New York, Mar. 18.
New York's greatest bar scandal in'decades came to 2 sensational culmination to-day when the Appel-Jate Division of the Supreme Cou decided that a magistrate, Albert -H, Vitale, was unfit for the bench.
"Phe magistrate had been accused of perverting justice, of corruption andi of misuse of his office as a re-ult of revelations last autumn by Representative F. H. LaGuardia to the effect that Vitale had received a Gubstantial loan from the late Arnold Rothstein, New York gam-'Mer and "racketeer."
Formal charges of the most seathing description, filed by fellow at-romneys of the Bar Association after the investigation into he case, declared the magistrate to pea faithless public servant and, on. February 15, he was ordered ' by Presiding, Justice Victor J. Dowling! Yo show cause why he should not removed from the bench, Evidence presented to Justice Dowling by Kenneth M. Spence, chairman of the investigating committee, who acted as. Vitale sector along with George alle, another committee member, Indicated that Vitale received thyough the offices of the late Leonard Snitkin, an attorney, a loan of G.§20,000 from Rothstein, When he received this money, for the purpose of covering his margins in Banco d'Italia stock in July, 1928, Vitale "well knew that Rothstein was a person of evil fame and re~ putation and a notorious common gambler and that acceptance of the Joan would place him under financial and moral obligation to Rothtein," according to the Bar Association's charges.
In summing up the whole trans-faction the Bar Association, using Janguage of almost unprecedented atxength, stated:
"The loan was not procured in the ordinary course of business, as the respondent (Vitale) well knew. The respondent improperly and wilfully used the prestige, power and Influence of his office to procure aid Joan, and his conduct Ju accepting it, as the" respondent} well knew, was in reckless disregard of the honour and dignity of his ence, and his conduct tended to Smpair, and did impair public confidence in the integrity of criminal 'A second charge dealt with the care of Charles Faweett, brought! before him on August 8, 1928, on a charge of having stolen $79.31, from the till of Joseph Barth, Bronx shopkeeper. Vitale dismissed the charge, but subsequently order-the money to be returned to Marth, The Bar Association declared that the return of the money was to prevent dissatisfaction on the part] of Barth and to prevent the latter from. taking further proceedings, alleging "wilful and corrupt sup: pression of evidence" in the case.
In today's decision by the 'Appellate Division, it was shown' that the evidence proved that Vitale: entered office poor, and now owns property valued at G,$100,000, The case has rocked New York for months past, providing sensation after sensation and developing political ramifications of wide consequence. The unsolved mystery of the murder of Rothstein already caused a considerable political turn-over, bringing the present: police commissioner, Grover Whalen, Into office and now endangering: him in turn, Indications are that the Vitale affair will have a great, influence upon the next municipal election.—Vhited Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.