Thomas Beckham and a Seized Ship
Subject: Thomas Beckham and a Seized Ship
Date: 30 Apr 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Message-ID: <8ehmrl$lg4$1@nnrp1.deja.com>
Orleans Parish Grand Jury February 15, 1968
Testimony of Thomas Edward Beckham
p50
[... O]ne time Jack [Martin] was talking about a ship, German ship here, that was going to Cuba, you see, to buy something to take to Germany or deliver to Cuba, vice versa, I don't remember how he said it, and he said he wished there was a way to stop the ship, and I said there has to be a way, he said there are narcotics aboard that ship, and I said if someone would tip the FBI off about it they would stop the ship, I said you are palsy walsy with an FBI agent, a young guy, here in the Federal Building, or something, a young Federal agent Jack was friends with, and I said why don't you just tell him about it, that's the last I heard from Jack, and in the next couple of days in the newspaper [it] said German ship enroute to Cuba, or something, tied up for investigation, but he got it tied up and I am sure it was Jack.
[end of excerpt]
I'm not sure if the incident described in what follows is the same one that Beckham recalled, but the ship involved did have a German- sounding name:
New Orleans Times-Picayune November 16, 1962 S1-P10
Ship Line Sues Cuban Republic
$1 Million Claim Filed; Cargo Seized
A claim for $1,006,550.81 was filed in civil district court Tuesday [15th] against the Republic of Cuba. The Mayan Line, S.A., filed the suit.
The company also asked and was granted a writ of seizure for cargo aboard the vessel Heinrich Schulte, consigned to banks and other concerns in Cuba. The vessel is docked in New Orleans. The order of seizure was signed by civil district Judge Oliver P. Carriere.
[...]
[end of excerpt]
New Orleans Times-Picayune April 12, 1962 S2-P23
Cuba is Seeking Judgment Void
Suit Grows out of Seizure of Vessel
The Republic of Cuba, through a New Orleans attorney, filed a suit Wednesday [11th] in federal district court seeking to have annulled a $5000,000 judgment against the Cuban government which was recorded in civil district court on April 12, 1962.
The suit was filed by Benjamin E. Smith against the Mayan Line, United States Marshal Victor H. Wogan, Llewellan Scanlon, civil sheriff for the parish of Orleans, and Thomas Buckley, clerk of the civil district court.
The judgment grew out of the seizure here of the SS Henrich Schulte on Nov. 15, 1960 to satisfy a claim of $1,0006,550.81 by the Mayan Line against the Cuban government. Cargo aboard the ship [w]as sold to satisfy the claim, the suit states.
It is alleged that on April 12 [1961] Cuba allegedly appeared in civil district court through attorney F. Irvin Dymond who had been associated in the case by the Miami, Fla., law firm of Taylor and Bergstresser, and a stipulation was entered with counsel for the Mayan Line compromising the claim for $500,000.
The suit filed Wednesday claims that Cuba at no time employed Dymond or the Miami firm and that the stipulation was a derogation of the Cuban rights and made without authority.
[end of article]
Jerry Shinley
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