19400. Conspiracy to violate the laws of the United States in the ship- 
ment of adulterated and misbranded fluidextract of ginger. 
U. S. v. Max Reisman, Harry Gross, and Hub Products Co. (Inc.). 
Plea of guilty by Harry Gross. Sentenced to two years' imprison- 
ment. Sentence suspended. Suspended sentence revoked. Plea 
of guilty by Max Reisman, sentenced to two years' imprisonment. 
Sentence suspended. Plea of guilty by Hub Products Co. (Inc.). 
Fine, $1,000. Adulteration and Misbranding of fluidextract of 
ginger. IT. S. v. Harry Gross and the Hub Products Co. (Inc.). 
Pleas of guilty. Fines, $2. TJ. S. v. Harry Gross (Fulton Specialty 
Co.). Plea of guilty. Fine, $1. (F. & D. Nos. 26611, 26612. I. S. Nos. 
026447, 026454, 026588, 030573, 030575, 035266, 035267, 035268, 035269, 
037416, 037417, 037418, 037730, 037859.)
As the result of investigations, conducted by representatives of the United
..States Government,  of  several  interstate shipments and  other transactions
Involving alleged fluidextract of ginger, the grand jurors of the United States,
upon presentment by the United  States attorney, returned on February 20,
1931, in the Federal District Court for the district of Massachusetts, an^- 
indictment against Max Reisman and Harry Gross, of Boston, Mass., aw— 
the Hub Products Co. (Inc.), a corporation, Boston, Mass. The indictment 
charged that on or about June 1, 1928, and continuously between that date- 
and February 1, 1931, the defendants had conspired, combined, confederated,, 
and agreed together to commit certain offenses against the laws of the United 
States including the offenses against the Federal food and drugs act, of" 
shipping from one State to another State large quantities of adulterated and 
misbranded drugs, consisting of approximately 1,000 gallons of a product called 
" fluid extract of ginger," and sometimes called " Liquid Medicine in Bulk,"' 
which differed from the standard of strength, quality, and purity as determined, 
by the tests laid down in the United States Pharmacopoeia for fluidextract 
of ginger.
It was further charged in the indictment that the defendants, Harry Gross, 
and the Hub Products Co. (Inc.), in furtherance of said conspiracy and to- 
effect its objects, had shipped into Kansas, Ohio, Georgia, and Rhode Island,, 
in their own names or in the name of the Fulton Specialty Co., various ship- 
ments of the said fluidextract of ginger, between the approximate dates of 
December 4, 1929, and March 13, 1930, and that Max Reisman had committed 
a certain act in furtherance of the said conspiracy.
On April 10, 1931, defendant Gross retracted a plea of not guilty, formerly 
entered, and pleaded guilty to the indictment on his own behalf and as presi- 
dent of the Hub Products Co. (Inc.). The court sentenced defendant Gross 
to imprisonment for two years, and imposed on the Hub Products Co. (Inc.), 
a fine of $1,000. The sentence of Harry Gross was ordered suspended. The-' 
suspended sentence of Gross was later revoked and he was committed to jail..
On May 4, 1931, defendant Max Reisman having retracted a former plea 
of not guilty and having entered a plea of guilty of the indictment, the court 
sentenced said Reisman to two years' imprisonment, which sentence was, 
ordered suspended.
Investigations made by this department, with the object of bringing criminal 
prosecutions for violations of the food and drugs act, resulted in the obtaining; 
of records of 14 separate interstate shipments of the alleged fluidextract of gin- 
ger, which shipments were made by the said Harry Gross and Hub Products Co., 
(Inc.), during the period covered by the above-mentioned conspiracy. Analyses, 
showed that the product was not a pharmacopoeial product, rosin being found 
present in the article, and in most instances a phenolic compound also was. 
found, two ingredients not normal to fluidextract of ginger, and not present 
in the pharmacopoeial product. The product in most of the shipments con- 
tained less of the material derived from ginger than provided by the pharma- 
copoeia, and some were deficient in alcohol content.
On December 3, 1931, the United States attorney for the District of Massa- 
chusetts, acting upon a report by the Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the 
District Court of the United States an information against Harry Gross and 
the Hub Products Co., a corporation, Boston, Mass., alleging shipment by said," 
defendant and by said company, in violation of the food and drugs act,  of 
11 consignments of the said fluidextract of ginger, 2 of the consignments hav- 
ing been made from the State of Massachusetts into the State of Georgia, on 
or about February 15, 1930, and March 3, 1930, and the remaining consignments, 
having been made from the State of Massachusetts into the State of Missouri 
on various dates between February 1. 1930, and March 17, 1930.   The article- 
in the said 11 consignments was in barrels and was labeled in part: " Order 
of Hub Products Co.    *    *    *    Liquid Medicine in Bulk" or "Liquid Medi- 
cine," and had been invoiced,  " Fluid Extract of Ginger U.  S. P."
On December 3, 1931, the United States attorney also filed an information 
against Harry Gross, trading as the Fulton Specialty Co., Boston, Mass.,. 
alleging shipment of three lots of fluidextract of ginger from Massachusetts-, 
into the State of Rhode Island, the said shipments having been made on or 
about February 5, February 6, and March 7, 1930. These three consignments 
were contained in bottles labeled in part: "Fulton Brand Fluid Extract of 
Ginger U. S. P. Alcohol approx. 83%."
Adulteration of the article was alleged in the informations for the reason, 
that it was sold under and by a name recognized in the United States Phar- 
macopoeia and differed from the standard of strength, quality, and purity as., 
determined by the test laid down in the said pharmacopoeia official at the 
time of investigation of the article, in that most of the said shipments contained
roain and a phenol compound, which substances the pharmacopoeia does not 
nation as normal constituents of fluidextract of ginger; portions of the 
article also differed from the standard of strength, quality, and purity as 
determined by the said pharmacopoeia in that the pharmacopoeia provides 
that 1,000 grams of ginger shall yield 1,000 cubic centimeters of fluidextract of 
ginger, whereas the said portions of the article were deficient in material derived 
from ginger; the pharmacopoeia precribes that the article shall contain 
not less than 78 per cent of alcohol by volume, whereas certain lots contained 
less than prescribed; and the standard of strength, quality, and purity of the 
article was not declared on the container thereof. Adulteration was alleged 
for the further reason that the article fell below the professed standard and 
quality under which it was sold, in that it was represented to be fluidextract 
of ginger which conformed to the standard laid down in the United States 
Pharmacopoeia, whereas it did not.
Misbranding was alleged for the reason that the article was a product 
prepared in imitation of fluidextract of ginger U. S. P. and was offered for 
sale and sold under the name of another article, to wit, fluidextract of ginger 
U. S. P. Misbranding was alleged with respect to all consignments of the 
article, with one exception, for the further reason that it contained alcohol 
and the label failed to bear a statement of the quantity and proportion of 
alcohol contained therein, since no statement was made on the labels of the 
greater portion of the article, and the statement made on the labels of the 
bottled product was incorrect.
On January 25, 1932, defendant Harry Gross entered pleas of guilty to both 
informations and the court assessed a nominal fine of $1 in each case. Harry 
Gross also entered a plea of guilty as president of the Hub Products Co., and 
the court imposed a fine of $1 against the said company.
ARTHUR M. HYDE, Secretary of Agriculture.