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Pity the poor police of Pittsburgh. Their troubles are the mostest! Back in 1951, the whole Vice Squad was arrested (and disbanded) and 11 officers charged with perjury and obstructing justice when the grand jury uncovered their neat little racket of framing men on "morals charges" then arranging, through "cooperative" attorneys, to drop charges after "payments" were made.

Vice Squad boss Louis Morgan got a 3-1/2-to-7 year sentence in the Coun ty Workhouse, but served less than a year. His "right hand man," Patrolman Jack Soloff, served only 6 months for his 26 counts. Five were cleared, 1 after first being convicted. Three, Alan Tanser, Guy Russo and Martin Scanlon, were convicted, but began a long process of appeals, and meanwhile, showed up back on the force, despite public protests. Tanser was later also convicted of beating up a motorist, but even this didn't seem to affect his "fitness" for the force. After all, most of the original eleven were back.

This year, while Tanser, Russo and Scanlon were getting a rehearing before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, another Vice officer put the Department in hot water...

At six A.M, of a recent Sunday, Lt. Carnahan, head of the Vice-Dope Squad, was found shot in the thighs in a downtown club, Officials earlier had ordered the club closed at 3 A.M. despite the fact that " Police Superintendent James Slusser sometimes stopped in," as the POST-GAZETTE phrased it, Carnahan said he'd come in at 6 for coffee while bartenders and waiters were cleaning up "I was working on something" and accidentally shot himself while changing his gun from one pocket to the other, POST-GAZETTE described one of six persons said to be present as club's reputed partowner, Frank Valenti, " widely known

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But soon the story began to get fuzzy. Some said there were twenty persons in the club at the time of the shooting. Officer Ted Walsh, who handled the "investigation" in which no witnesses were questioned, no evidence taken, no report made said he just happened by the club and looked in to see why it was open when he heard the shot, Another witness said scores of persons in the club saw the shooting, including a couple Ward politicians, and at least five police, including Officer Walsh, "When the shot was fired, it looked like the end of the Army-Notre Dame football game as the crowd scattered."

Carnahan finally named a girl (who'd already seen reporters), Shirley Cavanaugh, an alias-loaded, much-arrested prostitute, as having shot him. Her records had been removed from police files the day before. Harried police officials began to say, yes, they would consider bringing action for obstruction of justice. And Miss Cavanaugh came into headquarters for a cup of coffee gave herself up. Carnahan, waiting for operation to remove the bullet, still didn't know how Shirley got hold of his gun, She said he'd been drunkenly waving it at her, she hit his hand, causing the shot. "He was my world," she said, "though he may not have treated me nice, I would never have harmed him." She admitted having had "more than business relations" with Carnahan, Her call-girl roommate also sang, saying Shirley gave regular tips on vice to Carnahan, and adding, "Shirley was always jealous of me if I talked to men too long."

The POST-GAZETTE editorialized, "TOO HOT TO HUSH UP... how come police officers and alleged ly there were several were frequenting a private club which was violating the law by operating hours after it should have been closed? Why didn't the officers question wit-