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ngurinial09tS.UI if-w.IJC-mto?ylistWIdIQuestion Raised as to Eligibility of Nonproperty OwningJuror to Serve.131 TRUE BILLS RETURNEDWife of Edward Fack, Says in DivorceSuit, Her Husband Is Not a Freeholder—Moral Cleanup.88'aolidx-%f£t»ecktl to The Indianapolis Ne«va|SOUTH BEND. Ind., February 25.—Onef hundred and thirty-one indictments werej returned 'ate yesterday by the circuit*] court grand jury, but will these indlct-Imenta stand?This Is the question which arose today following the filing of a divorce petition by one of the grand jurors’ wives, w*bo charges that her husband has no property. This charge raises the point of law as to whether or not It is necessary for a grand Juror to own property in order to qualify to sit on the inquisitorialbodyWas Fack Qualified?Edward Fack is the grand Juror who.ii re-ie 0 (8, jrofislre-thlePawleillerirftrs[rjlt Is said, was not qualified to sit on theiurv His wife. Margaret Fack filed herpetition, alleging that her husband said jhe had no property, but as he served as a grand juror at the present session, it was believed he must have property. ~ Cursory examination of the statute by attorneys Interested in the outcome of the indictments led them to believe the Indictments were valid, inasmuch as the law provides that one of the qualifications of a grand” Jurgr is tltat he must be either a freeholder or a householder. Fack Is at the head of a house and makes his home at New Carlisle, where he is the life tenant of a valuable farm. In addition. Fack is accused by his wife of being a gambler Half of the indictments returned by the grand jury, of which he was a member, are said to be for gambling.rnc-it■h11'h,sty.t10i-re5t►iMany Caught in the Cleanup.The report of the grand jury is the most Important moral cleanup thus far attempted by the city administration under Fred YV. Keller, mavor. elected on a citizens’ reform ticket. Questionable establishments of all kinds In the city have been caught in the crusade, and it is said several prominent business men will be arrested for bavih'g participated In a quiet poker game downtown recently. One of Mayor Keller’s vice squad Is said to have sat in the game. It Is expected the work of serving thewarrants on the 131 indictments will begin soon.The grand jury has been sitting withChester R. Montgomery', prosecuting*attorney. for three w*eeks. Speculation as to the number of people involved in the investigations has been rife, but it is believed that only about forty people are actually concerned.Speculation as to Indicted Persona.That the majority of the indictments are directed against law violators, suchas keepers of gambling houses, so-called '’red light resorts, and the like, is the prevailing belief. Charles Dibler, special investigator, who. together with Bert Omstead, the administration’s appointees, was seen entering the grand jury room nearly every day, after Tt became known that a cleanup crusade had been started. It is supposed that In many instances several indictments of one kind or another have been returned against one person, and that each indictment may have several counts.The grand jury report marked the com-Sletion of the investigations that have een conducted during the last three weeks.■ ■■■■' » «
Newspaper Details
Indianapolis News
Indianapolis, Indiana, US
Fri, Feb 25, 1916
Page 22
Full Page
Clipped by
Crown P.
IN, USA 01 Nov 2022
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