Epstein Exonerated from Misappropriation in American Palestine Line

Hyman Epstein, former general manager of the American-Palestine Line, was exonerated from any charge of misappropriation of the company’s funds, when a $350,000 malicious prosecution suit brought by Mr. Epstein was opened before Supreme Court Justice Ingraham.

The defendants in the suit were Justice Jacob S. Strahl of Brooklyn, Nat J. Ferber, Joseph W. Gottlieb and Myron Krieger. The suit arose out of the arrest of Epstein in 1925 on a charge of using $500 of the company’s money improperly. The charge was not pressed.

At the opening of the case, Mortimer Hays, Mr. Epstein’s attorney, stated that Mr. Epstein would drop the suit if the defendants would admit he had been done an injustice by the accusation of misappropriation of funds.

The defendants declined to do this. Following the opening of the trial, the lawyer for the defendants announced they would accept the offer and issued the following statement:

“We, the undersigned, including all of the officers and directors of the American Palestine Line in 1925, do hereby publicly state that the charges made by the American Palestine Line against Hyman Epstein in 1925, for the alleged misappropriation by him of five hundred dollars and the proceedings instituted by us in that connection were instituted without any reasonable or probable cause. We hereby state so far as we are advised that all funds handled by Mr. Epstein were duly used for the Company’s purposes, accounted for by him and the records and books of account of the American Palestine Line at all times truly reflected and showed the complete accounting by Hyman Epstein of said sum of five hundred dollars and of all funds.

“We make this statement in order that an injustice done to Mr. Epstein’s name and reputation may be righted.”

The statement is signed by Joseph Gottlieb, Judge Jacob S. Strahl, Nat J. Ferber and Myron Krieger.