People v. Pouchot

174 Ill. App. 1, 1912 Ill. App. LEXIS 230
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 16, 1912
DocketGen. No. 16,393
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 174 Ill. App. 1 (People v. Pouchot) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Pouchot, 174 Ill. App. 1, 1912 Ill. App. LEXIS 230 (Ill. Ct. App. 1912).

Opinion

Mr. Presiding Justice Duncan

delivered the opinion of the court.

The plaintiffs in error, F. A. Pouchot and M. J. Boyle and Martin B. Madden, were indicted in the Criminal Court of Cook County for conspiracy. Upon trial they were all severally found guilty by the jury “in manner and form as charged in the indictment,” and their penalty or fine fixed at $500 each, and the Court entered judgment and sentence against each one of them accordingly.

Since the joinder in error in this Court, the death of Martin B. Madden has been suggested on the record, and judgment has been entered in this court that the writ of error abate as to said Madden. O’Sullivan v. People, 144 Ill. 604; United States v. Mitchell, 163 Fed. 1014.

Of the eight counts of the indictment upon which plaintiffs in error and Madden were tried the first, second, fifth, seventh and eighth charged them with a conspiracy to obtain money from the Joseph Klicka Company, a corporation, by means of false pretenses. All of said counts, except the seventh, charged that the said company was the owner of a certain building in process of construction, upon which were employed a large number of mechanics and workmen; that plaintiffs in error and Madden unlawfully, willfully and maliciously advised and procured certain of said mechanics and workmen to cease their work upon said building and to go out on “a strike,” and while they were so out on a strike, plaintiffs in error willfully, unlawfully- and maliciously conspired to obtain and did obtain from said company a large sum of money, to-wit, $1,000, by means of certain false pretenses, to-wit, that they had authority and power to settle the strike for money; that they had control and influence and power and authority to order and compel the said workmen and mechanics so striking to resume their work, provided plaintiffs in error were paid money; and that plaintiffs in error well knew they had no such authority, power, control or influence, etc. The seventh count charged, in general words, a conspiracy of plaintiffs in error to obtain the sum of $1,000 of said company by means of false pretenses without specifying such pretenses. The third, fourth and sixth counts are common-law counts and charged plaintiffs in error with a conspiracy to extort $1,000 in money from the Joseph Klicka Company by threatening to continue the strike unless said money was paid, etc.

The evidence in this case discloses that in the month of September, 1908, the Joseph Klicka Company was constructing a factory building at 20th street and California avenue, Chicago. Different parts of the work were by the company let to different contractors. D. L. Frasier was the superintendent of construction of this building for the company. Emil Klicka was its president. Plaintiffs in error were officers and agents of various labor unions. Each class of workmen- were organized into unions. The various unions were affiliated with the central organization called The Associated Building Trades. They were again organized into another central body, called the Board of Business Agents, which was made up of the business agents of the various locals. At the times in question Martin B. Madden was the business agent of the Steamfitters’ Union and the president of the Associated Building Trades. Pouchot was a member, of the Sheet Metal Workers and the business agent of that union. Boyle was a member of the Electrical Workers’ Union and the business agent of his union. In the latter part of September, 1908, plaintiffs in error and Madden called a strike of the various union workmen on said building. At this time Atkins, Young and Allen, steamfitting contractors, represented by a Mr. Ott who usually employed nonunion men, had a contract on said building to furnish steam heating, but had not then done any work on the building. Cyclone Blow Pipe Company, a sheet metal concern, which at times installed non-union material with union men, also had a contract on said building.

It is first contended by plaintiffs in error, Pouchot and Boyle, that the evidence fails to show that they had anything to do with extorting, or conspiring to extort, the said $1,000 from the Klicka Company, and that the evidence does prove that the strike was called at the plant of the Joseph Klicka Company for the sole purpose by them of preventing the employment of non-union labor on said plant. Darrell Frasier, superintendent of construction at said building, testified that there were between twenty and fifty men working on the building on the day of the strike, and that there were no electrical workers on it that day; that by instructions from Postle & Mahler, the architects, he had conversations with Boyle and Madden in November, .1908, at Powers & Gilbert’s saloon on Clark street; that he met Mr. Boyle at that saloon and that Boyle introduced him to Madden after he had told Boyle that he represented the owner and the architects of the said building; that Madden asked him who he was and what he wanted and that he told Madden he wanted to know the nature and cause of the strike; that Madden replied: “I think I know, all right, the cause of it. There is one man we want to get and that is that man Ott, as he has been in the habit of doing work around the city, where there has been no union represented, and we have him out there. We have got him now. You are not the man we want to see. We want to see the owner. Who is the owner, Mr. Klicka? Will you see him?”; that he, witness, replied that he would have Mr. Klicka at Powers & Gilbert’s saloon next morning, and that he then went back and saw Klicka; that he went to Powers & Gilbert’s at 10 o’clock next morning, the hour of the engagement, and that Boyle came in and asked him where Klicka was, and that he told Boyle he could have him there in five minutes; that he brought Klicka to the saloon and that Boyle escorted them into a little office at the end of the bar, and Klicka was introduced to Madden and Boyle; that after the introduction Boyle informed witness that his presence was no longer required in there, and that he stepped out; that in a minute or so Madden stepped out and that he and Madden talked about things in general, and that in about two minutes Boyle came out of the office and took Madden off to one side and called another gentleman to whom he was introduced as Pouchot; that they, plaintiffs in error, and Madden, then held a conversation after which Boyle returned to the office to Klicka; that shortly Klicka came out, and he and witness went to the bank and that Klieka drew out $200- and then they went back to the saloon; that Klieka went into the office again and in a minute or so came out and said to Madden, “This is a damn shame and a damn outrage,” and that Madden replied, “I don’t know anything about your business.” The witness then further testified that the strike lasted about seven weeks, and that prior thereto he had never had any complaint from any of the workmen; and on cross-examination said that the contract for the blow piping had not been let when the men quit work, and that Ott had no men at work there then; that when he went to the saloon with Klieka, Klieka and Boyle had a conference in private, and that Pouchot was in the main part of the saloon when Klieka came out and said to Madden, “It is a damn shame and an outrage,” and that that was about 11 o’clock A. M.

Emil Klieka testified that he was a member and president and general manager of the Joseph Klieka Company, and that he went to Powers & Gilbert’s saloon about 10 a. m.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
174 Ill. App. 1, 1912 Ill. App. LEXIS 230, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-pouchot-illappct-1912.