According to owner Jake Heimbigner, a Sergeant Reader or Rader approached him and asked for $200 a week, but Heimbigner was able to get it reduced to $165 a week. Heimbigner said payments were made on the street at various locations; "He (Reader) would call me each week and tell me the place." Payoffs continued until 1968.
Officers in the Seattle Police Department would pick establishments located in the Pioneer Square area of Seattle, or in the International District, establishments involved in illegal or nearly illegal activities, and shake them down. They demanded money, free booze and food, and other favors to "protect" these establishments from being hassled and perhaps being put out of business.
Heimbigner made these statements in a June 1970 trial that exposed these practices and led to convictions, forced resignations, and a complete reorganization of the Seattle Police Department.
