Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-03-24 | Page 13 | Police Coerced Him, Gill Witness Says

POLICE COERCED HI, GILL WIMSS SAKS Waiter Testifies That Sergeant Ser-geant Threatened Him and He Ran Away. SEATTLE, March 23. Eddie Meti-dorf, Meti-dorf, a restaurant waiter who was called yesterday by the defense in the so-called so-called -whisky graft trial to swear that Logan Billingsley bad bribed him to testify against Mayor GUI, went on the stand this afternoon and told an amazing amaz-ing story of police coercion to obligo him to commit perjury to discredit tho prosecution. The defendants on trial are Mayor Hiram C. Gill, Chief of Po-' lice Charles L. Beckingham and Detectives Detec-tives Peyser, Poolman, Boom and McLennan, Mc-Lennan, charged with conspiracy to violate vio-late the federal laws by importation of linnnr intn Hia atnfo TT..liinn., Metzdorf said in part: About two or three weeks afro I was approached by Police Sergeant William B. Kent, who said Gill au.l the bunch were in a tight place and I could help them a lot because knew the Billingslcys and could frame up a story they had given me money to testify against Gill. Kent threatened me, saying I had been arrested five years ago and was still under parole. Fie said he could put me in jail and keep me (here if he wished. Under his threats T told him I would do it. Kent said he would send a man to me at the proper time and asked if $100 would be all right for the work. Last .Saturday a man whom I did not know came to me and asked me if I did not remember him, and said his name was Smith. At this point Watson A. .Smith, who testified yesterday that, Logan Blllijgs-ley Blllijgs-ley had offered him $100 to commit perjury, per-jury, was brought into tho courtroom and identified by Motzdorf as the man who had accosted him. frmith handed him an envelope containing con-taining $100 he said. He then testified lie told a false story to Rcamos, though he declared he was anxious to see Lo-gan Lo-gan Billingsley and tell him tho truth, l inally. fearing prosecution for his false stories, be ran away to Spnkaho.