State v. Vasel

The complaint in this cause is founded upon the statute which makes the taking of illegal fees, under the color of official authority, a misdemeanor (1 Wagn. Stat. 488, § 19). The statute is expressed in the terms employed to define extortion at common law, and is designed to prevent and punish that offense. (1 Bish., § 424.)

The complaint charges that the defendant was a deputy constable of St. Louis township ; that, as such, he had in charge an execution against one Flederman for levy and collection; and that the defendant, in effecting the collection, corruptly and unlawfully, and under…