Dominick Kay - Bootlegger

Dominick Klucznick, aka. Dominick Kay was a contractor, garbage man and sand and gravel dealer in Morrisville who got in a bit of trouble in the year after Prohibition was repealed. 

Kay started out with petty crime. In 1920 he was fined for driving without a license, and accused of stealing tools from Miss Daisy M. Hall.

...She alleged that Kay stole some tools, piping and a forge, valued at $500...McGovern said that he located ths stolen goods on Kay's property in Morrisville. Oct 17, 1920 Trenton Times

Kay advertised many times in the Trenton Times his Sand and Gravel business, looking for laborers, selling mules, lumber and machinery. In 1924 he advertises 2 farms for sale, saying "need money."

Sep 27, 1924 Trenton Times

In 1930 Dominick Kay was awarded a 5 year garbage contract for Morrisville. He had been the garbage collector for the past 3 years, when collection first started. Before this contract would run its course, he would be jailed for liquor violations.

Morrisville Man Held After Raids - July 26, 1934 Trenton Times

Federal agents and officers of the State Liquor Control Board raided two farms of Dominick Kay, Morrisville contractor, early yesterday, alleged liquor being seized in both places.

The first fair was conducted by control board officers at a farm in Wrightstown Township, near Newtown, where, police said, equipment for the manufacture of liquor was found, together with a quantity of the finished product.

As a result of this raid, Kay was released in $1,000 bail for a further hearing before Justice of the Peace W. Carlisle Hobensack, at Doylestown. William D. Mock, said to reside on the farm was also arrested.

The Federal agents conducted the second raid at Kay's other farm on West Trenton Avenue, Morrisville, on the old Lincoln Highway. A man, who said his name was Tito Bono, of Hudson Street, Trenton, was held in $3,000 bail at a hearing before United States Commissioner Walker in Philadelphia. Agents said they found a 1,000-gallon still, 350 gallons of alleged alcohol and 1,000 gallons of supposed wine.

Kay denied all knowledge of the still being on the Wrightstown farm.

Liquor operation at Kay's Morrisville farm

Dominick Kay was held on $11,000 bail to await Federal Grand Jury action. Kay admitted that he knew the stills were on his property, but said that he had leased the building to "a red-headed man."

A few months later, Kay pled guilty and received the heaviest penalty imposed in a Philadelphia court since prohibition repeal. He was sentenced to serve two years in the Federal Penitentiary at Lewisburg and to pay a $3,000 fine. Federal agents testified that Kay owned 16 farms in Pennsylvania and 3 in New Jersey and had purchased $100,000 worth of real estate in the last 2 years.

In December, Kay's friends made a plea to have him paroled by the Federal court. They argued that his garbage contract wasn't worth what they said it was, and that he didn't own nearly the amount of real estate that they claimed. It is unclear whether or not the plea worked, but by 1936 he was back on the streets.

Dominick Kay seemed to change his ways, as in 1943 we see him offer up a 30-acre tract for a "Victory Garden", which were promoted by the government during World War II.

Dominick Kay, building material dealer and contracting wrecker, today offered a tract of about 30 acres on his property on West Trenton Avenue at the Morrisville boundary line for use as Victory Gardens

His Invitation was extended to anyone in Morrisville, or in the general Trenton area, for that matter, who chose to work the land. He can be reached for arrangements by a visit to his establishment or by telephone. Apr 28, 1943 Trenton Times

 

If there were any ill feelings towards Kay they must have subsided, because by 1945 he once again had the garbage contract for Morrisville. This time he had a new method of collection and requested that all refuse be placed in metal covered containers. It was the first time unwrapped garbage would be collected in Morrisville. 

Dominick Kay died in April of 1947, aged 59. He was born in Poland and lived in Morrisville for 36 years. An old timer in my neighborhood said that Dominick Kay was involved with the Booze Truck Bridge Collapse, that I wrote about previously. 

Booze Truck Bridge Collapse

Recently, a minivan hit the canal bridge on 532 and almost went into the water.

Image courtesy of UMPD FB Page

An accident occurred on the same bridge in 1931 when a truck loaded with booze collapsed the camel-back bridge and fell into the canal.

August 16, 1931 Trenton Times

Bridge at Crossing Collapsed Under Weight of Vehicle - Driver Flees - Meanwhile Ewing Police Make $6,000 Haul Near Their Headquarters

Shortly after sixty half-barrels of beer, camouflaged on a five-ton truck, went crashing through a "camel-back" bridge over the Pennsylvania Canal at Washington Crossing, Pa., yesterday afternoon. Ewing Township police seized a $6,000 cargo of the same beverage loaded on two high-powered trucks and trailers.

Plunged head first into the canal, the truck drive swam safely to shore, clambered up an embankment and escaped in a rakish roadster that had been following his truck. The vehicle was licensed under the name of Harry Milestone, 2933 Almond Street, Philadelphia. 

Drivers of the trucks and trailers in Ewing Township ran right into the hands of authorities.

Patrolman Clarence Morris, patrolling the Pennington Road about 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, became suspicious of two cumbersome-looking trucks and trailers - an unusual sight on the thoroughfare during the day. As the vehicles came in sight of Police Headquarters at Hillwood Lakes, he whistled the drivers down.

The truckmen, Peter J. Yancer, of 3122 Weikel Avenue, Philadelphia and John Stafford, of Magnolia Heights, N. J., readily surrendered. Cached in the two trucks were 240 halves and 60 full barrels of beer.

Chief Harry W. Prince and Sergeant John Kider hurried to the assistance of Morris. Chief Prince placed Stafford and Yancer under arrest and arraigned them before Recorder John Boscarell on charges of illegal transportation. The were released on $1,000 bail each.

Sergeant Elder and Patrolman Morris then had the trucks driven to the Mercer County Garage, Brunswick Avenue, where the beer was unloaded. The trucks were released to the drivers in bond of $10,000 each.

The carriers were headed toward Trenton but the drivers refused to state the exact destination of the cargoes.

The ill-fated truck which plunged into the canal had been driven across the river Bridget from the New Jersey shore, closely followed, witnesses told Morrisville State Police, by a roadster containing two men.

One witness said he watched the progress of the truck and suddenly saw it disappear as a rending crash was heard at the bridge.

The venerable span would hold only three tons, a freshly-painted sign read. However, heedless of the fact that he was driving a five-ton vehicle with an extra-heavy load, the driver continued onto the bridge. As the truck neared the centre of the wooden span, it crashed to the water and turned on its side.

The driver was thrown from the cab and started to swim frantically for shore. As he was doing so, the roadster was turned around. He leaped into it and it roared away at breakneck speed down the River Road, toward Morrisville.

A huge crowd gathered at the scene as traffic became snarled. Crates labeled "Radios" floated downstream, after tie roles snapped. Then, one by one, several half barrels made their way out of the wreckage. The soon were rounded up, however, but Troopers Stewart and Christ, of Morrisville State Police, and Constable Thomas South, of Yardley.

Traffic was re-routed to bridges up and down the canal by the police. The Bucks County Commissioners were notified and arrangements were made to take over the truck and beer. Officials of the Lehigh Canal and Navigation Company declared last night a new span would be erected. 

The same bridge had collapsed previously, in 1925, when a truck loaded with milk owned by John S. Eastburn overloaded the span.

December 7, 1925 Trenton Times

Eastburn Truck in Canal

If you're going to be hauling a lot of liquids, I recommend staying away from that bridge.