Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

PAYOLA DRAGNET YIELDS EIGHT New York grand jury charges them with commercial bribery The New York district attorney’s six-month probe of payola brought the arrest May 19 of five disc jockeys and three radio station employes. Indictments by a grand jury charged the eight with accepting as a group a total of $116,580 in payments from recording firms and record distributing companies. They were indicted under a provision of state law that makes commercial bribery a misdemeanor. Conviction carries a sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $500 or both on each count. The district attorney entered payola practices in November when his office subpoenaed books and records of a number of New York companies (Broadcasting, Nov. 23, 1959). Description ■ The indictments cover the 1958-59 period during which the men were employed by New York radio stations. Those arrested and capsule descriptions of each indictment including total amounts allegedly paid each defendant by record companies follow: Alan Freed, former WINS disc jockey who subsequently joined WABC, had his own program on WNEW-TV, but is now on KDAY Los Angeles. Two informations handed up: One charging him with accepting payments in 1958 from a record company totaling $10,000; a second carrying 25 counts cites payments in 1958-59 totaling $20,650 Three forced smiles ■ Disc Jockey Alan Freed (second from r) grins along with Mel Leeds, radio program director (1) and air personality Peter Tripp (second from 1) as they are from six recording companies: Roulette Records, $10,000; Superior Record Sales Co., $8,900; United Artists Records, $2,250; Cosnat Distributing Corp., $4,000; Cosnat Distributing (Cleveland affiliate), $2,000; Action Records, $2,000 and Alpha Distributing Co., $1,500. Peter Tripp, WMGM disc jockey. A 39-count information cited payments from eight record companies totaling $36,050: Alpha Distributing Co., $10,400; Laurie Records, $8,000; Abel Productions, $5,000; Coed Records, $4,850; Co-op Distributing Co., $3,000; Superior Records Sales, $2,900; End Music, $1,000, and Atlantic Record Sales Co., $900. Mel Leeds, formerly program director of WINS and now assistant station manager at KDAY. A 40-count information charging bribe payments totaling $9,675 from five companies: London Records, $3,600; Carlton Record Distributing Corp., $2,175; Hugo & Luigi Productions, $1,600; Atlantic Record Sales, $1,300, and United Artists Records, $1,000. Tommy Smalls, WWRL disc jockey. An information carries 48 counts citing total payments of $13,385 from 18 record companies: Cosnat Distributing Corp., $3,800; Atlantic Record Sales, $2,200; United Telefilm Records, $1,800; Superior Record Sales, $1,525; booked at a New York police station on the charge of commercial bribery misdemeanors. At right is Detective Michael Cannings. Five others, along with the trio, were also charged. Co-op Distributing Co., $950; Roulette Records, $500; Fury Records, $460; Action Records, $350; Portem Distributing, $325; Brent Music, $300; End Music, $300; Ember Distributors, $150; Hugo & Luigi Productions, $150; Big Top Records, $150; Coed Records, $125; Malverne Distributing, $100; Gone Recording, $100; and United Artists Records, $100. Harold B. Jackson, WLIB disc jockey. A 39-count information charging $9,850 in payments from nine record companies. Alpha Distributing, $3,800; Cosnat Distributing, $1,600; Superior Record Sales, $1,475; Roulette Records, $1,000; Atlantic Record Sales, $800; Gone Recording, $500; Fury Records, $275; Malverne Distributors, $250; and Ember Distributors, $150. Jack Walker, former WOV (now WADO) disc jockey and now with WLIB. Cited in 33-count information charging payments of $7,420 from nine record companies: Alpha Distributing, $2,250; Cosnat Distributing, $1,550; Superior Record Sales, $1,100; Roulette Records, $725; Fury Records, $420; United Telefilm Records, $300; Gone Recording, $125; End Music, $100; Atlantic Record Sales, $800. Joseph Saccone, record librarian, WMGM (left station in March). A seven-count information cited payments of $2,000: Alpha Distributing Co., $2,000. Ronald Granger, former record librarian, WINS. A 26-count information accuses him of accepting $7,500: Superior Record Sales, $2,300; Alpha Distributing Co., $1,700; Malverne Distributors, $1,200; Brent Music Corp., $700; Coed Records, $700; Ember Distributing, $450; Fury Records, $300; Laurie Records, $100, and Roulette Records, $100. Stations’ Statements ■ Asked for their statements, station managements reported as follows: Arthur M. Tolchin, executive vice president and director of WMGM, said the station had been advised “previously” that Mr. Tripp was being investigated. An attorney immediately questioned the disc jockey who “voluntarily gave the station a sworn affidavit which said in effect that he had never been involved in what is commonly known as ‘payola.’ ” Mr. Tripp was placed on probation, Mr. Tolchin said, but in view of the current action WMGM was suspending him “immediately, pending the final determination.” Mr. Tolchin said that after advise 80 (GOVERNMENT) BROADCASTING, May 23, 1960