensive frauds which were practiced in the city of St. Louis in the fall of 1902 in the naturalization of aliens. The evidence adduced upon the trial may be fairly summarized as follows The defendant John P. Dolan, at the time of the commission of the crimes charged, was chairman of the Democratic City Committee of the city of St. Louis. The defendant Thomas E Barrett was marshal of the St. Louis Court of Appeals, and was also an active politician of the same party as the defendant Dolan. The defendant Frank Garrett was a police officer of the same political persuasion, who lived and boarded with the defendant Dolan. Both Barrett and Garrett were Dolan's active friends and political supporters. At the time the offenses were committed there was about to be held in the city of St. Louis and in the state of Missouri the regular biennial election for city and state officers. The 14th day of October was the last day for registration of voters for that election. Before voters of foreign birth could be registered, they were required to present to the registration officers their certificates of citizenship and have the same noted on the registration books. The defendant John P. Dolan was the Democratic candidate for the office of constable-- a very lucrative position in the city of St. Louis. John Barbaglia, who was jointly indicted with the defendants, but was dismissed and used as a government witness, was a Democratic precinct committeeman of the Ninth Precinct of the Twenty-Fourth Ward, of which ward the defendant John P. Dolan was ward committeeman. Barbaglia was an active, aggressive young Italian, and president of the North American Italian Club located in said precinct. He resided on what is known in the city as 'Dago Hill,' which was an extensive Italian settlement, and was a leader among his people. The St. Louis Court of Appeals held several sessions of court in the nighttime for the purpose of naturalizing aliens. Mr. John H. Murphy was its clerk, and the defendant Thomas E. Barrett was its marshal. Barrett's part in the naturalization business was to stand in front of the judges and take from the aliens who passed into the court and before the judges a certain slip of paper which the alien bore, and which was of the following purport: 'Hon. John H. Murphy, Clerk of the St. Louis Court of Appeals: Please deliver to the party named certificate of citizenship. ' This slip of paper was signed by the proper member of the City or the Jefferson Democratic Club of St. Louis. Barrett would lay these slips on the desk of the clerk of the court. Some of the slips he wrote himself, and some of the certificates of citizenship he delivered to the applicants. The evidence shows that the naturalization of aliens was carried on in this court on the evenings of the 6th, 8th, and 10th of October, 1902, on an extensive scale. The aliens were collected in the corridors of the court and grouped according to their nationality-- Russian Jews, Bohemians, Italians, etc. At the proper time each group would be moved forward into the courtroom and the oaths administered to the aliens. The same witnesses testified generally for the whole group. To prepare for this large volume of business, the clerk, previous to the session of the court, signed and affixed the seal of the court to a large number of blank certificates, so that all he had to do was to fill in the names and the country of the applicant's nativity, and deliver the papers to the aliens or to some of the managers who had them in charge. He would afterwards make up his record from the slips. On the evening of the 10th of October he had a large number of these blanks thus signed and sealed which were unused. These he afterwards placed in a locker in his office, to which the defendant Barrett had free access as marshal of the court. The locker was never locked. Notwithstanding this facility of procedure and a remarkable diligence in collecting aliens, Barbaglia discovered, after the 10th of October, that there were a number of his countrymen who had not been brought before the court and for whom no papers had been obtained. He reported this fact to the defendant Dolan. Dolan stated to him that there would be no further sessions of the court for purposes of naturalization, but requested him to prepare a list of the Italians who had not received certificates. This Barbaglia did, and delivered to him a list of 13 names. Dolan delivered the list to the defendant Barrett, who thereupon purloined from the locker in the clerk's office a sufficient number of blank certificates to which the clerk's signature and seal had been affixed, and sent them by the defendant Garrett to Barbaglia. Barbaglia, under the supervision and by the direction of Garrett, filled up these blanks with the names of the Italians contained in the list above referred to, and delivered these papers to such Italians. The Italians used the same as evidence of their right to be registered as voters and to vote, and, in fact, registered and voted at the election which was held in November.

In the month of January, 1903, an investigation was instituted by the United States attorney and a grand jury concerning these naturalization frauds, and in connection therewith the United States attorney sent out numerous letters and subpoenas, calling to his office and before the grand jury the Italians to whom it was believed fraudulent certificates of citizenship had been issued. Among the persons so summoned was the defendant John Barbaglia. Immediately on receiving the letter he reported the fact to the defendants Dolan and Barrett. They advised him to get in at once the fraudulent certificates which had been issued to the Italians without any appearance in court. The main reason assigned for doing this was that these certificates had been filled out in Barbaglia's handwriting, and with a different colored ink from that which was used by the clerk of the court in filling out such papers, and there was fear that those facts would lead to a discovery. Upon Barbaglia's applying to his countrymen for a surrender of the papers, they refused to comply with his request, for the reason that they had registered and voted upon the papers, and they were fearful that they would be prosecuted for violation of the state election laws. Barbaglia reported their refusal to Dolan and Barrett. Thereupon Barrett procured a sufficient number of blank certificates of citizenship to duplicate these fraudulent ones, and filled them out to correspond with the fraudulent certificates, using the ink in the clerk's office, and forged the name of the clerk thereto, and affixed the seal of the court. Armed with these, Barbaglia was able to persuade all his countrymen to surrender the original certificates and accept the forged ones instead, except two, namely, Pietro Venegoni and Franck Ferrario. These surrendered certificates were immediately destroyed by Barbaglia by direction of Dolan and Barrett.

John Barbaglia was indicted and convicted at the May term of the District Court at St. Louis for his part in these transactions, and sentenced to the penitentiary for five years. After his conviction he made a full confession, and by means thereof, and other evidence to the discovery of which his confession led, the defendants Barrett, Garrett, and Dolan were indicted.

Ten indictments were found and returned against all four of the defendants, based upon section 5427 of the Revised Statutes (U.S.Comp.St. 1901, p. 3670). These indictments are identical in language, except that each one deals with a separate Italian whom it is charged that the defendants aided and abetted in violating the provisions of sections 5425 and 5426 (U.S.Comp.St. 1901, p. 3669). Each of these indictments contains ten separate counts. They are all based upon the same transaction, but are varied in their language to fit different offenses under the sections last mentioned.

The first count charges that the Italian feloniously used, for the purpose of registration as a voter, and for the further purpose of making it appear that he had been lawfully naturalized and admitted to become a citizen of the United States, a false certificate of citizenship purporting to have been issued to him by the St. Louis Court of Appeals.

The second count charges that the Italian feloniously used, for the purposes aforesaid, a certificate of citizenship procured by fraud.

The third count charges that the Italian feloniously attempted to use, for the purposes aforesaid, a counterfeit certificate of citizenship.

The fourth count charges that the Italian feloniously attempted to use, for the purposes aforesaid, a forged certificate of citizenship.

The fifth count charges that the Italian was feloniously possessed, with the intent to feloniously use the same for the purposes aforesaid, of a false certificate of citizenship purporting to have been issued to him by the St. Louis Court of Appeals, and which said false certificate then and there purported to have been issued under the provisions of the law of the United States relating to naturalization.

The sixth count charges that the Italian feloniously used, for the purposes aforesaid, a forged certificate of citizenship, then and there known to him to be forged.

The...