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ve a a on ae = AOHN EDGAR HOOVER f_- gy, DIRECTOR ( ; Y be. UW. %. Bepartneent of Justice ya Pureau of Mnvestigation ee gryy_ -L=_.__1____ + 4 Washington, B. C. - + _ . : ", f September 235, 1930. 7-9 TF 3Z— REODBDED & INDEXED SRYPZS YoG0' <TIGATION Sir 24 Way NELMOR4NDU FOR THE D TOR - ; SEP 24 1930 —paes ' At 2 o'clock on the afternoon of the E0th instant_I_attended _ ecnference in the office of Mr. Nugent Dodds, when there were present ¥r. Dodds, Er. Osea ot Ly. O'Briante Division, Mr. Donald D#Conn, Managing Director of theS%slifor ia Vineyardists Association, Cheirman, Ex-Commis- sioner of the Fruit Industries, Inc., 85 Second Street, San Francisco, and wr Merritt, formerly Managing Director of the Sunkist Orange Co. am now aesoci ted with Mr. Conn. The diacussicn first revolved about the questicn as to the power of th Departuent under the statutes to assign &n Agent of the Burcsu to thé’Farm Loan Board for such work as the Farm Lean Board { mizht direct, presumebly in connection with the otecticn of the person of va Kr. Conn, whoss life has been threetened by the engsters of Chicagoe hot fat heving any very definite idea as to what the matter was all about, I requested & Nr. Conn to relate the story which he did ani which was in substance about r- as follows: a Bed For sever:l ycars back it seems thet the gangsters of Chicago and a New Yers rerticularly have levied tribute against the grepe growers and = shippars of juice grapes in the form of ar assessmnt against @ach carlioad of ; grapes coming into Chicago ani alse in the form of an assessment of 3¢ against each lug or crate of grapes sold eat the Chicago Freight Yards fran the cars. Mr. Conr stated thet they nad endeavored to combat this practice which led to g depression of the grape market and in hie efforts to ascertain exactly what woe going on, he pleced « gangster by the name of Joe"Ferrera, one of the Sapone group, on his payroll und ascertained the facts with regard to this racket which is designed to permit the gangsters to buy in the grapss arriv- ing at Chicego at practically their own price because of the fact that they destroy the market fcr the grapes. He st:ted thet the Chicago Pelice were edvsolutely under the domination of the gangs; thet during the grape shipping season while the cerloads of grapes were on the trecks at Chicago, the police invariably conducted numerous raids particulerly in the foreign section of chicago seizing and destroying smell lots of home made wine and intimicating the foreign populace so th-t they would not go to the freight yards to purchase crepes end manufecture wine for their own consumption. He st: ted further that the gengsters employed severs:1 men to warn the foreign element at the freight yards to be careful «8 the police and Prohibition Department were ective in seercning out those who purchased grepee to munufactvre wine. He steted further thet Ferrera had given him the information reletive tc the pers ms cehind this racket. Ferrera's employment with Conn, of course, wés supposed to be unknown to Capone but appare:.tly they learned something of his double desline beacause 2 fay months back Ferrera and hie companion were shot and af’ eapres DESTROYED ba~ 2478 3 i) -——o ee eee EE ee we ee ee tee ee