Judge M. T. Dooling was at the time Superior Judge of San Benito, one of the smaller of the interior counties. He had, however, already a State-wide reputation for integrity and ability. He left the San Benito County bench to accept the appointment of President Wilson as United States District Judge.
Some of these trailers were arrested and forced into court. On one day four men, Frank Shaw, alias Harry Nelson, Harry Smith, alias Harry Zobler, J. R. Johnson, alias J. R. Hayes, and Cliff Middlemiss were placed under arrest for following Detective Burns.
According to Peter Claudianes’ confession to Burns, he had been summoned from Chico to San Francisco by Felix Pauduveris early in March. Pauduveris told him he had a hard piece of work for Claudianes to do, namely, kill Gallagher, the chief witness in the graft prosecution. Pauduveris had told him there was $1000 apiece and three dollars a day for expenses in the job for them. The first proposition, according to Claudianes’ confession, was for Claudianes to shoot poisoned glass into Gallagher’s face by means of an ordinary sling-shot. But this plan was abandoned on the ground that Claudianes’ capture would be sure to follow. A plan to poison Gallagher was also abandoned. Destruction by means of dynamite was finally decided upon. Pauduveris had taken Claudianes over to Oakland and showed him where Gallagher resided. After the failure of the dynamite plot, Claudianes had arranged to secure apartments in the same building with Gallagher and put poison into Gallagher’s milk. Before this plot could be carried out, John Claudianes had confessed and Peter had become a fugitive from justice.
In his confession to Burns, Peter Claudianes stated: “Pauduveris said the prosecution with Heney, Langdon, Burns and Spreckels had put about 50,000 men out of work. We must get rid of Gallagher as he is their principal witness. If he is put out of the way the Prosecution will end. There is about $2000 in it for us and about $1000 in it for your brother John. Felix Pauduveris was very angry because no one was killed in the explosion at the Schenck house. He said it was not a clean job.”
In his confession, Claudianes stated further:
“I thought I was working for Ruef, as I knew Felix was a very intimate friend of his. When Felix told me I had got to shadow Gallagher I knew the word came from Ruef. Felix said that Ruef would never go across the bay, as he had them all buffaloed. Ruef was too smart for those fellows, Felix said, and the gang was all behind Ruef. The prosecution had no grudge against Gallagher, but it had a grudge against Ruef.”
Pauduveris had been employed by the United Railroads as a “spotter.” At the time of the explosion he was still in that corporation’s employ. He was at the same time a political follower of Ruef.