Poultrymen's Roost

On every court day for over six weeks fourscore New York poultrymen roosted on a bleacher in a Federal courtroom in Manhattan. Alleged racketeers of the poultry trade, they were on trial en masse for conspiracy to restrain commerce (TIME, Oct. 21). Twenty-two defendants pleaded guilty or were dismissed during trial. Last week the jury found 66 of the remaining bleacherites guilty, two innocent.

Also convicted were three poultry organizations with typically grandiose racketeering names: 1) The Greater New York Live Poultry Chamber of Commerce, 2) Local No. 167 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers of America, 3) The Official Orthodox Poultry Slaughterers of America, Inc.

Gratified by the jury's verdict, the judge said: "The conviction was well warranted by the evidence. There will be punishment for all 66 ... no suspended sentences." He promised to reward the jurors by exempting them from jury service for five years.

The convicted poultrymen face a maximum sentence of one year in jail, $5,000 fine. One wily poultryman, hoping for a light sentence from Judge John Clark Knox, named his newborn son John Clark Irwin Rosenstein.

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