(Ed Note: Hank Chapot will be speaking more about the 1930’s Atherton report on police graft at CounterPULSE on February 22. 7:30 pm - 1310 Mission Street)

San Franciscans in 1935, still raw from the depression and angry at the deaths during the general strike in '34, were whipped into a spasm of civic indignation when an off-hand remark by a young revenue agent was picked up by a local paper. Speaking to the Rotary, Agent Lewis claimed the new federal tax service was pulling in back taxes from an extremely wealthy San Francisco police captain. The SAN FRANCISCO NEWS ran with the story, grist for the ongoing and bloody circulation wars among San Francisco's four dailies. Like most police departments, SFPD has never been under civilian control, yet every twenty years or so, enraged citizens have sought reform. San Franciscans suffered less than other during the depression, but the era put inequality in sharp relief and the outrageous fortunes of crooked cops in the crosshairs.

A photo of a serious looking Mayor Angelo Rossi, examining a list of gambling houses and brothels sent in by a concerned citizen, was published. The Board of Supervisors clucked with indignation while threatening to subpoena one of their own who spoke too honestly about police graft. Finally, they put up $50,000 (later increased to $75,000). D.A. Mathew Brady empaneled a grand jury and hired former G-man Edwin N. Atherton, and the hunt was on.

Regular payoffs, distributed by bail bondsman Pete McDonough through his offices on Kearney, had been the status quo for decades. McDonough collected from brothels, cigar store gambling shops, tow rackets and abortionists. He controlled permitting for bars and dance halls. And beat cops regularly shook down legitimate businesses as well. One shop owner complained he paid $3.50 a week just to keep a radio on the sidewalk out front.

In his report, Atherton wrote, "They (the police) expect free meals, free drinks, passes to sporting events, theater and other amusements, etc. It is said that a "smart" officer only pays when it is unavoidable. A typical case was recited by the wife of an officer, who informed us that her husband not only received groceries, liquors, household goods and supplies free of charge, but clothes and even free medical, dental and optician's services for himself and his family." He reported that police officers extracted campaign donations for favored candidates and extorted business owners to buy tickets to the Policeman's Widow's Fund.

Atherton blasted McDonough, whose offices were one block from the old Hall of Justice. "McDonough Brothers was found to be a fountainhead of corruption, willing to interest itself in almost any matter designed to defeat or circumvent the law. It has many tentacles reaching throughout the city government in the form of officials and employees in key positions to take care of almost any contingency. No one can conduct a prostitution or gambling enterprise in San Francisco without direct or indirect approval of the McDonough Brothers. Anyone engaged in these activities who incurs the firm's disfavor, is sooner or later forced out of business. The power of McDonough Brothers exerts itself over the police department in much the same manner."

And Atherton had harsh words for the mayor, the chief and police commissioners, supposedly tasked with disciplining errant police officers, stating "any expression of cooperation with the investigation was simply lip service."

After eighteen months of investigations that included dozens of subpoenas, late night grand jury sessions, wire-taps of questionable legality and battling editorials in the competing papers, the old guard of San Francisco's police were shaken to the core; more than two dozen cops were removed or transferred to the sand dune district, at least five were indicted on charges of bribe-taking or perjury, higher-ups were demoted or fired, one cop killed himself and his family, the entire police commission resigned and the D.A. tossed the investigation to Attorney General Ulysses S. Webb. Mayor Rossi was ridiculed as a mere flower peddler and accused of fascist sympathies.

And Edwin, after hiring a dozen investigators and living large in a suite of apartments at the Keystone building, released his report in March 1937 then left town the most hated man in San Francisco. He admitted, " the investigation had a synthetic beginning.... forced on the city administration by newspaper pressure." He did recommend prostitution be put under the control of the Health Department, arguing for an end to its prohibition.

Among the more colorful characters caught in the scandals is Dolly Fine, a successful madam running brothels in three uptown apartment buildings filled with long-term female tenants. Wiretaps of Dolly's calls to McDonough scheduling payoffs and rigging police raids were published daily. She was forced to testify before the grand jury and eventually driven out of town.

Alas, Pete McDonough, arguably San Francisco's biggest, certainly most long lasting boss, was brought down. Pete spent his later years lobbying against restrictive bail bonds legislation. The war came, San Francisco was transformed, yet again. Pete died in 1946 and is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery.

The Atherton Report disappeared from the county clerk's office within a year. A judge was asked to rule the special supplement published in the CHRONICLE was the true and complete report. Until now, the report has languished in old newspaper clippings. Now it is transcribed and made available free for the first time in 70+ years at http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/131865/1/the-1937-san-francisco-police-graft-report-by-edwin-atherton

Hank Chapot can be reached at hchapot@igc.org