owner, the tavern owner;

this is the location
a third party, to the extent that he desires-

this is what he has to do,

he may file a complaint either with the Association or with the Union, and if his complaint is meritorious, either party hereto may grant him the relief sought. If, however, the decision granting or denying said relief is not satisfactory to either party, then the matter may be submitted by the aggrieved party for settlement and determination in accordance with all the procedures hereinbefore set forth in article XII.

Mr. DENVER. Mr. Kennedy, I believe that clause refers to any complaint that may be made against the collector.

Mr. KENNEDY. Well, for whatever reason that the location owner does not like the situation that exists in his tavern

Mr. DENVER. If, perchance, he is not satisfied with the manner in which the collector-agent conducts himself, then he has the right to file his complaint, the storekeeper has a right to file a complaint against him.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the collector-agent?

Mr. DENVER. A collector-agent is one who visits the location.

The CHAIRMAN. One who what?

Mr. DENVER. Visits the location.

The CHAIRMAN. Takes the money out of the machine?

Mr. DENVER. That is right. Collects the money in the machine and changes the money.

Mr. KENNEDY. He could be self-employed, obviously?

Mr. DENVER. Yes.

Mr. KENNEDY. The only point is that the location owner, under the contract and under the arrangement between the union and the association, must take his complaint-the location owner just cannot get rid of the machine, but he has to follow this procedure, if he does not like the collector-agent.

Mr. DENVER. That applies to employees. We have no jurisdiction over that, Mr. Kennedy.

Mr. KENNEDY. But these people are, to a large extent, self-employed. If he does not like the location, the man who is servicing the machine, who might be self-employed or work for somebody else, he cannot just get rid of the jukebox. He must follow this procedure.

Mr. DENVER. Well, our interpretation and our intention was that is, it was the intention of the union-that the clause applied to employees. That was for job security, more or less.

Mr. KENNEDY. I do not want to pursue this matter, dig it into the ground. But these employees could be self-employed.

Mr. DENVER. Yes; that is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. And it gets ultimately into the question of getting rid of the box. There might be an advantage for the employees; I am not arguing about that. But it does set up the procedure for a tavern owner to get rid of the jukebox that exists in his tavern.

Mr. DENVER. That is right.

Mr. KENNEDY. Also, I would like to have you discuss with us, Mr. Denver, the situation regarding the various unions that have been in existence in New York City during this period of time, who have been competing with one another in order to attempt to sign a contract with the association, and what the effect has been on the association.

Mr. DENVER. Well, in a short period of 2 years we have been faced with three unions, local 531, local 19, and local 266.

Mr. KENNEDY. That is Teamsters?

Mr. DENVER. That is correct. This has been very trying on the members of our association. It has been very embarrassing to them. It has meant the loss of locations and the loss of money to the members of our association.

Mr. KENNEDY. There has been a period of harassment between these various unions on the locations and on the operator; is that right? Mr. DENVER. Well, without any cause or reason, they immediately wrote to the location owners advising them that the machines in their locations were not serviced by the particular union. For example, local 531 or 19 or even 266. And that unless the machines were serviced by members of the particular union, pickets would be placed in front of the stores.

The average storekeeper, refusing to be disturbed by labor disputes, immediately asked our members to remove their machines or disconnected the use of the machines until the thing was clarified.

In the case of local 531, there were any number of machines that were disconnected and put in the rear of the store for months, during which time we had brought proceedings against local 531 and its officials in the supreme court, requesting a permanent injunction.

We did get that permanent injunction, which was signed by Justice Coleman. I don't think it took a week before we were faced with another union, known as local 19. Without any reason in that case, they immediately sent out pickets to locations and caused the same harassment, whereby machines were again turned around and disconnected. They intimidated storekeepers to the degree that unless machines bearing the label of local 19 were installed, that pickets would be placed in front of the location.

Mr. KENNEDY. During the period while this harassment was going on by local 19, were you visited by an association officer, Eugene Jacob, and also another man by the name of Max Gulden, another game operator?

Mr. DENVER. Max Gulden; yes, sir.

Mr. KENNEDY. He has been mentioned earlier in the testimony, Max Gulden, as being the individual who was downstairs shortly before Mr. Green received his beating. What did they state to you regarding local 19?

Mr. DENVER. Well, they were aware of just what was going on. They told me in no uncertain terms that we could get peace in the industry if I decided to sign a collective bargaining agreement with a Longshoremen's Union.

Mr. KENNEDY. They were going to bring a Longshoremen's Union in?

Mr. DENVER. That is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. Did they say that if you didn't want the Longshoremen's Union organizing the game operations in New York City, that they could get another union for you?

Mr. DENVER. They as much told me that they had several unions on hand. It was just a question of picking any one I wanted. Mr. KENNEDY. You refused to deal with them?

Mr. DENVER. I absolutely refused to listen to any such conversation and told them repeatedly that we were fighting these paper locals with all our strength; that we didn't want to have any part of those paper locals; that we had a collective bargaining agreement with local 1690, which was an honest union, and that we were going to respect our collective bargaining agreement. Then I asked them to leave.

Mr. KENNEDY. Did Jacob tell you that if you went along with this operation and this deal that you could establish a monopoly control in New York City?

Mr. DENVER. Well, he as much as intimated that with the aid of himself and other people, and a union of their choosing, that a monopoly would be created. I told him that I would have no part or parcel of any such deal.

Mr. KENNEDY. Was this going to be in the game and jukebox field? Mr. DENVER. Yes. A combination.

Or was

Mr. KENNEDY. When you say "as much as intimated," was it stronger than that? Was there some statement made to this effect? that what the purpose of the conversation was?

Mr. DENVER. He as much as told me that for my own good it would be better for me to acquiesce and concede that that factor is much stronger than our factor. I told him that regardless of whatever he said, the matter would be referred-which we did-to the office of the Manhattan district attorney's office. Mr. Constandy was in charge of the inquiry.

I visited with the Central Investigation Bureau, and I spoke to Detectives Jordan, Meyers, and Sergeant Langston. I was in communication with the Brooklyn district attorney's office, and saw District Attorney Bob Lazarus and District Attorney Koota, in charge of the Racket Bureau.

I gave them all these facts. As a matter of fact, the Brooklyn district attorney's office obtained an indictment against an official of local 531. Mr. KENNEDY. Did they explain to you how they were going to get the Longshoremen's Union into this situation?

Mr. DENVER. I wasn't interested enough to ask. They told me that they could get the charter.

Mr. KENNEY. Was this whole idea, the whole thought behind it, of making an arrangement with the local of their choice, the idea of gaining monopoly control over the New York area?

Mr. DENVER. Definitely. Definitely. And I was given to understand that the cost per machine would be $5 per month for the association, and $5 per month for the union.

Mr. KENNEDY. And that it would bring in a tremendous income? Mr. DENVER. That would be $5 per month and they figured at least 15,000 machines. That would be $75,000 a month for the union and $75,000 for the association.

Mr. KENNEDY. That would be in the form of these label charges? Mr. DENVER. Yes. They call it labels.

Mr. KENNEDY. This was all explained to you at this meeting, in which you refused to go along with them?

Mr. DENVER. That is right.

Mr. KENNEDY. Did you understand that there were some underworld figures behind all of this?

Mr. DENVER. Yes.

Mr. KENNEDY. Then after you refused to make any concessions on this, did local 266 of the Teamsters then come into existence?

Mr. DENVER. That is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. Then they started their activities of harassment? Mr. DENVER. That is right.

Mr. KENNEDY. That has been aimed at you and your organization? Mr. DENVER. That is absolutely correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. That has been going on over a period of the past year?

Mr. DENVER. That is right; divide and conquer.

Mr. KENNEDY. Have they made any real progress?

Mr. DENVER. They have. I have been informed that they have at least 2,500 phonographs in their union. I understand that several of our members who are afraid of being intimidated agreed to join local 266 and pay dues thereto.

Mr. KENNEDY. We have some figures here that show only up until the last quarter of 1958, but which show that from 1956 to the last quarter of 1958, the members of your association have lost some 1,631 locations.

Mr. DENVER. That is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. That is because of these efforts by the underworld to move into these unions and work closely with association members, or independent operators, who do not mind making this kind of a deal? Mr. DENVER. That is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. Did you ever hear or have any conversation as to who controlled local 266 of the Teamsters?

Mr. DENVER. Well, I was told that Mr. DeGrandis was the man who was president of the union. I was also told that the Gallo brothers, whom I never met, by the way, were the people behind the union. Mr. KENNEDY. They are the ones that have been described here as the successors to Murder, Inc.

Mr. DENVER. Well, I heard that description. I don't know them. Mr. KENNEDY. They were the ones that were originally behind local 19 and now they switched over to local 266?

Mr. DENVER. That is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. So it all fits into what you were told was going to happen; is that right?

Mr. DENVER. That is right.

Mr. KENNEDY. Did you understand the association member, or the operator who was behind it, was Gene Jacob?

Mr. DENVER. That is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. He was originally behind local 19 and then switched over to local 266?

Mr. DENVER. That is right.

Mr. KENNEDY. They have been told, have they not, by the operators who have this arrangement with local 266, your people have been told. that they better join up with 266 or they are going to start losing even more locations?

Mr. DENVER. That is definitely true.

Mr. KENNEDY. Have you been threatened at all, yourself?

Mr. DENVER. Yes, I have been threatened.

Mr. KENNEDY. Would you tell us about that?

Mr. DENVER. Well, I received a few anonymous calls that unless I

Mr. KENNEDY. First when you were opposing local 19?

Mr. DENVER. Yes.

Mr. KENNEDY. Were you approached then by Mr. John M. Amalitano?

Mr. DENVER. That is correct.

Mr. KENNEDY. What did he say to you?

Mr. DENVER. Well, in substance he told me that I won the first round, but I wouldn't live see any other rounds won by me. Then I received any number of anonymous calls to my office, and somehow or other they were able to call my home. I have an unlisted phone at home. How they got that number, I will never know. But they always made sure to call my home when I wasn't there. Mr. KENNEDY. Did they talk to your wife?

Mr. DENVER. Yes.

Mr. KENNEDY. What did they say to your wife?

Mr. DENVER. Well, that I was mentioning names, which I didn't, by the way, and that my activity was too great to allow me to live. The CHAIRMAN. What is your association going to do? Are you going to continue to fight these evils?

Mr. DENVER. Mr. Chairman, let this be known for the record and for the world, and for every citizen of the United States. I have a vote of confidence from the members of our association. We will muster everything at our disposal to fight and oppose these evils.

We, the average operator in New York City, the members of our association, enjoy a clean industry. We want it kept clean, and we will fight to have a clean, honorable industry so that we can make a livelihood.

The CHAIRMAN. Is it local 266 now of the Teamsters that is the one that is giving you the trouble?

Mr. DENVER. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. It is the one that is using these threats and intimidations to try to force the members of your association to join that union?

Mr. DENVER. That is right; yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. That is the one that has Mr. DeGrandis? Is he the president of it?

Mr. DENVER. He is the president; yes.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the name of the other two?

Mr. KENNEDY. He is the president, and the Jacob brothers are behind him, and the Gallo brothers.

The CHAIRMAN. The Jacob brothers and Gallo brothers, they are all behind local 266 ?

Mr. DENVER. That is correct. Their great weapon is to stop the delivery of beer.

The CHAIRMAN. And they get the cooperation of the Teamsters Union?

Mr. DENVER. They get beautiful cooperation, perfect cooperation. The CHAIRMAN. So you and your association are going to fight this. You belong already to a union?

Mr. DENVER. Local 1690.

The CHAIRMAN. And you have a contract with them?