In the Parkside deal, the Grand Jury had little difficulty in tracing the money involved. William H. Crocker,[198] a capitalist of large affairs, who owned the largest interest in the company, showed astonishing ignorance of the management. The Grand Jury learned little from him.
But those interested in the enterprise with Crocker not only told how half the money was paid Ruef, but how the books had been manipulated to conceal the payment.
Ruef, according to the testimony of officials of the company, had first demanded $50,000 as price for his employment to put the franchise through, but had finally agreed to take $30,000. This amount, officials of the company testified, was provided by drawing two checks, one in favor of H. P. Umbsen and the second in the name of Douglass S. Watson, secretary of the Parkside Company. Umbsen and Watson thereupon deeded to the Parkside Company two parcels of land. The transaction was then charged to the purchase of property.[199] The property was deeded back to Umbsen and Watson at the same time, but these last deeds were not immediately recorded.
Watson cashed the checks at the Crocker-Woolworth Bank, of which William H. Crocker was president. He testified that he received currency for them.
The $30,000 he took to G. H. Umbsen. Half the $30,000 Umbsen paid Ruef.
At the time of the exposure, Umbsen[200] testified he was withholding the second payment until the franchise should be put through.[201]
In the gas-rate case, the Grand Jury found that the corporation that would, in the final analysis, benefit by the increase in gas rates, was the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The four responsible men in this company were found to be N. W. Halsey, John Martin, Eugene de Sabla and Frank G. Drum. Halsey was out of the State for the greater part of the time and Cyrus Bierce, acting as treasurer of the corporation, looked after his interests. This narrowed the responsibility down to de Sabla, Martin and Drum.
De Sabla testified before the Grand Jury that Ruef was not, to his knowledge, at any time on the pay roll of the company. Martin swore that he knew of no money that had been expended in connection with the fixing of the gas rates, and expressed himself as being as surprised as anyone at the confessions of the Supervisors to having received money after the gas rates had been fixed. Later, after Ruef had plead guilty to extortion, both de Sabla and Martin refused to testify further before the Grand Jury.[202]
Mr. Frank G. Drum, when called before the Grand Jury, stated that he had had no conversation with Ruef in reference to the fixing of the gas rates.[203] But later Ruef told the Grand Jury that the money which he had turned over to Gallagher in the gas-rate transaction had come from Drum.[204]
The first to be indicted because of these transactions was Ruef. Sixty-five indictments were on March 20 returned against him. Eighteen were based upon the bribing of Supervisors in the so-called fight trust matter; seventeen upon the bribing of Supervisors in fixing the gas rates; thirteen upon the bribing of Supervisors in the matter of the sale of the Home Telephone Company franchise; seventeen in the matter of granting the over-head trolley permit.