Word: grunewald
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Throughout the House investigation of the Internal Revenue Bureau scandal, one name kept popping up with mysterious regularity. It was the name of Henry Grunewald, a shadowy Washington operator who apparently enjoyed a large and useful set of acquaintances among the influence peddlers. Theron Lamar Caudle, the ousted Assistant Attorney General, testified that it might have been Grunewald who called Chicago Attorney Abraham Teitelbaum and warned him to pay off a tidy item of $500,000 if he wanted to stay out of income-tax trouble. Charles Oliphant, the resigned Revenue Bureau counsel, admitted that he was a close friend...
...things went wrong, right from the start. "Why, I've seen that guy around a hundred times," said one waiting photographer. "I thought he was just an ex-pug." Grunewald, a stumplike man with a florid face and a squashed nose, seemed willing enough to talk. His lawyer, however, had different ideas. Mincing around in front of Grunewald was dapper William Power Maloney, who chirruped: "He's not answering any questions." "Say ah," teased a reporter, but Henry wouldn't. Then lawyer and client disappeared into the subcommittee's hearing room...
...doors. Brooklyn's Democratic Representative Eugene Keogh, substituting for Committee Chairman Cecil King, was armed with a gavel and a special pounding block for the big show. But before five minutes had gone by it was obvious that Maloney, his bluff called, was not going to let Grunewald answer questions even in open session. The lawyer tried to read a statement. Keogh, whamming away with his gavel, shouted: "Mr. Maloney, you're out of order. Mr. Maloney, the subcommittee is not listening to you." Roared Maloney: "I cannot see how you can fail to hear...
Finally, Keogh agreed that Grunewald might read Maloney's statement. Grunewald fumbled with the pages, read haltingly, without even changing the phrases which referred to "my client." Essence of the statement: Grunewald wasn't going to answer any questions, because the subcommittee had turned itself into a trial court and was judging and convicting defendants without due process...
...lunch, said Oliphant, Grunewald made "casual inquiry" about the Teitelbaum case. Oliphant checked the record at his office and told Grunewald the status of the case. Two days later, Oliphant acted to speed up prosecution of Teitelbaum-a handy tool for the fixers, who had, so Teitelbaum said, threatened him with speedy prosecution if he didn't come across with a $500,000 bribe. But Oliphant just couldn't remember why he did that...