FROM THE BELL SYNDICATE, INC ,--RELEASE FRIDAY, NAY 11,$
1956
GR
DREW PEARSON
ON
THE WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND
(Copyright, 1956* by The Bell Syndicate, I n c . )
DREW PEARSON SAYS : MURRAY, CHOTImR 'S EASTERN LAW PRACTICE
INCLUDED TOP PHILADELPHIA RACKETEER; CHoTfNER PICICED NIXON'S
DElLEGA'I%S TO 1956 GOP CONVENTION;
Kf3 HELPED NXXON GET' VfCE\
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION I N '52,.
Washinzton, --More f,s l e a k i n g out regarding t h o (SentI m a n whom '&e
New 'York Times d e s c r i b e s as Vice ? r e s f d e n t Nixenis "hnchor .ulan,"
@
Murray Chotiiner. All of i t i n d i c a t e s b o t h
c l o s e n e s s of Chctfnor t o
Nfxon and t h e i n t e r e s t i n g manner i n which Chotiner s law practfcc
zoomed from c o a s t t o c o a s t a f t e r Nixon became Vice I ~ m s i d e ~ < t .
Here are some a d d i t i o n a l c l o s e assoclatio:ls Chotin;.r had. w i t h t h e
man who h a s a $ a i r chance o f becornin?; P r e s i d e n t of t h e Uniteti.States:
Just before t h e 195'2- GOP Copventiion--Chotin~r
s e n t 23,L)OO
le-tters o u t t o l e a d i n g C a l i f o r n i a n s under S e n a t o r Nixon t s f ' r ~ k d c ;
t,zking a p o l l r e g a r d i n g Eisenhower and Goverficr Warren. It had t h e
e f f e c t of c u t t i n g t h e ground a u t from under Warreu, thlns pavj-w t h e
way f o r Nixon f o r Vice Pi-esiderzt,
During t h e GOP C o ~ ~ v e n t i o n - - C h c t i ~ l eaccclrdin~-;
r,
t o Mrs , Nixonts
magazine meimlrs, wns with ht.r husband i n h i s h o t e l sul.tz, when
Browncl.1 c a l l e d t o s a y t h a t Nixori had been pTc'LceLi f o r second place..
A
.- f t e r the gldction--Whcn Nixon csked Trucian t o l e t him :g t o Mexico
f o r t h e i n a u g u r a t i o n of Ruiz C o r t i n a s , Chc:tLncr went alqmg as h i s
a s s i s t a n t , Trurrlan was still i n o f f i c e , an(? a t Nixon's request apace
was madc on t h e g o v e h x c n t ??.me f o r Chotiner t o r i d e from Washington
t o Mexico C i t y .
Before t h e com1npL G 2 Convention--Chot~ner acted f o r Nixon in
s e l e c t i n g one-third of t h e C a i i f c m i 2 . dc.l.egates t o a t t e n d t h c ' l
Convention. Aecordfng t o the San F r a n c i s c o Chroiiicle, Chotiner sat
i n t h e S t . F r a n c i s Hotcl.on t h e n i g h t of March 2 , j u s t t w c / months ago,
and, w i t h Bernard C . Brennan of Los Anzclcs, represented Nixon in
picking t-h e Nixon-Calif orn-ia d e l c g c t e s ,
Chotineq has also s l g n e d let'ccrs abtins as th a t t o r n e y f o r t h e
Vice P r e s i d e n t ax r e c e n t l y c?fi March 22 OS t h i s year.
Thus,-somo of t h e mnst i n t i m a t e e v e n t s i n Nixon's l i f e have bocn
connected with o r cntrustecl t o Murray Chotiner, r i g h t up t o t h e
present.
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Courtesy of American University Library - Special Collections, Washington, D.C.
MERRY-QO-RQUND--FRIDAY,
MAY Il--Page 2
--CHOTIMER'S
~
CLIENTS--
Here i s the background of some of C h o t i n e r ' s o t h e r c l i e n t s :
Marc6 Regine1l.i of P h i l a d e l p h i a and Camden, N . J . , was arrested 16
times between 1917 and 1942, He was convicted six times, &8r;icling i n
three p r i s o n s e n t e n c e s and t h r e e f i n e s . When h l s c i t i z e n s h i p was
chal.lenged, he r e t a t n e d a tnan of i n f l u e n c e , Chotiner, t o b l o c k h i s
d e p o r t a t i o n . Chotiner had nothing t o d o w i t h i t , b u t t h e c h a r a c t e r
of h i s c l i e n t i s shown by the- f a c t t h a t d e p o r t a t i o n proceedings
touched o f f sang warfare and k i l l c d f i v e men i n s o u t h Philadelphia
and s o u t h New Jersey.
Rive men--Joseph "Joe Italy" Suero; Joscph " J m Bananas" Bcllona,
Marshall Venezrale, Anthony Rcnc.def;to, ,znd Emanuol Gottobrio--were
k i l l e d i n the b a t t l e t o 'cake a v e r RcginoLli's rluinbers r a c k e t .
The P h i l a d e l p h i a P o l i c e Bureau i.. a c o n f i d e n t i a l l e t t e r dated July.
19, 1949, r e p o r t e d that t h e New J e r w y I t a l i a n mob was "headed by
Marco R e g i n e l l i , a l i a s tThe L i t t l e Guy,' who i s a b s o l u t e c z a r of the
I t a l i a n s i n the south Jersey and P h i l a d e l p h i a area."
The F e d e r a l N a r c o t i c s Bureau f u r n i s h e d the,Kefauver G r i m e . I n v e s t i b
g a t i n g Committee w i t h a l i s t of Mafia members. On the l i s b was Marc0
R e g i n e l l i . -He was a l s o i n c l u d e d on a l i s t of q o t u r i o u s r a c k e t e e r s
that t h e J u s t i c e Department t u r n e d over t o t h e KGfauver Committee.
Daniel S u l l i v a n , f o r m e r c h i e f o f the M i a m i Grim Commission,
d e s c r i b i n g n o r t h e r n mobsters moved t o FlorLda, t o l d the Ke$auver
Commit t e e :
"Closely ' a s s o c i a t e d w2th t h e n a t t h e Sands Hotel was &arco R e g i n e l l i
OP Camden, N . J . ,
a l s o 'known as 'The L - f t t l e Guyr who also appeared t o .
be a p a r t y d.n i n t e r e s t i n t h e i r gambling o p e r a t i o n s , . . I n February,
1949, the wire s e r v i c e was s h u t o f f i n the Miami Beach area. On the
Sunday subsequent t o t h a t shut-off there was a meeting a t the h o t e l
a t which Marco R e g l n e l l i , a l o n g w i t h 'Nigf Rosen, and a very few
othe6s i n the same group - at8ended."
--WHY HI3 HIRED CHOTINER-R e g i n e l l i t s p o l i c e r e c o r d shows a c o n v i c t i o n 2.n lg&? under the
Mann Act f o r t r a n s p o r t i n g Mrs. Louise Abate frm New J e r s e y t o F l o r i d a
f o r immoral purposes. Mrs. Abate was found dead l a s t year i n a motel
i n Margate C i t y , N . J .
R e g i n e l l i was questioriccl about the death,
b u t the coroner f i n a l l y decided t h a t d e a t h was caused by a c u t e
alcoholism
Herberk Levy, the U.S. N a t u r a l i z a t i o n Exminor, estimated
that R s g i n e l l i ' s income runs around $40,000 t o $50,000 a ycap. O f
,
this, only $7,500 was v i s i b l e income froin lcgitimaee business c n t e r prises.
\
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Courtesy of American University Library - Special Collections, Washington, D.C.
MERRY-GO-ROUND--FRIDAY,
MAY 11--PAGE 3
When Mayor Richardson Dllworth of P h i l a d e l p h i a was d i s t r i c t
a t t o r n e y , h i s a g e n t s placed w i r e - t a p s on wha$ appeared t o be* an
abandoned and f o r g o t t e n w i r e i n t h e a t t i c of a s o u t h P h i l a d e l p h i a
home. It turned OUZ t o be a d i r e c t wire f r e q u e n t l y used by t h e
mobsters, and amonG t h e phone c o n v e r s a t i o n s picked up w e r e some
by R e g i n e l l i himself
R e g i n e l l i h a s hired a host of Lawyers, all of them from the east.
But i n 1.952, James McGranery, Truman's Attarney General, listed
him f o r d e p o r t a t i o n along with about 100 o t h e r r a c k e t e e r s . Born in
Neprazzono, I t a l y , R e g i n e l l i had never t a k e n o u t c i t i z e n s h i p papers,
b u t f i n a l l y managed t o g e t them on June 21, 1955.
T h i s was three y e a r s a f t e r t h e Tpurnczn Administration had rdoved t o
d e p o r t him and a f t e r Herbel% ,Browno11, had taken over t h o J u s t i c a
Department.
It was quite r e c e n t l y , w i t h t h e h o t b r e a t h of d e p o r t a t i o n p a n t i n g
down h i s neck, t h a t R e g i n e l l i reached a l l t h e way 6 0 t h e w e s t c c a s t
t o h i r e the campaign manager and pergonal a t t o r n e y of Vice P r e s i d e n t
Nixon,
R c g i n e l l i had l e a r n e d about Chotiner through Herman and Sam Krayitz,
who were i n incorne-tax t r o u b l e , arld f r o m J o e y Abrams, a l l cf whom had
r e t a i n e d Cbotiner. Chotiner also r e p r e s e n t e d W i l l i a m A . Parzow of
M i a m i , whc r e f u s e d t o t e l l . Senate investi[;ators what he d i d w i t h
checks f o r $74,000.
(end Merry-Go-Round Release F r i d a y , May 11, 1956) 5/8/56
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