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nsm,i miledtedth-mofS,LBURKART CASEBEING STUDIEDBY COMMISSIONDefendant Admits Kissing Married Woman During Conduct HearingYOfbers.iG-Ofjieorofofm.]]-enndci-:estorhoOilnaLima’s civil service commission Wednesday night, took the appeal case of Bernard L. Burkart, 41, ousted city detective, under advisement for several days after hearing the testimony of eight witnesses.Charged with immoral condnet and failure of good behavior by reason of his open association with a married woman whose husband is in the service, Burkart, called to the stand by Defense Attorney Harry R Meredith, told the commission that he had kissed Mrs. Dorothy Bell, 20, of Lima Route 1 several times.Police Chief Kerin it L West-bay Thursday said he had no ^oimiicut to make concerning tlu* •»!.'(foment of Bernard L Jbirkait, discharged cily detec-liic, at a chii «soriire hearingWednesday night, that he ordered mileage on police cruiser-.llu rkart said he had been instructed along with the other officers to put miles on the ears, when he was questioned as (oiwhy he drove the cruiser to the west outskirts of the city in December, 1044.formed by the chief that there was sufficient evidence to warrant the die harsc.Inspector itosd Ltfndfalr testified he bad no knowledge of the complaint against Burkart until told by the chief the day of thesuspension.Taking the stand as character witnesses for Burkart were G, Dale Oremean of Lima Route 4, Don P. Kunkelman of Lima Route X and Frank J,, Burkart of 724 W.Elm-st, Burkart’* father.Prosecutor’s witnesses included Police Sgt. James G, Goodwin, Mrs. Katherine Gavalas o1823 Weadock-*av, and Carson Jones of 1309 W. High-st,Summing up his case, Meredith labeled the charge against the detective as frivolous” and said, If the chief of police is going to remove officers on grounds like this, you won’t have a police department in the city, starting from the top down.”He stated that the civil sendee commission was created for the rro*ection of civil service employ.-3 and not for the political whims of men in office.Van Blargan said he believed the chief was leaning over backwards to be fair to Burkart but that he probably should have made a closer investigation. He pointed out that the citizens of Lima have something te say about the acts of ciiy employes.He dec” a red that the accused detective va going with a married woman whose husband was in service and said that in his opinion kissing a married woman under such circumstances did not constitute good behavior.POISON BULLETSTRIED BY NAZIS:Ul. -A IAlinle-lo-?-bele-He explained that the kissing was done in a spirit of fun” dui-(Continued Fiom Page One)St.icter-attn.and weird experiments was pre-ing a surprise birthday party for I sented in support of the prosecu-him, given by Mrs. Anna kun-keleman of Ljma Route 1, Mrs.Bell’s mother, at her residence. He said he and Mrs. Bell were friends and that their families were friends.Burkart testified the first he knew of ouster proceedings against him was on Nov. 8, the dav he was handed his suspension rt.1 by Police Chief Kermit L. West- j Warren Farr of the American er-jbav, preparatory to h»3 discharge,! prosecution staff handled presen-tien's charge that every branch of the SS was involved in the Nazi concentration camp program and the entire organization, was guilty of war criminality.This was the last day of hearings in 1945. Today's adjournment marked the beginning of a holiday recess, with the trial to bfe resumed early in January.2d.ne-M-in icd as jr-llie!/ree; of! ar-‘ of rs. st.bynk:is-er,lerand that he had received no complaints from either Westbay 01-in his immediate superior, Inspector nd! Ross Landfair.When informed of the charge rst by the chief, Burkart asked him why he did not prefer charges before that date and Westbay answered that he had been gathering evidence, Burkart testified.Asked by Meredith the reason fbr bis trip outside of the westboundary of the city, in the police ciuiser in December, 1944, wljen he was reportedly followed by Westbay, JBurkart said he was following orders.“I had received instructions as had the rest of the departmentto put miles on the police cars,” Burkart answered.Cross-examined, Burkart saidthat there was no disagreementbetween himself and Westbay andhe knew of no reason why thachief would want him removed.He said he bad driven Mrs. Bellfiom her home to Lima as amatterdivorce, and had escorted her to theatres and restaurants on numerous occasions.Lee Van Blargan, city solicitor, asked Burkart, “Knowing her husband was overseas, you still wenttation of evidence against the SB He said probably 750.000 former members of the organization now may be facing conviction as members of a criminal group.Farr introduced voluminous correspondence showing SS responsibility for the notorious experiments at Dachau by Dr. Sigmund Raseher on behalf of the German air force. The SS undertook to furnish Alim with humanuraea pigs for “experiments byom 22 'he 2 ei -r a me eir ofwhich the subjects can of course, die.Raseher experimented with tbe effects of oxygen shortages such as those at high altitudes, and on reviving aviators who had been immersed in frigid waters.He found that when the water temperature reached 28 degrees centigrade, the experimental subjects died invariably, despite all attempts at resuscitation.ACTOR TO TAKE WIFE HOLLYWOOD. Dec. 20 -(UP) —Actor Bill Edwards said today*• I.;,*he would be uiai ned-Jan. 21 it»of courtesy, prior to msi— j ±Hazel Alien, a doctor s assistant «umini v62,en~no-Duluth, Minn., whom he met telephone five months ago.viaAWAITS REASSIGNMENTHONOLULU, T. H., Dec. 20— (UP)—Lt. Gen. Richard K. Suther* out with Mrs. Bell?” and Burkart land, former chief of staff of Gen.replied in the affirmative.Summoned by Meredith, Mayor W. L. Ferguson said he signed to 1 the order for Burkart's removal a on Westbay’s recommendation. All he knew of the case was whatthe chief told him he said, andadded that he did not talk with Burkart.He said he left the running of the city departments to the department heads and that he had signed the order when he was jn-Douglas MacArtbur, today was here eh route to the U. S. for reassignment. He is- traveling aboard Mac Arthur’s personal planeBataan.”ieltitrstiilebeen-ge-B.JBgBSSX« *a I888D HERI
Newspaper Details
The Lima News
Lima, Ohio, US
Thu, Dec 20, 1945
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Lane P.
OH, USA 05 Mar 2021
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