235 Pounds and Waddles

Frank Costello is now serving a thirty day stretch in the Workhouse for contempt of court. With good behavior, he will be back in court after twenty-five days to be asked the same embarrassing questions by the same grand jury. If he again invokes the Fifth Amendment, he may be sent back to the Workhouse for another thirty. For a man with homes on Central Park West and Sands Point, Long Island, this can be very depressing.

Costello's troubles can be traced through childhood, prohibition, most major rackets, and police records. But his recent trouble began a few minutes before midnight on May 3. It was then that the doorman at 115 Central Park West greeted him and was almost immediately shoved aside by what the New York police termed a "torpedo."

Said "torpedo" had emerged from a long black Cadillac whose lights were out. "Torpedo" watched Costello turn some fifteen feet in front of him, and then fired one shot from his .38 at Costello's head. The bullet entered Costello's head beneath his ear, wriggled through skin for a short distance, and emerged without having touched the bone. Then the real trouble began.

While he was being treated at the hospital for a head wound, the police removed a slip of paper from his jacket, photostated it, and returned the paper to the jacket--all unknown to Costello, who was explaining that he "did not have an enemy in the world." The slip of paper listed winnings and I.O.U.'s from an unspecified casino and slot machines, the total being nearly one million dollars.

This intrigued the police and the grand jury investigating the attempted assassination. Claiming that if he answered questions about the paper he would incriminate himself (he is now appealing a five year sentence for income tax evasion), Costello remained silent.

The law enforcement agencies of New York were upset, as Costello would probably get to his assassin before the police--unless the assassin was killed by his disgusted employers first. One way or the other, the police stood to lose. Hopefully, they issued a description of a "torpedo" who weighs two hundred and thirty-five pounds, has a "pot belly," and "waddles when he walks."

While the papers and the public are fascinated by an event reminiscent of the glamorous gangsters of the 'twenties, a few citizens are deeply and rightfully upset. Whether Costello invoked the Fifth Amendment legally or not is a question for the courts, but it is apparent to anyone that his constitutional protections from search and seizure without warrant were ignored by the New York police. Costello's life should be protected and his possible crimes prosecuted, but his constitutional rights as a citizen should be preserved.

Meanwhile, sixty-six detectives are investigating Costello, the Revenue men are checking his slip of paper, the Supreme Court is reviewing his tax case, the Justice Department is working on his deportation, and attorneys are writing briefs on infringements of his constitutional rights. Last but not least, Frank Costello and his assistant, Dandy Phil Kastel, are probably looking for a "torpedo" who weighs two hundred and thirty-five pounds, and "waddles when he walks."