DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Carrie Brown : Murder In The East River Hotel
HTML https://carriebrown.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Editorials & Essays
*****************************************************
#Post#: 2250--------------------------------------------------
Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: October 6, 2023, 9:37 am
---------------------------------------------------------
.
The Jurors Speak: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
Right from the horse's mouth, this New York Herald article is as
good as any other
found following the jury's verdict of second-degree murder and
their reasons for arriving at that decision.
One or more articles surfaced before the trial's end which
hinted at jurors feeling pressured. This article addresses that
rumor and other issues.
Unlike today, New York juror names and addresses could, on
occasion, be found published in newspapers as well as their
likenesses with accompanying names. In this trial, their places
of business were likewise listed. The jurors were permitted to
read newspapers, on one occasion they sat comparing their
likenesses to their actual features.
One Philadelphia newspaper (Philadelphia Inquirer, July 12,
1891) was extremely critical of the trial and result when it was
learned that the jurors hadn't been sequestered and were able to
go home after each session. The Times reporter said that this
would "make every Philadelphia lawyer throw up his hands in
horror at that revelation". Different states had different
protocols.
This is an excellent, if not the best, article to gauge the
emotions and judgment of the twelve men who served on the jury.
It is also one of the best articles ever written about
case-related events, in my opinion.
Some of Mr. Boom's remarks are of great value and might change
people's views on whether or not Ali was guilty after all.
Surprisingly to me, it was published in the New York Herald,
which was notorious for making irresponsible
and unfounded statements, such as Jenalli, Ali's friend, was
Frenchy #2.
I looked in the list of articles that Charles Edward Russell
wrote for the paper when he was a Herald reporter
but did not see this one listed among the four he definitely
penned.
New York Herald
July 5, 1891
***********
Views Of The Verdict In Ben Ali's Case
Even the Events Of The Glorious Fourth
Hardly A More Absorbing Topic For General
Discussion.
WHAT THE JURORS SAY
Mr. Rutsky Denies That He Meant To Imply That Any Of
Them Reached Their Conclusions From Other Than Their Best
Judgment- It Was The Supplying Of A Motive That Decided Them.
A FORMAL STATEMENT
Aside from the incidents of Independence Day, and to many
persons more interesting even than the events in which they took
part, but one news topic was generally discussed yesterday- the
verdict of murder in the second degree in the case of Ameer Ben
Ali, or "Frenchy", for the killing of Carrie Brown ( Old
Shakespeare) in the East River Hotel.
Surprise was generally expressed, not that a verdict of
conviction was found, but that it should be for murder in the
second degree only.
There was a division of opinion as to the guilt or innocence of
the prisoner, but most of those who believed in his guilt were
inclined to think him guilty of a cold-blooded, diabolical
crime, as shown by the horrible mutilation of the old hag's
body, and that murder in the first degree would have been none
too severe a judgment.
NO OUTSIDE INFLUENCE
As to the statement attributed to juror No. 8, Samuel Rutski (
Note: his surname was Rutsky. HB), of No. 57 Ninety-First
Street, from whose refusal to discuss in detail the occurrences
in the jury room and the fact that he at first held out for
acquittal, it was inferred that he was withholding information
that might be important, I became convinced, after a thorough
investigation, that his utterances had been misconstrued.
I not only talked at length with Mr. Rutski but also interviewed
a number of the other jurors. All of those whom I saw agreed
that such a view of the jury's work as that implied by the
construction put upon Mr. Rutski's remarks was utterly false.
Mr. Rutski himself denied in the most emphatic terms that he had
meant to create any such impression- to wit, that the verdict
was not reached with the utmost honesty by each of the twelve
and without interference or any outside influence. He denied
that he had made any remark that could possibly be so contorted.
Asked about the importance attached by the jury to the various
portions of evidence, Mr. Rutski said to the majority of the
jurors that the evidence of the medical experts for the
prosecution furnished the chief argument for conviction.
Mr. Rutski himself, however, was influenced by this medical
testimony to a much less degree. He considered that it was to a
great extent offset by the statements of experts for the
defense.
SAW A MOTIVE AT LAST
"What was it, then,", I asked, "which decided you to vote for
conviction?"
"It was the chain of reasoning by which the District Attorney
showed, to my satisfaction, at least, that "Frenchy" could have
had a clear motive for the crime. Until that was demonstrated I
considered everything else as more or less immaterial. My
sympathies,based on the evidence, were with the prisoner all
along- until then."
"I wish, however, emphatically to deny ever having spoken of
this unhappy Arab as being little better than a beast. An
evening paper very unkindly put those words in my mouth."
"It is a terrible thing for one man to find himself in a jury
room with eleven men dead against him- men whose judgment and
capacity he has every reason to respect. That was my position. I
said to myself."
"It cannot be that these gentlemen are all wrong in their
conviction and that I alone am right. So I reasoned at the time,
but after all, I don't know. I am beginning to think that one
man may be right and fifty, yes, five hundred, who are against
him are all wrong."
Feeling thus strongly caused me to show great excitement and
emotion when a reporter interviewed me late last night, and was
doubtless the cause of his misunderstanding what I desired to
say."
A COMPOSITE STATEMENT
Mr. Joseph Barttels, the foreman of the jury, was very much
surprised at what Juror Rutski was reported to have said. Of
course, he denied that there was a particle of truth in such an
implication. Mr. Barttels had had a conference with Jurors
Niemann, Boom, and Waterman, and Juror Boom had been empowered
by them to make public a statement of what actually occurred in
the jury room from the time they left court until the verdict
was reached.
Mr. Boom was very indignant over the statements attributed to
Juror Rutski. After expressing his indignation he said:-
HTML https://i.imgur.com/f7jw8ix.jpg
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE JURY
[[ "This is what occurred in the jury room and this is what I am
requested to tell: The first thing we did after retiring was to
take a ballot on the question of guilty or not guilty without
entering upon the four degrees of guilt- that is, two of murder
and two of homicide. The result of this verdict was eleven
guilty and one not guilty. This ballot was cast by Mr. Rutski.
We then asked him to explain the reasons that led him to the
conclusion that "Frenchy" was innocent. He got up and spoke, I
think, for almost ten minutes. I think I do Mr. Rutski no wrong
when I say that his remarks did not weaken in the least the
opinion of the eleven jurors that "Frenchy" was guilty."
The points he raised were these:- First, that it would be unfair
to convict any man of the murder until the man who was with
Shakespeare on the night of the murder had turned up and his
innocence of the crime satisfactorily proven. In the second
place, he claimed that the evidence of Dr. Paul Gibier
completely disproved the evidence of the prosecution based on
the investigations of Drs. Edson, Flint, and Formad. Mr. Rutski
seemed very much excited while speaking."
When he stopped I asked him whether he had fully stated all he
had to say, and he replied that he had. I then spoke to him for
about twenty minutes, running over the evidence that had
compelled me to come to the conclusion that Ben Ali was guilty."
COUNTER ARGUMENTS
"I asked Mr. Rutski to put himself in the place of the man who
retired on the fatal evening to room 31 in the Fourth Ward Hotel
with the woman. I showed him that very few men on reading in the
newspapers of the murder would have come forward and said, "I
was the man who last saw the woman before she was murdered."
Few men have so lost their self-respect as to come forward and
confess to such depravity."
"Then I dwelt on the standing of the microscopic experts for the
prosecution. They did not say that the blood was human blood on
"Frenchy's" fingernails and upon the front of his shirt was
identically the same as that found on the bed ticking upon
which the dead woman was found."
"And then the clinching argument, as far as the blood test was
concerned, is the fact that the blood on the back of the shirt,
near the wound which "Frenchy," said he received while in the
army, did not display any of the characteristics of other blood
stains. There were three blood stains emanating from two
different sources on the person of the prisoner. One came from
the prisoner's own wound, the other flowed to my mind without
question from the gaping wounds of the unhappy woman."
FRENCHY AS A LINGUIST
"Then I dwelt upon the behavior of the prisoner on the stand.
The papers can talk as much as they please about Recorder
Smyth's charge, but that had nothing to do at all with
convicting the prisoner. It was "Frenchy's" own attitude and
demeanor on the stand that by convincing us of his guilt
convicted him."
"How the man lied !!!" "Why, he understands French perfectly,
and the Arab interpreter was merely a picturesque
embellishment."
"More than that, he understands English quite well. I am
convinced that there was not a direct question put to him in
English which he did not understand immediately, long before the
complicated interpreting machinery had been put in motion."
"Why, I sat near him and I, myself, heard him inquire of his
counsel in an undertone, which was not so low as it was intended
to be: "Which basement do they mean?"
"Then I took up Mr. Levy's plea that the crime must have been
committed by a left-handed man and completely disproved that to
the satisfaction at least of the jurymen. Juryman Phillips took
out his penknife and I placed myself in a prostrate position up
on the bench in exactly the same position that "Shakespeare" was
found in, Juryman Phillips then manipulated his knife in a
fashion that showed conclusively that a right-handed man could
have inflicted the wounds found on the body of the woman as well
as, in fact, better than, a left-handed man."
A BAD WITNESS FOR HIMSELF
" His behavior, when confronted with Nellie English, the woman
who had been with him in the Fourth Ward Hotel several months
before the crime was committed, and who testified as to the
manner in which the Arab crept around the corridor peeping into
the rooms, showed that he knew well that her evidence was very
strong corroboration of his guilt. It showed that he knew the
intricacies of the crooked corridor well, that he could find his
way about without a candle, and that he was in the habit of
peeping into the bedrooms, for what purpose we do not know, but
surely for no good purpose."
When I got through, Mr. Rustski said he was convinced after all
the man was guilty, but that he did not feel certain enough of
it to hang."
"But I think now that he is a danger to the community and that
we ought to send him far, far away." he ( Rutsky )added. I then
asked him whether Sing Sing would be far enough away, and he
said yes, he thought it was."
"We then took another ballot on the question of guilty or not
guilty. The result was unanimously in favor of conviction. We
then took a ballot on whether the question whether the crime was
murder in the first degree or not. The result was six for and
six against. We then took a ballot on the question of murder in
the second degree, and the twelve jurymen rendered this verdict
and that was the end of it."
THE JURY WAS NOT AFRAID
"You may be quite sure that we gave an honest verdict, and there
was no attempt to tamper with or bulldoze the jury from any
quarter whatever. We went into that box to render a verdict of
all the facts and we were no more afraid of this Recorder,
Inspector Byrnes, or District Attorney Nicoll than we were of
Mr. House or Mr. Friend."
"Since last evening the large majority of friends whom I have
met and who have called upon me seem to think that "Frenchy" was
innocent. All I have said to them was that they were not in the
court throughout the trial and had no absolutely reliable data
upon which to have an opinion." ]]
MR. HOUSE WILL APPEAL
"We shall certainly appeal from the verdict against Ameer Ben
Ali," said Frederick B. House, of Ben Ali's counsel, to me
yesterday. "We feel absolutely certain that the General Term of
the Supreme Court will set aside the judgment and grant us a new
trial on the ground that the verdict was absolutely inconsistent
with the law and the evidence; that it was impossible rightly to
convict Ben Ali of murder in the second degree. He is innocent.
If he were guilty of the atrocious butchery of old
'Shakespeare', he would have been guilty of murder in the first
degree. The verdicy is farcical."
"Why are you so confident that the judgment will be set aside?"
I asked.
"Because incompetent testimony was admitted, and because
Recorder Smythe's charge bore directly against the defendant."
"When Ben Ali has been sentenced to States' Prison for life next
Friday we shall formally ask the Recorder for a new trial. This,
of course, will be refused. Then we shall serve notice of
appeal. We shall go before the General Term of the Supreme Court
in October, I hope, and I have not the least doubt that a new
trial will be ordered."
BEN ALI CHEERFUL
Ameer Ben Ali was like a new man yesterday. The suspense was
over. His life was safe. He was well-fed and well-clothed and
had a good roof over his head. It was the Tombs roof.
"Will I hang?", he had asked the deputy sheriff who took him
back to the Tombs
"You will not hang." said the deputy sheriff.
"Good," said Ben Ali.
When he awoke yesterday morning Ben Ali was returned to cell no.
63 on the second tier. Tombs etiquette requires that the
gentlemen who sojourn there shall not sleep higher than the
ground floor whenever they stay out after nine o'clock at night;
so if "Frenchy" had but known it he spent the night in a
'condemned cell". He was up bright and early. After he had been
returned to cell No, 63 he prayed to Allah and then smoked a
long black cigar Layer Friend had given him.
CAN TALK A LITTLE
"I go to co' tom-morr?" I heard him ask his keeper. "No," said
the keeper. "Go Friday".
"I go co't Chu-Chu-Chuesday ?" he asked eagerly, stammering in
his anxiety. "
The keeper repeated "Friday" four or five times.
"Oh !" said Ben Ali at last, "I go co't Fiday-sem c'ot?" ( same
court).
"Yes".
"Sem co't?" Sem la -juree( jury)? New try (trial)? Good."
The Arab wheeled abruptly from the iron grating against which he
had been pressing his lean brown face and walked to the corner
of his cell. Presently, he returned.
"Comment ce va?" I asked him.
"Good," said he, without a shade of expression in voice or in
physiognomy. Then he sat down on his old cot. A few minutes
afterward
he was humming an Arabic chant softly to himself. His keepers
said he hummed it most of the day. His appetite was never poor,
but it was better than ever yesterday. He will go to Sing Sing
on Friday.
#Post#: 2252--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: Kattrup
Date: October 6, 2023, 3:58 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Yes, it’s a very interesting article.
As we look at the evidence and discuss what is important or
should be important, reading the jurors’ thoughts about what
mattered to them is very illuminating.
#Post#: 2253--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: October 6, 2023, 4:09 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
As we look at the evidence and discuss what is important or
should be important, reading the jurors’ thoughts about what
mattered to them is very illuminating.
-Pete-
"And then the clinching argument, as far as the blood test was
concerned, is the fact that the blood on the back of the shirt,
near the wound which "Frenchy," said he received while in the
army, did not display any of the characteristics of other blood
stains. There were three blood stains emanating from two
different sources on the person of the prisoner. One came from
the prisoner's own wound, the other flowed to my mind without
question from the gaping wounds of the unhappy woman."
My thoughts are about this 20-year-old wound suddenly opening up
at what would be the most opportune time for Ali. It's nonsense.
"How the man lied !!!" "Why, he understands French perfectly,
and the Arab interpreter was merely a picturesque
embellishment."
"More than that, he understands English quite well. I am
convinced that there was not a direct question put to him in
English which he did not understand immediately, long before the
complicated interpreting machinery had been put in motion."
"Why, I sat near him and I, myself, heard him inquire of his
counsel in an undertone, which was not so low as it was intended
to be: "Which basement do they mean?"
It doesn't make him a murderer, but it certainly shows he had a
grasp of English.
"Since last evening the large majority of friends whom I have
met and who have called upon me seem to think that "Frenchy" was
innocent. All I have said to them was that they were not in the
court throughout the trial and had no absolutely reliable data
upon which to have an opinion."
Which, to me, is evidence that the newspapers were peddling junk
to its readers. Remember, the jurors read the newspapers in
between court
sessions. Boom's friends weren't Water Street derelicts,
either. They'd been fed crap in the papers of how 'poor' and
'friendless' he was.
I wish all the other jurors had elaborated as Boom had.
#Post#: 2254--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: October 7, 2023, 2:47 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Apparently, someone other than Mr. Boom heard Ali say 'which
basement?'
New York Sun
July 3, 1891
************
HTML https://i.imgur.com/YxtQuqO.jpg
A letter received by Judge Smyth with a suggestion on proving
Ali was
faking his inability to speak English.
New York Sun
July 3, 1891
*************
HTML https://i.imgur.com/vPPjaNX.jpg
#Post#: 2256--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: October 8, 2023, 3:18 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I'll put this in the Letters section after I post it here.
The reason I put it here is that Frederick Coudert was under the
impression that 'some' of the jurors were for acquittal.
I'm still trying to determine why 1897 was the year in which the
French or French New Yorkers ramped up their pardon campaign
efforts.
Ali was in Matteawan by 1893. He stayed there until 1901.
Written like the original letter.
Coudert Brothers
Counsellors at Law
100 Broadway, New York
Frederic R. Coudert
Charles Coudert
Paul Fuller
James Richards
Daniel J. Holden
F.R. Coudert, Jr.
New York, Dec.15th, 1897
To His Excellency Frank S. Black
Governor of the State of New York
Albany, New York
My dear sir:
I avail myself of this season of peace, goodwill, and charity to
call your attention once more to the petition for pardon in
behalf of Amer Ben Ali, alias "Frenchy".
This poor wretch has now been a number of years in jail and
there are many seriously doubt whether he was guilty of the
crime for the commission of which he was convicted. I shall not
go over the facts, which are no doubt familiar to you from
representations heretofore made, but would respectfully urge
that, if this is a matter in your judgment, for Executive
clemency, as it seems to me so clearly to be, you will exercise
it as soon as your numerous official duties will permit.
I have always, personally had great misgivings about the
conviction. It was mainly on expert evidence, and as we all
know, the most sincere and able experts, dealing as they do with
problems which contain many unknown and unfathomable factors,
are apt to be misled and without meaning it, to mislead others.
The verdict, at any rate, was on its face a compromise verdict
and would indicate that some, at least, of the jurors were not
convinced of the man's guilt. If I may venture an opinion, it
does not seem to me that a pardon extended after so many years
and under such circumstances can meet with anything but public
approval.
Believe me, dear Governor, with great respect
Your obedient servant
F.R. Coudert
#Post#: 4123--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: Kattrup
Date: February 1, 2025, 6:33 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Do you know Boom’s middle name?
In the 1886 directory, there’s a Maurice K. Boom at 2347 second
avenue, if that is him, what does the K stand for?
#Post#: 4126--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: February 1, 2025, 7:15 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
This is from the book, buddy.....in the 1891 City Directory, a
Murray Boom lives at the same address and is a tobacconist. It's
him.
Nina couldn't find what the K stands for.
BOOM, Maurice
Tobacconist; business at 1211 Broadway in 1891.
Juror at Ali Trial.
Resided at 201 Third Avenue, Manhattan. Lived close to fellow
juror Robert Niemann (120 Third Avenue).
His 1891 New York City Directory listing has him down as
'Murray'
Boom.
In 1900, Maurice Boom filed for bankruptcy, living at 51 W. 28th
Street according to the newspapers, with debts approaching $
490,000
( In 2024 US dollars).
Judge Brown granted a discharge in this first bankruptcy claim
by Boom.
In the 1900 city directory, he was listed as living at 239
East 19th Street and working as a theatrical agent.
In 1902, he filed for bankruptcy once again, citing debts of $
60,000
in 2024 dollars and assets of less than $ 1.50.
In 1903, he was one of the directors of the Mme. Mantelli Grand
Opera Company in New York.
In 1923, Boom and an associate placed an advertisement in the
New York
Age, a black newspaper, offering opportunities for 'colored
concessionaires'
at local bazaars and fairs in the city.
#Post#: 4483--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: Kattrup
Date: April 21, 2025, 12:19 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Boom died February 17th, 1925.
From The New York Star, March 6th.
[attachimg=1]
#Post#: 4484--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: Kattrup
Date: April 21, 2025, 12:52 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Boom's booming business:
[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]
From The Street Railway journal, v. 21, 1903
#Post#: 4485--------------------------------------------------
Re: Mr. Boom Lowers The Boom
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: April 21, 2025, 2:51 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Excellent stuff, Pete.....thanks!
Our boy Boom bounces back rather quickly by 1903...
In 1902, he filed for bankruptcy again, citing debts of $ 60,000
(in 2024 dollars) and assets of less than $ 1.50.
In 1903, he was one of the directors of the Mme. Mantelli Grand
Opera Company in New York.
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 2
DIR Next Page