CRIME: Hollywood Ending

For an ex-Chicago street urchin, ex-newsboy, ex-pimp, Willie Bioff did all right by himself in Hollywood. Last week a jury in New York Federal court decided he had done a lot of wrong as well.

For the Government, which accused Willie and his friend George E. Browne of racketeering, a group of moviemen told of paying $887,700 to the two bosses of the A.F. of L. stagehands' union—under threat of strikes if they resisted the shakedown. Then Willie Bioff took the stand to give his own version of his success story. He blandly raised the total that moviemen had given him to more than $1,000,000. But he denied completely that it was extortion money. His story:

He met President Nicholas M. Schenck of Loew's, Inc. in 1934, got friendly with him over office luncheons at which each ate an apple. Three or four meetings and a half-dozen apples later, Schenck asked him a favor. Brother Joseph Schenck (onetime chairman of 20th Century-Fox, now appealing a three-year sentence for income-tax evasion) was gathering a fund to fight "sandbagging" of the movie industry by State legislatures. Somebody had to pick up the money from the industry, deliver it to Joe.

Willie took this job. In return the movie magnates were very good to Willie Bioff. They sent him and his wife to Europe and South America. Joe Schenck lent him $100,000 to buy an alfalfa farm, gave him $8,000 after a good evening at poker, gave him also a sun cabinet to sweat away his belly and a portrait inscribed "To my friend Willie." It was wonderful.

In crossexamination, U.S. Attorney Matthias F. Correa concentrated less on this story than on its author. Willie admitted that he had been known at various times as Morris Bioff, William Berg, Harry or Henry Martin, Mr. Bronson. Then Correa went into Bioff's testimony on previous occasions, got him to admit to one lie after another given under oath. When the total reached six, Judge John Clark Knox interrupted: "Don't you feel bound by the sanctity of an oath?"

Said Willie firmly: "Judge, I certainly do."

The jury took just under two hours to find Bioff and Browne (who did not testify at all) guilty of all the Government charges—racketeering, extortion, conspiracy. Possible maximum sentence on each count: ten years, $10,000 fine.

Said Judge Knox: "[You jurymen] have done a very excellent job. ... A national scandal. . . . All labor unions will doubtless be glad to have the unions purged of such individuals as these."

Willie rubbed his fat chin, said nothing.