Judge it!Judged:
1
Black Market Baby Broker
Bessie Bernard was a Brooklyn housewife. She was also part of a baby-peddling ring in the 1940's which charged as much as $2,000 per baby...a lot of money at that time. According to Assistant District Attorney Ernest Mittler, this was "a big time business done on assembly line basis".
The unwed mothers were found in the Miami area, and once the babies were born, they were brought north, and again according to D.A. Mittler, were sold in New York and nearby states.
Charged with conspiracy and illegal placement for adoption in December 1949, Bessie Bernard had two co-defendents. They were Brooklyn attorneys Irwin Slater and Harry Wolfson. Slater drafted formal agreements "just like a bill of sale for a piece of property". The D.A. charged that Slater was "in charge of production", Wolfson was "his office manager", and Bernard was "in charge of placement and transportation of the babies".
Bessie Bernard's mug shots
During the course of the trial, witnesses testified about giving their babies to Irwin Slater for adoption for $300 or less. One, a 17 year old unwed mother, said she got $100. The families with which these babies were placed paid between $1,650 and $2,000. Two New Jersey women that operated nursing homes testified that they cared for babies for the defendents. One woman testified about flying to Florida to pick up a baby for Bernard, and flying home to New Jersey with the baby, which was placed with a couple a few days later. One man with whom a baby was placed testified that Bessie Bernard had never produced a birth certificate or adoption papers, which he had requested.
At the conclusion of the trial, after being denounced for "buying and selling babies for profit", Bessie Bernard and Irwin Slater were each sentenced to 1 year in jail, Slater was assessed a fine of $1,500, and Bernard was assessed a fine of $2,500. Harry Wolfson was acquitted. The judge characterized the acts of Bernard and Slater as "a nauseating and revolting practice of trading in human flesh". "There is no doubt that you were buying and selling babies for profit", said Judge Valente. "Humanitarian motives, if any, were a secondary consideration. A substantial gain on each deal was the primary motive."
In a ruling made on November 1, 1950, Judge Valente advised Bessie Bernard that if she paid her $2,500 fine by November 17th, he would suspend execution of her prison term.
Lest you think that this was the end of Bessie's illegal activities, she was doing black market adoptions as late as 1970, under the name of Elizabeth Weiner, which was her maiden name.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES RELATING TO BESSIE BERNARD
Miami - N.Y. Baby Ring Bared
Baby Farm's Offer:$2,000, Take Pick
Lawyer, Widow Get Terms in Baby Mart
Woman Outwits Cops In Baby Sale Probe
This BLACK MARKET ADOPTION WEBRING site
owned by Patty Burns.
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1 Yes all this crime,theft of babies,human beings still goes on.They did to My Family,Ronald Karole Hrncir,yes we were married.Stolen at birth.A travesty.Born stolen in jamestown north dakota.Russel and Rory Hrncir.You cant even imagine the horror of it all.We had No Due Process of Law.And we had 2 other children.They take em all if you are bad parents right.All for $$$$$$$$$$Money.
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