On February 15, 1951, a 1950 Buick sedan bearing a New York license drove up to the pier where Berckman was checking the cars to be taken aboard the Queen Elizabeth, which was sailing for Cherbourg. The driver of the car identified himself as Saul Chabot. He showed Berckman his contract receipt for shipment of the car aboard the liner. He turned over his keys to Berckman, who assured him that the automobile would be handled carefully.
Berckman told Chabot to remove the cigarette lighter and the contents of the glove compartment and to lock the articles in the automobile’s luggage compartment. When Chabot opened the compartment, Berckman saw there was nothing inside except tools and a spare tire.
He also noticed that although the compartment was virtually empty, the car looked as though it were heavily loaded because it sat low in the rear.
As they were talking, there was a banging from underneath the car. A longshoreman was having difficulty removing the tap from the gasoline tank. Chabot seemed extremely nervous and said, “What’s the matter? What is he doing?”
Berckman replied, “He’s loosening the tap on the gas tank. We can’t take a car aboard the ship until the gas tank is empty.” Then he added, “This is a very heavy car, isn’t it?”
Chabot said, “Yes, these Buicks are very heavy.”
Berckman gave Chabot his receipt. He told him that he would look after his car and he need have no further worry. But Chabot said, “Well, I’ll stay and see that he gets the gas out all right.”
Chabot remained until the gas had been drained from the car and then he walked across the street. Berckman noticed that Chabot hung around for another fifteen or twenty minutes watching his automobile. It was Chabot’s nervousness which aroused Berckman’s suspicions. He decided to inspect the other cars and to show no further interest in Chabot’s car as long as he was around.
After lunch, Berckman went back to Chabot’s automobile to look at it more closely. He saw what appeared to him to be a new welding on the inside of the trunk near the rear fenders. The welding was odd because the car did not look as though it had been in a collision. There was no sign of any damage to the front or rear of the car and the original paint was unmarred.
Berckman went to the office of Customs Inspector Howard Walter and reported his suspicion that the car had been tampered with and that it might be loaded with contraband. Inspector Walter dispatched Inspector Mario Cozzi and James P. Dalton, along with three port patrol officers, to investigate.