Mr. Palmer. No.
Mr. Griffin. Did Jack come to AGVA with any problems about his competitors?
Mr. Palmer. Frequently.
Mr. Griffin. What kind of complaints did he have about his competitors?
Mr. Palmer. That they were scheming to put him out of business, and that they were practicing unfair tactics both from a civil standpoint as well as union standpoint.
Mr. Griffin. Can you be specific about the scheming that they did, that he complained they did?
Mr. Palmer. Well, he claimed that the amateur night, which Mr. Barney Weinstein originated, I think, many years ago, in Dallas, was taken up by his brother Abe at the Colony, not because Abe needed it, but because it blocked him out of using that same night as an amateur night for his own draw, Jack Ruby’s, and this was a consolidated effort between the two brothers to put him out of business, the Carousel. He was constantly critical of their contribution to the AGVA welfare, while he himself was decidedly delinquent.
Mr. Griffin. Did he think they were more delinquent than he was?
Mr. Palmer. No; he just thought they were delinquent, and he was bringing that to my attention while trying to keep his own delinquency out of the topic of conversation. Frequently people he had let go at his club might go to work for Barney. I don’t believe Abe would ever use them. I think he did on one or two occasions, but Jack was then always convinced that these people were, to use his terminology, bad-mouthing him or talking unfairly about him behind his back. Actually, his club was rated by AGVA at a lesser rate than the other two, which permitted him to employ exotics and masters of ceremonies and specialty acts at a lower rate, and I often pointed this out to him. He then complained it should be even lower but it could not possibly be.
Mr. Griffin. Why was he permitted to pay them at a lesser rate?