Months before the Oliver Grand Jury was convened, it was common gossip in San Francisco that the members of the Board of Supervisors were taking money from the public service corporations.[154] Belief of this had got beyond the stage of mere newspaper accusation. It had become the firmly-settled conviction of the law-abiding element of the community. For this reason, as the months wore away in technical wrangling in the "French Restaurant" extortion cases, the public became impatient that time and energy should be expended in comparatively unimportant matters, while big graft went unprobed. Partisans of the administration took advantage of this sentiment to belittle the prosecution. Under this sort of hammering, the prosecution, during the months of February and March, 1907, unquestionably lost ground in public opinion. But with Ruef holding the Supervisors to rigid accounting, and agents of public-service corporations lynx-eyed[155] to detect any weakness in their position, and quick to report with warning and advice to Ruef at any suggestion of danger, Burns and his associates were able to make little headway in securing evidence of big graft that would justify indictment or warrant trial. The Supervisors looked to Ruef absolutely. Some of them took bribe money from others than himself in spite of his warning, but when they scented a trap they hurried to Ruef for advice. When he directed them to return the bribe money they promised to do so, and in some cases actually returned it. Ruef was a competent captain over men who had all confidence in his ability to keep them out of trouble. So long as he was in touch with the Supervisors his position so far as the Supervisors was concerned was almost impregnable. When, however, Ruef was caught in a position where he could no longer consult freely with his men, advise them and reassure them, his organization went to pieces in a wild scramble of every member thereof to save himself. This occurred when Ruef was placed in the custody of Elisor Biggy. Ruef fully appreciated this weak point in his position. He realized from the beginning of the Graft Prosecution the danger of members of the Board of Supervisors being trapped in independent bribery, and himself becoming involved through their confessions. Even before his flight from trial in the extortion case, he knew that his fears bade fair to be realized. Some fortnight before Ruef's flight, Supervisor Lonergan had been to Ruef with confession of having taken $500 from Golden M. Roy. Roy was proprietor of a well-known cafe and was counted by men in Lonergan's position as one of the supporters of the administration. But the more astute Ruef at once suspected betrayal. Ruef bluntly informed Lonergan that he had been trapped, directed him to return the money Roy had given him and warned him of the risk he ran in accepting bribes. Ruef's fears were well founded. Roy, in his dealings with Lonergan, was acting for Detective William J. Burns.