George E. Browne
President of the stagehands' and projectionists' union from 1934, in the Second Circuit's account; convicted with Bioff in 1941, and with Bioff the government's principal witness against the Chicago defendants in 1943.
- Aliases
- George Browne
- Role
- President of the union. Court opinions: the Second Circuit (1944), "The first step was to elect Browne president of the union, in which they succeeded"; the California Court of Appeal (1944), "George E. Browne, international president of appellant Alliance"
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state. A state-court opinion is cited only for the title it gives him.
On the record
- 1932–1934 — United States v. Compagna (2d Cir. 1944) says Browne "had been a member and business agent for the Chicago local of an international trade union of stage hands and moving picture machine operators," that "In 1932 he ran for president of the union and was defeated," and, recounting the testimony, that the group's "first step was to elect Browne president of the union, in which they succeeded."
- July 1938 — Russel v. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (Cal. Ct. App. 1944): "George E. Browne, international president of appellant Alliance," engaged a tax consultant for the union and signed the Special Account checks as "International Pres."
- 5 September 1941 — United States v. Bioff (S.D.N.Y. 1941): Browne's demurrer and plea in abatement, which challenged the indictment and the Anti-Racketeering Act's requirement of the Attorney General's direction, were overruled.
- November 1941 — A House speech of 10 November 1941 calls him "for many years a vice president of the American Federation of Labor" and says he and Bioff "were convicted this month." A partisan speech, used only for those points.
- 1943 — The Second Circuit (1944) says the case against the Chicago defendants was "woven out of the testimony of two accomplices — Bioff and Browne," Bioff's "corroborated in some degree by Browne."
- Before April 1945 — Attorney General Biddle to President Roosevelt, 10 April 1945: after their conviction Bioff and Browne testified for the government, Judge Knox modified their sentence, "and they were recently released."
- 1949 — Nitto v. Commissioner (Tax Court, 1949) found "decedent's association with Bioff and Browne in their scheme of procuring substantial sums of money from various members of the motion picture industry."
The role field quotes two 1944 court opinions. The Second Circuit’s sentence is its account of the testimony at the 1943 trial; the California court’s title is from a civil fee case. The union office is the only role either states, and Browne holds no seat on any chart in this archive.
“George Browne” is the spelling of the FBI’s September 1947 memorandum on Campagna. No record opened for this archive gives his birth, death, sentence or release date.
Records
itemUnited States v. Compagna, 146 F.2d 524 (2d Cir. 1944)Second Circuit opinion of December 20, 1944 affirming the convictions of Compagna and six others for a conspiracy to extort money from motion-picture producers and exhibitors, 1935 to 1940.itemUnited States v. Bioff, 40 F. Supp. 497 (S.D.N.Y. 1941)District Judge Rifkind's ruling of 5 September 1941 overruling George E. Browne's demurrer and plea in abatement against the Anti-Racketeering Act indictment in the Bioff case.itemCongressional Record, House, 10 November 1941: Representative Bennett lists Browne and Bioff as "convicted this month"A House floor speech for a union-reporting bill, used here for one point only: on 10 November 1941 a member of Congress stated that George E. Browne and Bioff "were convicted this month." No court record of the 1941 verdict was opened.itemAttorney General Francis Biddle to President Roosevelt, 10 April 1945, on Joseph Schenck and the Bioff and Browne prosecutionsRecommending against a pardon for Joseph Schenck, the Attorney General writes that after Bioff and Browne were convicted "they testified for the Government against a group of Chicago racketeers," that Judge Knox modified their sentences, and that "they were recently released."itemRussel v. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, 66 Cal. App. 2d 691 (1944)A California Court of Appeal opinion on a tax consultant's fee claim against the stagehands' union. It records that in July 1938 "George E. Browne, international president of appellant Alliance, accompanied by his personal representative, William Bioff" engaged him because the Treasury was investigating local unions.itemHornstein v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., 292 N.Y. 468 (1944)The New York Court of Appeals affirmed judgment for Paramount's officers and directors in a stockholders' suit over money paid "to labor union officials," holding that payments "coerced by threats" of a strike were not a crime under the Penal Law. Counsel's points name the payees as Bioff and Browne.itemNitto v. Commissioner, 13 T.C. 858 (1949)The Tax Court held on 30 November 1949 that the government had "established convincingly" Frank Nitto's "association with Bioff and Browne in their scheme of procuring substantial sums of money from various members of the motion picture industry," that he failed to report his share, and that fraud penalties applied.