"Officers Fall in Liquor Net"
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County Agents Among Seven Captured in Raid
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Ring Believed Smashed by Weekend Arrests
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Police Seize Four Others at Belvedere
Two county officers, a deputy sheriff and a deputy fire warden, the former in charge of the night detail at the Sheriff's office, were arrested among others early yesterday at Topanga Beach by officers of Chief Enforcement Officer George Contreras's staff; working under the District Attorney. A three weeks' investigation in which some of Contreras's men poses as motion-picture actors, preceded the raid, which gathered in seven prisoners.
The deputy sheriff is William Edward Harris. He was arrested at 3 a.m., and suspended at 4 a.m., by Undersheriff Biscailuz, acting on a telephoned report from the chief enforcement officer. Harris is charged with selling, transporting and possessing liquor in violation of the Wright Act. His car was confiscated.
The other officer is H. D. Smith, deputy fire warden and a city special officer. When arrested, Smith was wearing, according to Contreras, a police department star of twenty years ago, No. 185. He is charged with selling liquor.
Others of the Topanga Beach colony gathered in were John Yeuk, C. P. Flood, Ben Shuff, T. P. Santee and Mrs. Ruth Santee, his mother, all charged with sale of liquor.
"The bootlegging colony at Topanga Beach has been operating a long while," Contreras said in commenting on the arrests, "but we believe this finally breaks it up. Deputy Sheriff Harris, we learned, was in the habit of visiting Topanga every Saturday night and loading up his car with liquor which he sold on Sunday. Our operators finally made a 'buy' from him and the arrest followed."
Saturday night, Contreras's men paid some more attention to Belvedere, where many arrests have been made in past week-end raids. Frank Gineo, Louis Sandifer, Pauline Clark and Ramona Villa were the prisoners taken, all on selling charges. At El Monte, the officers arrested J. B. Hill, charged with selling liquor and gambling.
The raids were noted for the unusually small amount of liquor found in each case. The largest haul made was fifty-one pints of gin, according to Contreras, indicating that recent activities of various enforcement agencies are having their effect.
