Whatever may be the original significance of the term, it was applied by the Bohemian Liquor Dealers’ Association to the Police Captain of the precinct in which they did their business. He was their Pantata, and from this beginning the term came to be used as a generic title for the police official, who was on terms of family relationship with the vicious and criminal class under his jurisdiction. The New York police captain was in a special sense the father-in-law, or Father-in-the-Law, to a very numerous progeny of disreputable people. Instead of being a terror to evildoers, he became their Pantata, who looked after them with semi-paternal care, and generally acted as their Father-in-the-Law, regarding it indeed as his chief function to relax the law in their behalf in return, of course, for consideration received. So long as his dues were paid there was nothing that Pantata would not do. He could, for instance, and did, practically suspend the legislation for Sunday closing. But that is a mere trifle. It was proved by the evidence of one witness that the Pantata police did not hesitate to issue irregular licences of their own for the keeping of unlicensed saloons, or shebeens, as we would say. One witness, Anna Newstatel, held a licence once down to the year 1890. When running a full licensed saloon she paid five dollars a month to the police. After 1890 her licence was revoked, but in consideration of her having been a good paying subject, the police told her that she might go on selling all kinds of liquor without a licence, so long at she continued to pay her dues to them, in consideration of an initiation fee of £40 down. The following is the extract from the evidence:-- Q. What was your licence revoked for? A. For selling liquor on a beer licence. Q. And after your licence was revoked the police allowed you to sell everything without a licence? A. After I paid them 200 dollars at the start and then 50 dollars a month. Q. Now did you pay 200 dollars at the start? A. I said I couldn’t afford to do that--I would sooner rent out the saloon; and they said if I rent out the saloon as a store, and I should live private upstairs and carry on my saloon business upstairs for half of the amount--for 100 dollars to start, and 25 dollars every month--and I should try that, and they will help me and see that I shall have customers enough to do business. Q. In other words, they told you you must go upstairs? Chairman Lexow: That is to say, they would reduce the amount one-half if she would do that? Q. You sold on Sunday as well as on weekdays? A. Yes, sir. Q. Now, about the custom that you had. Did the detectives provide you with the custom; did they give you custom?