Benjamin Simon
Benjamin Simon, Camden police detective
BENJAMIN SIMON was born January 23, 1892, according to his World War I draft card. He is listed in the 1914 Camden City Directory, living at 280 Sycamore Street in South Camden, and working as a carpenter. He joined the Camden Police Department on December 1, 1916. By the time he registered for the draft in June of 1917 he had moved around the corner, to 280 Chestnut Street.
Benjamin Simon served as a detective on Camden’s Police Department in 1930s and 1940s. He was often partnered with Detectives Clifford Del Rossi and Joseph Mardino. While partnered with Detective Del Rossi he was involved in the arrest of the notorious Philadelphia “Nig” Rosen. Detectives Simon and Del Rossi also were involved in a gun battle where the suspect was slain.
Benjamin Simon lived with his wife Bella at 1413 Kenwood Avenue in the Parkside neighborhood in the late 1940s. Also living at the Kenwood Avenue address at that time was his daughter, Rose Simon Swerlick, and her husband Morris, who was then in the wholesale grocery business in Philadelphia. The Swerlicks would move to Randolph Street in East Camden, where they would reside until 1962. Rose Swerlick served as President for both the Sisterhood at Beth El Synagogue (then in Parkside) and as President of the PTA at Cramer Elementary School.
Benjamin and Bella Simon remained in Parkside through the 1950s, until Bella Simon’s death in 1959. Benjamin Simon remained on Kenwood Avenue until about 1963, when he moved to Cherry Hill NJ, where he lived out his days with his daughters and grandchildren. Benjamin Simon passed away in September of 1967. He was survived by his sons George, William and Jack Simon, and his daughters Evelyn Fields and Rose (Swerlick) Rosenbloom, as well as his ten grandchildren.
One of Benjamin Simon’s granddaughters, Judy Swerlick, is an educator and painter. She has taught art in the United States and Japan since 1977. She taught English in Japan in 1977–78 and has taught art and special education in the United States since 1978.
World War I Draft Card
World War I draft registration card for Benjamin Simon, June 5, 1917
Hebrew G. O. P. Club At Convention
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Hebrew G. O. P. Club At Convention
The Camden Hebrew Republican Club will be represented at the State League of Republican Clubs’ convention by Israel Wetizman [sic], Hyman Bloom, Joseph Varbalow and Benjamin Simon. Lawyer Benjamin Natal is president of the organization and under his direction the club is advancing in all departments.
Camden Burglar Slain; Cop Wounded in Gun Duel
Camden Courier-Post —
TWO SUSPECTS HELD IN FATAL FIGHT AT STORE
Detective Robert Ashenfelter in Serious Condition at Hospital
NO WARNING IS GIVEN AS SLEUTH IS FELLED
‘Tip’ on Robbery at Thirty-Second and Pierce Given By Telephone
Wounded Sleuth and Companion
—Courier-Post Photo
City Detective Robert Ashenfelter, wounded three times in a gun battle with a burglar suspect early this morning, is shown in his bed at the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital, talking to Detective Benjamin Simon. The latter, who was two feet behind Ashenfelter when the latter was hit, is shown telling the wounded man that the burglar, Charles Rettberg, 21, was killed in the volley of machine gun and revolver shots. The shooting occurred at the rear of a chain store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue.
CHARLES RETTBERG
Twenty-one-year-old East Camden burglar who was shot to death during a gun duel with police early this morning. Trapped in a chain grocery store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue, Rettberg seriously wounded Detective Robert Ashenfelter. The latter emptied his pistol at Rettberg, while Policeman Frank Evans opened fire with a machine gun.
A burglar was shot and killed by policemen armed with a machine gun after he critically wounded a city detective during a gun duel in the rear of an East Camden store early this morning. The slain man was Charles Rettberg, 21, 1189 North Thirty-sixth street.
In grave condition at the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital is City Detective Robert Ashenfelter, 39, of 119 Manheim avenue, Oaklyn. Ashenfelter, who is married, was shot three times, one bullet lodging over his heart, another in his right shoulder and another went through the right hand.
Two men are under arrest on suspicion of being Rettberg’s accomplices in the fatal attempt to rob the American Store on the southeast corner of Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue. They are Theodore Rettberg, 24, brother of the dead man, and a man who gave his name as Melvin James, 38, of Pottstown, Pa.
Theodore Rettberg was arrested at his home after the shooting when detectives found his clothing soaked by rain. James, who is believed to be a Camden man despite the address he gave, was found lying on the front step of the store prior to the shooting, ostensibly intoxicated. He was armed.
Police believe that James was feigning intoxication and actually was the lookout. Clothing worn by a third man seen running across a vacant lot immediately after the shooting tallied with that found in Theodore Rettberg’s room, according to the police.
A truck said by the police to be owned by Theodore Rettberg was found parked within half a block from the store.
Both James and Theodore Rettberg denied any implication in the attempted robbery, although they were subjected to questioning for several hours by Captain John Golden, of the city detectives, and Chief Lawrence T. Doran, of the county detectives.
Police was unable to determine how many times Charles Rettberg had been shot, or who had killed him. Detective Ashenfelter emptied his revolver at the trapped men, while Policeman Frank Evans manned the machine gun.
The fatality occurred at about 3.15 a. m. Desk Sergeant Gus Koerner received an anonymous telephone call at police headquarters shortly after 3 a. m. The caller declared that burglars were breaking into the American Store at “Thirty-second Bergen avenue.”
“You meaned Thirty-second and Pierce?” quizzed Koerner.
The caller mumbled something and hung up without giving his name. His mistake in the address — Thirty-second street and Bergen avenue run parallel to each other—led police to believe the caller was a stranger in that section of the city, if not in the city itself.
Koerner dispatched Policemen Evans and Charles Wainwright to the scene in a bandit chaser, which is equipped with a portable machine gun. Koerner also notified the detective bureau, and Ashenfelter and Benjamin Simon started out in another car. A third call was made to the Third district police station by Koerner, and the patrol crew, Joseph Shreeves and Elwood Humphreys, hastened to the store.
Evans and Wainwright arrived first, parking their car when they saw James sprawled on the front step. They questioned him, but he talked incoherently. Ashenfelter and Simon arrived in their car. Believing James was a lookout and that the burglar or burglars might still be in the place, the two detectives ran toward the rear to cut off escape from that exit.
Ashenfelter was about two feet ahead of Simon. With his gun in hand, Ashenfelter reached the rear of the building and started to turn the corner.
Burglar Opens Fire
Without warning a shot rang out from the interior of the shed at the rear. The bullet struck Ashenfelter in the right hand, tearing the butt off his revolver and then entering his chest. The revolver dropped from his hand.
Ashenfelter sank to his knees, crying, “They got me!” Nevertheless, he grasped his revolver in his uninjured left hand and emptied it into the shed, as four more bullets ripped through the door from the inside at the already wounded detective. One bullet struck Ashenfelter in the right shoulder, but the other three missed him.
Unable to reload, Ashenfelter drew himself to his feet and staggered out of line of fire. He fell into the arms of Simon, who pulled him out of danger.
Meanwhile Evans, hearing the shots, left Wainwright in front of the building with their prisoners, James. Seizing the machine gun, Evan’s [sic] ran to the rear. He pointed it at the door and shouted.
“Come out or I’ll shoot.”
There was no answer. Evans waited a moment, again shouted his warning, and then fired a burst from the machine gun. Seven bullets crashed through the door and wall of the shed.
The Third district patrol arrived and Ashenfelter was placed in it. He had attempted to rise three times, but on each occasion he slumped to the ground.
Hearing no sound from inside, police tore the door off its remaining hinge. They found Rettberg lying on the floor in a line with the door. He was dead. In his right hand was a 25-calibre pistol. All its cartridges had been discharged. Near his body also were a brace, bit and jimmy.
Policeman Wainwright then saw a man running east across the vacant lots in the rear of the store. Humphreys shouted to him to stop but when his command was not heeded, fired a shot at the fleeing figure. The fugitive disappeared on Bergen avenue, but not before Humphreys ascertained that he wore a yellow shirt.
Gun Found on Suspect
James was searched, and a .38-calibre revolver was found in his possession. He denied knowledge of the attempted robbery, and was taken to police headquarters.
A short time later, District Detectives Louis Schlam and Richard Donnelly, and Policemen Charles Johnson and Lewis Smith, all of the Third District, went to Rettberg’s home. There they found Theodore Rettberg clad only in underwear. He denied he had been at the store or with his brother, but the officers declared they found a bright yellow shirt and a pair of duck trousers in his room. The two articles of clothing were wet. As it had been raining at the time of the robbery, Theodore Rettberg was arrested on suspicion.
The manager of the store, Charles Schultz, 1618 Pierce avenue, stated it was the second time burglars had visited the establishment. About a month ago robbers stole $100 worth of goods, entering the place by forcing the shed door and then drilling a number of holes around the lock of the inner rear door.
This leads police to believe that Rettberg was implicated in the first robbery, as the same method of entrance was tried this morning. The thieves took off one hinge of the rear shed door and in that manner, opened that door this morning. Then the thieves attacked the door leading from the shed to the rear room of the store. A number of holes had been drilled around the bolt and a hole large enough to admit a man’s hand had been punched through the door.
However, Schultz had barricaded the inside door to prevent a second burglary. He had braced a heavy timber against the door, nailing the other end to the floor.
Hospital physicians at first feared that Ashenfelter had no chance for recovery. This forenoon, they said his condition had become fair, although it was too serious to permit them to remove the bullets.
The wounded detective was conscious this afternoon, and when Simon visited him, asked,
“Did they get him?”
“Yes, he’s dead,” Simon informed him.
“That makes me feel better,” sighed Ashenfelter. “That does me more good than medicine, and now I’ll get better quick. I’m glad they got him, for he tried to kill me and almost did.”
Where Burglar Was Killed and Cop Wounded
Here is the scene of this morning’s gun battle between a burglar suspect and police, as reconstructed by photographer and artist. The photo shows the rear of the American Store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue, in which Charles Rettberg was shot to death as he opened fire on police who trapped him. Rettberg is pictured lying in the shed, a small revolver, discharged, grasped in his hand. Outside the shed is the figure of City Detective Robert Ashenfelter, wounded three times. Detective Benjamin Simon is shown pulling Ashenfelter out of the line of fire, not knowing whether the trapped man was dead or alive.
3 Men Quizzed in Gun Fight of Cops and Thief
Camden Courier-Post —
Detective Ashenfelter, Wounded in Battle, Improves
TWO CONFESSIONS IN THEFT REPORTED
Girl is Held by Police as Witness in East Camden Affray
While city and county authorities continued to question three alleged accomplices of the young robber who was fatally shot by police yesterday, City Detective Robert Ashenfelter was waging what apparently will be a successful fight for life today.
Shot over the heart, in the right shoulder and the hand, Ashenfelter’s life was at first despaired of by West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital physicians yesterday morning. However, his remarkable stamina and his expressed determination to “pull through” led physicians to state today that his condition is no longer critical, though he is not yet out of danger.
He was wounded by Charles Rettberg, 21, of 1189 North Thirty-sixth street, who died a few seconds later when a slug tore through his heart as he tried to shoot his way out of a shed in the rear of a chain grocery store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue at 3.15 a. m. yesterday. Another bullet struck the youth in the arm.
Whether Rettberg was killed when Ashenfelter emptied his gun into the shed after he was wounded, or when Policeman Frank Evans opened fire with a police sub-machine gun will be determined from the two bullets which struck the youth. The bullets were extracted at a post mortem held at the city morgue yesterday by County Physician Edward B. Rogers and Coroner Melvin Cain.
Meanwhile three men, one a brother of the dead man, are being held without bail on charges of atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill, and breaking and entering, while a young woman is being detained as a material witness. All four will be arraigned in police court tomorrow morning.
Under arrest are James Melbourne, who first gave his name as Melvin James, 38, of 820 Beideman avenue; Theodore Rettberg, 24, and Gordon L. McCrea, 20, of 820 Beideman avenue.
Melbourne is the alleged “lookout.” He and McCrea are from Pottstown, Pa., and have lived in East Camden only a short time.
According to Captain of Detectives John Golden, Melbourne and Theodore Rettberg confessed to their part in the robbery after questioning last night. They implicated McCrea, who steadfastly denies he had anything to do with it.
The girl detained is Miss Emmalinda Canilus, 22, who lives at the Rettberg home and who declares her only connection with the Rettbergs is that she is a close friend of Theodore Rettberg’s wife. Miss Canilus said she is a resident of Trenton and has lived in Camden only a short time, stopping at the Rettberg place until she might obtain employment.
Although he would not disclose the nature of her statement, Captain Golden said it was through Miss Canilus’ help that confessions were obtained from Melbourne and Rettberg. The girl is being held until questioned today by Prosecutor Baldwin.
The burglary was planned several hours before the accused were surprised by the police, according to Captain Golden. The four men talked over their plans while playing cards at the McCrea home, he said.
They reached the scene in a truck belonging to the Rettbergs. The truck was parked about 100 yards from the store and police believe the four men were planning to carry away much of the store stock. The truck was impounded.
All Work in East Camden
Captain Golden said all of the men are employed by an East Camden concern. The two who are alleged to have confessed place the blame for the affair on the shoulders of the slain robber.
He was the “brains,” they declare, and induced them to accompany him. They also declare he was the only one to fire on the police.
A revolver found on Melbourne was loaded with “dum-dum” bullets, Captain Golden said.
Chief of County Detectives Lawrence T. Doran co-operated with Capt. Golden in questioning the suspects last night.
The city detective head praised Ashenfelter for his fearlessness and also complimented District Detectives Louis Schlamm and Richard Donnelly and Detective Benjamin Simons, for the efficient manner in which they cleared up the entire case.
“There was nothing left to do, after Schlamm, Donnelly and Simons got through their work,” Golden said.
Burglar Is Killed
Camden Police Department —
Burglar Is Killed. CAMDEN, N. J., Aug. 24—(U.S.) Police, with a sub-machine gun, trapped two burglars in a grocery here today and killed one. Robert Ashenfelter, detective, was shot and is in critical condition. The second burglar escaped.
Bullet Upsets Theory Thief Shot Detective
Camden Courier-Post —
[Bu]llet Found in Ashenfelter Declared From Gun of Slain Burglar’s Pal
[O]PERATING SURGEON TAKES OPPOSITE VIEW
[W]ounded Cop ‘Got His Man’ With Left Hand, Police Reveal
[I]nvestigation of the attempted [rob]bery which ended with the [dea]th of a young burglar veered [off] on a new tangent today when [it w]as reported that City Detective [Rob]ert Ashenfelter may not have [bee]n wounded by the slain youth [but] by an accomplice.
[A] ballistic expert may have to be [calle]d in to examine the bullet which [was] removed from above the detective’s heart in a delicate operation at [the] West Jersey Homeopathic Hos[pital] yesterday afternoon. It was [offi]cially reported at the hospital [this] morning that the bullet was of […]alibre, whereas Charles Rettberg, [… ] North Thirty-sixth street, the [slain] burglar, had a .25-calibre Luger [auto]matic. However, Dr. H. Wesley [… ], who performed the operation, [sai]d that in his opinion the bullet [is a] smaller calibre than a .32, and [possi]bly is a .22 or .25.
Probe Ordered
[Bo]th County Detective Chief [Law]rence T. Doran and Captain of [Dete]ctives John Golden, stated that [they] would obtain determination of [the b]ullet’s calibre. It was pointed [out t]hat the bullet struck and sev[ered] the butt of Ashenfelter’s gun [befor]e it entered the detective’s [body], so that it might have flattened [b]efore hitting the sleuth. There [is al]so the possibility that the dead [ma]n’s revolver, empty when he was [foun]d dead, might have contained [dum-]dum bullets, which also were [use]d in the gun of an accomplice. [Dum-]dum bullets flatten out when [they] hit a target, making a much [large]r wound than the original size [of th]e bullet.
[Ca]ptain Golden also announced to-[day t]hat the shot which was fatal to
(Continued on Page Two)
Bullet Casts Doubt in Shooting of Cop
(Continued from Page One)
Rettberg when he was trapped robbing a chain store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue Monday was fired by Ashenfelter.
It was first thought that Policeman Frank Evans, who fired into the store with a machine gun after Ashenfelter fell wounded, had slain Rettberg. But Captain Golden said the calibre of the bullet taken from the dead youth’s heart proved to be 38, the size fired by Ashenfelter’s gun. The detective’s gun was shot from his hand, but, though wounded in the chest and shoulder, the game detective picked up the weapon with his uninjured left hand and emptied it at the shed from whence the robber bullets came.
Three Arraigned
Three alleged accomplices of the slain robber and a girl witness were arraigned before Judge Pancoast in police court this morning and held without bail for the grand jury. They are Theodore Rettberg, 24-year-old brother of the dead robber; Gordon McCrea, 20, of 820 Beideman avenue; James Melbourne, 38, of the Beideman avenue address, and Miss Emmalinda Canilus, 20, who lives at the Rettberg home.
Theodore Rettberg and Melbourne are alleged to have confessed to taking part in the attempted robbery; but McCrea has denied any connection with it. However, when stolen goods worth about $500 were found in his room yesterday, he confessed to three other robberies, implicating two men.
McCrea, Rettberg and Melbourne were arraigned first on charges of atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill. Rettberg pleaded not guilty, McCrea asserted that he had nothing to say, while Melbourne pleaded “guilty to what I confessed.” That was that he helped plan the robbery and acted as lookout. Then they were charged with breaking and entering, to which all three pleaded not guilty. Melbourne was further charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon, as he had a 38-calibre revolver loaded with dum-dum bullets when nabbed. He pleaded guilty to that complaint. All of the complaints were signed by Detective Benjamin Simon, who was two feet behind Ashenfelter when the former was wounded.
Girl Hysterical
Miss Canilus was arraigned as a material witness. Judge Pancoast said he would have to hold her without bail but that the prosecutor’s office could fix bail for her release. After being taken back to her cell, the young woman became hysterical, attracting a crowd to the corridor outside the city jail cells. She repeatedly cried out:
“I have nothing to do with this. I told them all I know. Why are they keeping me here?”
McCrea and Melbourne are newcomers to this city, having recently moved here from Royersford, Pa. They boarded with Mrs. Anna Bowden, an aunt of McCrea’s, at 820 Beideman avenue. Mrs. Bowden was taken to city hall for questioning yesterday after the loot was found in her house but satisfied Chief Doran and Captain Golden, chief of the city detective force, that she knew nothing of the robberies.
The loot was located by District Detectives Louis Schlamm and Richard Donnelly and Detective Benjamin Simon. With Chief Doran and Captain Golden they moved the stolen merchandise to city hall.
Last night, McCrea admitted that some of the loot came from three robberies, but he said he knew nothing about the rest of the merchandise. He confessed to robbing the store of Jacob J. Friedman, 18 King street, Gloucester, on Aug. 13, of shoes, hats and other articles of clothing worth $123. Friedman identified some of the loot at headquarters today.
Tells of Tire Theft
McCrea also said he stole two tires from the S. M. Brothers on Crescent boulevard in Pennsauken, and five boxes of cigars and a sprinkler from a road stand owned by Ida Carver on Burlington pike in Burlington county.
He implicated two companions, giving the police the name of one and saying that the other was a close friend of the one he had named.
Chief of Police Jesse Neiman, of Royersford, Pa., identified McCrea and Melbourne yesterday as two youths wanted in Pennsylvania for questioning in several recent robberies there. He declared the two were “well known hoodlums who were always in trouble.” According to Chief Neiman a brother of McCrea’s is serving a long prison term in the Eastern Penitentiary for highway robbery.
Alleged Pals of Slain Burglar
Camden Courier-Post —
Three alleged accomplices of Charles Rettberg, 21-year old East Camden burglar shot and killed by a detective, are shown during their police court hearing today. From left to right they are Gordon McCrae, Theodore Rettberg, a brother of the slain youth, and James Melbourne. All three were charged with atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill and breaking and entering, while Melbourne was additionally charged with carrying a gun. They were held without bail for the grand jury.
Police Censured in Pickpocket Case
Camden Courier-Post —
Stewart Reprimands Pancoast for Freeing 4—Grand Jury Refuses to Indict
Mayor Roy R. Stewart has reprimanded Police Judge Garfield Pancoast, former Acting City Detective Benjamin Simon and Captain of Detectives John W. Golden for laxity in handling the case of four alleged pickpockets and their unwilling accuser.
Meanwhile, the Camden County Grand Jury has exonerated the four accused men and also the complainant, who had been held by Pancoast as a material witness after failing to appear against the quartet in court.
The pickpocket suspects were released in their own recognizance by Pancoast and only one was rearrested after the police judge ordered the case reopened after a conference with the mayor.
Stewart acted after criticism had been made concerning progress of the case. He insisted that the defendants be brought to trial.
The men exonerated gave their names to the police at the time of their arrest as Thomas Anthony, 30, of 1112 Federal street; Harry Smith, 44, of 1338 Oxford street; Harry Miller, 29, of 629 North Tenth street, and Sam Berman, 46, of 606 West Girard avenue, all of Philadelphia.
Their attorneys at the police court hearing were Walter S. Keown and L. Scott Cherchesky.
Accused by Theatregoer
Their accuser was Charles Wilder, of 567 Liberty street, who had charged the men with taking $22 from his pocket in March as he was leaving a theatre at Broadway and Newton avenue.
The mayor said Wilder informed him, in a formal statement, that the reason he did not appear against the defendants at the original hearing was because he was more interested in getting his money back than in pressing the charges. Wilder is said to have given police the name of the man who gave him back his money.
“Wilder said he felt that if his money was returned to him there was no more to the case,” the mayor said.
“Will contempt proceedings be instituted against Wilder?” the mayor was asked.
Warrants Out for Four
“No,” he replied. “I don’t think so because we are still waiting to get the other fellows. Warrants are out to pick up the four defendants at any time.”
“Can they still be rearrested, even though they have been exonerated by the grand jury?” the mayor was asked.
“Well, that’s something you will have to ask Police Judge Pancoast,” he replied.
The quartet cleared of pocketpicking have long police records in Philadelphia.
In his formal decision yesterday, after reviewing the case, the mayor censured Simon for “failure to properly handle the case and dispose of same before the police judge”; Pancoast, for his “overzealousness in calling this case as the first of the morning” and for releasing defendants with criminal records in their own recognizance, and Golden for “not seeing that each and every member of the detective bureau was familiar with the rules, regulations, responsibilities and duties of their positions.”
“After reading all the evidence submitted in the case, I do not believe that Officer Simon has the qualifications to be assigned to the detective bureau,” the mayor said at the conclusion of his decision.
Simon, according to the mayor, failed to press the charge against the defendants in the absence of Wilder at the hearing. He also accused Simon of permitting release of the accused and with failing to rearrest them.
Notes Witness’ Absence
The mayor, other than to comment on the absence of the witness at the police court hearing, does not go further into failure of Wilder to appear after receiving back the money that had been stolen from him. The mayor said, in answer to a question, that he was concerned mainly with laxity in the case.
Mayor Stewart’s formal decision is dated May 27. He handed Judge Pancoast, Simon and Golden a copy of it the next day after conferring with each man separately.
Simon, he said, regarded the reprimand as “rather severe,” but did not attempt to shift responsibility; Pancoast explained that he heard the pickpocket case first because it is his custom to do so when defendants are represented by counsel, and Golden received the censure “graciously.” Pancoast freed the men, it was reported, after Simon testified the police “have nothing against them” and when Wilder failed to appear in court.
The exoneration of the four men charged with being pickpockets was voted Thursday when Wilder testified before the grand jury that he would not be able to identify them, Prosecutor Clifford A. Baldwin said.
The prosecutor said that although the four have long criminal records, the grand jury could not indict them on their records. Wilder, he added, had “testified fairly” that he could not identify them; therefore the no-bill was returned.
Of the men who had been arrested on Wilder’s complaint, only Miller, alias Harry Cohen, was rearrested after Judge Pancoast had reopened the case. He was held in $1000 bail in Philadelphia pending extradition after a hearing before Magistrate Edward F. Roberts.
Pancoast postponed hearings in the case several times to permit Simon and other detectives to rearrest the defendants. He also postponed the case of Wilder, whom he had held in $1000 bail as a material witness when he did not appear at the original police court hearing. The bail was fixed to assure Wilder’s appearance against the men in the event of their reapprehension.
On April 1, Judge Pancoast severely rebuked Simon for his inability to rearrest the four Philadelphians sought as pickpockets. The police judge said: “There has been a lot of criticism in this case and yet nothing has been done to apprehend the men.” Simon said he was doing all within his power in the case.
At a continued hearing before Judge Pancoast May 6, the court informed Wilder that he would be sent for by the grand jury.
“This case has been going on since March 15 and is now in the hands of Prosecutor Baldwin,” Pancoast said at that time. “He has complaints against all four of these men and they will be indicted. I shall continue your bail so that you will be sure to appear before that body when wanted.”
Text of Statement
The text of the mayor’s conclusions, after reviewing the case, follows:
“On March 15, 1932, Harry Miller, Sam Berman, Harry Smith and Thomas Anthony, all of Philadelphia, known as pickpockets, were apprehended after picking the pocket of Charles Wilder by a motorcycle policeman, William Taylor. After the arrest was made, Acting Detective Benjamin Simon was assigned to the case.
“I feel that Officer Simon should be reprimanded for his failure to properly handle the case and dispose of same before the police judge.
“The latter recommendation is based on the following facts: First, for Simon’s failure to press the charge in the absence of the witness. Second, inasmuch as he was familiar with the records of the four men, and, according to his own statement that Acting Detective George Zeitz telephoned from the Philadelphia detective bureau and gave the information that the prisoners had long records and that it would require from two to two and one-half hours to prepare a copy of the same. Third, for permitting the court to try this case as the first case in the morning, realizing the record of the men, and not requesting the judge to lay it over until he could furnish the information being furnished by the Philadelphia bureau. Fourth, that Officer Simon carried in his pocket for several days the necessary warrants to arrest these men after they had been released in their own recognizance and the very weak statement from him that he hoped to have the men surrender without extradition being necessary. I feel that it was preposterous to believe that criminals of this type would be lured into any such scheme. Fifth, that Officer Simon should have made the charges against these men instead of leaving the matter to Judge Pancoast. Sixth, for Simon’s unwillingness to sign the statement which he gave to the detective bureau.
Censures Pancoast
“Judge Pancoast should be reprimanded for his overzealousness in calling this case as the first of the morning. Certainly, four men arrested as pickpockets should not be swept aside and released without holding them until their complete record could be obtained. Judge Pancoast realizes that we are not inviting criminals of this type to our community, and the rougher we treat them the fewer we will have in our midst. He certainly should not release men with criminal records, such as these, in their own recognizance.
“Captain Golden should be reprimanded for not seeing that each and every member of the detective bureau was familiar with the rules, regulations, responsibilities and duties of their positions, as in this case it was very evident that Detective Simon did not show any of the aforesaid qualifications. I also believe that in cases of this nature that Captain Golden should make sure that the complaining witness would appear in court and that the court be instructed to hold the men until they had a complete record of them. To my mind, the laxity in any department is and should be placed directly on the man in charge, in this instance, the captain of detectives.
“After reading all the evidence submitted in this case, I do not believe that Officer Simon has the qualifications to be assigned to the detective bureau.”
Commenting on the no-bill exonerating the men accused by Wilder, Prosecutor Baldwin said:
“The man who had his pocket picked (Wilder) appeared before the grand jury Thursday. He was very fair about it and he said he could not identify the men who were arrested as the ones who picked his pocket because the moving picture theatre, where he said he was jostled, was dark. When the grand jury heard this testimony, it returned a no-bill.
Jostled in Theatre
“It is true that these four men who were accused have criminal records, but we cannot indict them on that. Wilder said he was brushed against in the aisle of the theatre as he was putting on his overcoat. When he reached the sidewalk, he said he saw an automobile pulling away. He testified that he did not know how long the men had been in it when they started off, but that he automatically jotted down the license number of the car. However, when we questioned him as to whether there was any possible way he could identify them as the men who picked his pocket, he said ‘No, because it was dark in the theatre’.”
Wilder, on March 23, was reported as having identified Miller as the man who picked his pocket and said the others jostled him as he was leaving the motion picture theatre. He saw the four men leave in a car, he told Policeman Taylor. The policeman chased the car to Broadway and Federal streets and arrested the occupants.
‘Buck’ Sage Held as ‘Hit-Runner’
Camden Courier-Post —
Detainer Lodged Against Sportsman in Shooting of Waterhouse
A detainer against Russell “Buck” Sage, held in Gloucester on a hit-run charge, was lodged last night by Camden police, who claim the South Camden sportsman “knows more than he has told” of the shooting of Harry “Gyp” Waterhouse.
Sage was arrested shortly after noon yesterday by Detective George Zeitz on a warrant issued by Police Recorder Oliver J. Stetser charging him with being the driver of an automobile which struck another machine in Gloucester early Thursday.
He will be given a hearing today. His arrest came a short time after he had appeared at Gloucester city hall and claimed ownership of an automobile which had been in a collision at 7 a. m. Thursday. Blood found in the car led the police to believe Waterhouse was taken to the hospital in it a short time before the accident.
Waterhouse staggered into the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital Thursday morning and asked that his wounded leg be treated. Physicians said he had been drinking, but they opined much of his intoxicated manner was feigned. He was taken to police headquarters, but later was returned to the hospital when he could not walk upstairs to police court.
Sage was one of three friends of Waterhouse questioned about the shooting by Captain John Golden and Detective George Zeitz. The others were Raymond O’Connor, brother of the slain “Joey” O’Connor, and Harry Simon, brother of Patrolman Benjamin Simon. All professed ignorance of any details about the shooting, and were released. Later, Sage applied at Cooper hospital for treatment for a wrenched shoulder, which he said he received when he fell down a stairway.
Yesterday, however Sage went to Gloucester and claimed the car. It was alleged by the Gloucester police that the car struck another machine owned by John J. Bates, 2629 South Sartain street, Philadelphia, at Broadway and King street. According to the police, the driver of the car Sage claimed escaped.
Shortly after the accident the Gloucester police received a telephone call stating the car belonged to a Russell Shee, of Kaighn avenue near Fourth street, and had been stolen from Burlington and Essex streets, Gloucester.
However, the Gloucester police stated they have two witnesses who tentatively identified Sage as the driver of the hit-run car. Because the accident occurred not long after Waterhouse was taken to the hospital in a machine which immediately drove away, the police expressed belief it was Sage who took Waterhouse to the hospital and participated in the collision on his return trip.
Benjamin Simon and Clifford Del Rossi
Camden Courier-Post —
Benjamin Simon and Clifford Del Rossi
[Photo only — two men at a counter, no article text visible. Companion article image (2b) not found on CDN.]
Eddie Adamski Escape Route
Camden Courier-Post —
Eddie Adamski Escape Route
[Photo illustration / crime scene diagram — shows escape route with dashed line over a wall near residential buildings; inset oval portrait of a man. No article text visible. Both the a and b versions are the same diagram image.]
60 Overcome While at Work in RCA Victor; Probe Started
Camden Courier-Post —
60 Overcome While at Work in RCA Victor; Probe Started
[Photograph of two women (Miss Clara Schaeffer and Miss Violetta Brown) confined to bed after ptomaine poisoning treatment at Cooper Hospital]
In Family Tragedy
Camden Courier-Post —
Police Sergeant John Potter joined Keefe and Miller and they took young Schiller to police headquarters.
City detective Benjamin Simon had signed the complaint in which he charged “on information received” that Schiller did feloniously and with malice aforethought shoot and kill his father.
The complaint was read to him and Gregorio told him not to say anything, as Judge Pancoast would enter a plea of “not guilty” in his behalf. This was done by the court and Schiller was then held without bail pending grand jury action. He was taken to the county jail.
County Detective Chief Lawrence T. Doran, who was among the first to question young Schiller Saturday night, said the man did not seem repentant over what he had done.
Coroner Holl and Dr. Edward B. Rogers, county physician, yesterday performed an autopsy on the senior Schiller’s body and ascertained that death was due to an internal hemorrhage caused by a bullet wound of the upper portion of the abdomen. They said a .32-calibre revolver had been used in the shooting.
City Detectives Rox Saponare and Maurice DeNicoli went out Federal Street and took her back with them to detective headquarters.
Few political workers were better known than “Jake” Schiller. He was born in Philadelphia and was brought to Camden in early life by his parents, who conducted a saloon near Twenty-third and Federal Streets. East Camden was then the town of Stockton.
He was originally a Democrat but became a Republican through persuasion of the late U. S. Senator David Baird and remained a friend of the former leader for 40 years.
For more than 20 years Schiller was inspector of the Excise Commission in Camden. He made his last political stand for leadership of the Twelfth Ward in 1926 when he supported the candidacy of Sergeant Ray Smith against Commissioner Clay W. Reesman for ward committeeman. Schiller was supporting Congressman Charles A. Wolverton and the late Senator Joseph H. Forsyth in a campaign against former Congressman Francis F. Patterson and State Senator Albert S. Woodruff.
“In all the years I have known him he has always been an enthusiastic and loyal friend with a good heart for everybody in trouble,” Congressman Wolverton said when he learned of Schiller’s death.
Passed Bogus Bills In Stores Here, Boy Reveals To Police
Camden Morning Post —
PASSED BOGUS BILLS IN STORES HERE, BOY REVEALS TO POLICE
Tells Weird Tale of Being ’Taken for Ride’ by Three Men
FEARED DEATH IN RIVER
A 19-year-old coffee salesman yesterday confessed, according to the police, to passing counterfeit $10 bills in Camden saloons and drug stores. He then told a strange story of being taken for a ride and threatened with death by drowning.
He gave his name as Harry Yellin, of 830 Mt. Vernon street. After signing the alleged confession, he was held by city police for agents of the United States Department of Justice.
According to his story to detectives, Yellin was seized by three men Monday night, carried off in their automobile and taken to the banks of a creek or river. There, stones were tied around his neck and the men threatened to throw him in the water unless he told where he kept collections from coffee sales. Finally, however, they released him.
Yellin was arrested charged with loitering when he was unable to explain his presence at 4 a. m. at Third and Spruce streets to Motorcycle Patrolman Thomas Kauffman.
At headquarters, Yellin was recognized by Detective Benjamin Simon as a counterfeit suspect, Simon said. With Detectives Clifford Del Rossi and Clarence Arthur, Yellin was questioned for more than an hour before he confessed.
Simon quoted Yellin as follows regarding the “ride” story:
“Sometime after midnight, three men picked me up somewhere in Camden and forced me into their car and under threats of death, demanded that I tell them where I kept large sums of money I collected on my coffee route. I told them I did not collect any large sums of money and they drove me to the bank of some creek or river, I don’t know which, and tied several huge rocks around my neck.
“One of the men ordered me to be thrown in the water and they were about to push me in when they changed their minds, took the rocks from my neck and ordered me back in the car. They drove me to Second and Clinton streets, where they pushed me out, and I was on my way home when I was arrested.
“These men kept asking me while they were riding me around in their car if I was passing any counterfeit money, and when I told them I was not, they insisted about asking me about counterfeit money. I have an idea they wanted to see if I would talk and I think they were members of the New York counterfeit gang, several of which I met when I was in New York. When they found out I wouldn’t talk, I guess they decided everything was all right.”
Yellin’s Confession
Following is the alleged counterfeiting confession Simon said Yellin made:
“Some time ago after I got these counterfeit notes in, a hotel in New York from two fellows introduced to me as ’Joe’ and ’Eddie,’ I came to Camden and got rid of them as soon as I could. When I met these men, they suggested that we shoot some crap, after which they offered to sell me some counterfeit bills. I bought three of the $10 notes for $15, and they gave me the rest of them for good measure.
“The first one I passed was in a saloon at Haddon avenue and Whitman avenue. I bought a glass of beer and a package of cigarettes in this place. The next one was in a drug store at the northeast corner of Seventh and Pine streets, where I again purchased a pack of cigarettes.
“The third bill I passed in a saloon on Market street above Delaware avenue. I think the name is Thompson’s Grille. I bought a pack of cigarettes and a glass of beer. The next one was passed in a drug store at Mt. Ephraim and Everett street. One in a cafe on Walnut street near Broadway, and another in a drug store on Broadway near Mt. Vernon. I got $9 in change from a drunken man at the Parkside Grille, on Kaighn avenue near Haddon avenue, and passed another in a grocery store at Fourth and Royden streets, where I purchased a can of oil.”
According to Detective Simon a warrant has been issued charging Yellin with larceny of a watch and field glasses, valued at $55, from his two brothers. He will be arraigned today on this count before Judge Pancoast.
Cop’s Probe Fails to Fix Cause of Poultry Blaze
Camden Courier-Post —
Investigation of $50,000 Warehouse Fire Conducted by City
30 FAMILIES FLEE
A police investigation of the fire which drove 30 families from their homes and caused $50,000 damage to the 3-story warehouse of Bell and Evans, Inc., poultry dealers, near Twenty-seventh and Pleasant streets, Saturday failed yesterday to determine the cause.
Detectives Benjamin Simon and Clifford Del Rossi said they could find no clue in the wreckage. Carlton C. Evans, president of the company, said his opinion is that the fire started from crossed wires near a gulley of the roof.
The fire fanned by a strong wind, swept rapidly through the warehouse.
More than 10,000 chickens were burned to death and thousands of dollars’ worth of dressed stock ruined. Capt. Henry Zuck [sic], of the Mt. Ephraim and Kaighn avenue engine company, was overcome by smoke as he led his men into the first floor of the blazing building. Other firemen were driven from the entrance by the intense heat.
As flames leaped hundreds of feet into the air, firemen tried to keep the blaze from spreading to other buildings and dwellings. They announced shortly after their arrival that the storage house was doomed.
School Imperiled
Also endangered by the flames was the old St. Joseph’s Parochial School, Sisters’ Home and the old St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, at Twenty-fifth and Howell streets. Both buildings are vacant.
The houses endangered were on Howell street, between Twenty-fourth and Twenty-sixth streets. Residents who fled, moving their cars from garages and in some cases furniture and household goods, were assured by firemen that the flames would be confined to the storehouse.
More than a dozen hose lines were set up on the south side of the frame structure, which is 150 feet long and 100 feet wide, to protect the homes.
The fire was discovered by Charles Stevenson, of 2419 Howell street, who shouted to his brother-in-law, Louis Jones, of 2507 Howell street, who was passing, to turn in an alarm.
Stevenson then brought his wife, Florence, and son, Robert, 8, from the house. He moved his automobile from his garage and several pieces of furniture from the house before arrival of firemen.
Flames seared the rear of the home of C. W. Helms, of 2415 Howell street. Ten persons living in the house were forced to the street.
None In Plant
Evans arrived at the warehouse a short time after the firemen. He said no one was employed in the building at the time the fire started, seven employees having left more than an hour previously. The flames were discovered at 1.30 p.m. Forty persons are employed at the poultry concern during weekdays.
Evans said most of the loss would be covered by insurance. None of the company records were damaged. The office, which was of fireproof construction, was not touched by the flames. Office workers moved the records.
The poultry concern has been located in the fire-swept building for the last seven years. Arthur Bell, vice president, and Howard Bell, chairman of the board of directors, were not present during the fire.
Traffic was tied up for a mile surrounding the section and police lines were formed two squares from the burning building.
Zuck [sic] was treated at the scene and later taken home.
One Arrested as Cops Here Raid ‘Arsenal’
Camden Courier-Post —
Guns Found in Cramer Hill After Tip From Underworld
War on Detectives Believed Planned
Camden detectives yesterday arrested a paroled convict and seized a miniature arsenal on a tip that Philadelphia gangsters were hiding here to “knock off” local officers.
The tipster said the “knock off” was in revenge for “bearing down” on gangsters and racketeers.
The arrest was the first move in the local drive to harry haven-seeking Philadelphia racketeers from this city.
The convict was arrested and his arsenal seized in Cramer Hill, when police raided the place.
The man arrested is Philip Caplan, who told police he lived at the house raided, 919 North Nineteenth street. According to police, Caplan has a record “as long as your arm.”
Believed ‘Master Mind’
Police expressed an opinion that Caplan was the “master mind” of several recent holdups here. They said they believed he directed the holdups, although not appearing at the scene of the crimes.
Three revolvers, their numbers filed off, and several boxes of cartridges and shot-gun shells, were found in a closet in the house.
Detective Lieut. Louis Shaw said he believed Caplan “and his gang” fled to this city to escape the gang probe now under way in Philadelphia.
Betting Slips Seized
A brief case, containing thousands of number betting slips and other papers, also was seized. Police are attempting to check on the contents.
Caplan was held on suspicion and for possession of weapons.
Detectives Benjamin Simon, George Zeitz, Clifford Del Rossi and Edwin Mills staged the raid, after having had the house under observation four days.
Police learned of the alleged gang headquarters through a “tip” from the underworld. They were informed that several Philadelphia gangsters had rented the house and “were laying in wait for the opportunity of knocking off Camden detectives who were ‘bearing down’ on racketeers and holdup men.”
Detective Simon said their informant told them they would find several guns in the place and two or three sawed-off shotguns, all of which have been used in recent holdups in this city. Police believe some of the guns were removed from the place recently.
Caplan admitted to ownership of the guns when questioned at detective headquarters, but said he was not carrying them on his person and asked that they be returned to him.
Was Paroled Recently
Caplan was paroled recently in Philadelphia, after having been sentenced to serve 15 years in the Eastern Penitentiary for holdup and robbery at the point of a gun.
“This man Caplan has a record as long as your arm,” Lieutenant Shaw said. “He is a racketeer and is now on parole from a 15-year sentence for holdup and robbery at the point of a gun. I have reason to believe he is an expert safe cracker and may be wanted in some other cities. The contents of the brief case will be investigated. It may be this man and his gang were chased out of Philadelphia in view of the current war on numbers and crime there. I do not believe this man is in the numbers business, but I do believe some of the gang he is connected with may be number barons.”
Police arrested a second man outside the Nineteenth street dwelling, but he was released after questioning at police headquarters. They did not reveal his name.
Simon said known “crooks” have been going in and out of the Cramer Hill address since the police have been watching the place.
Phillip [sic] Caplan
Paroled Philadelphia convict, who was arrested yesterday when detectives raided a dwelling in Cramer Hill and seized a small arsenal.
Detectives With Pistols and Ammunition Seized in Raid
City Detectives George Zeitz, Clifford Del Rossi and Benjamin Simon are shown examining pistols seized yesterday in a raid on a house in Cramer Hill, at 919 North Nineteenth street, where Philip Caplan, paroled Pennsylvania convict, was arrested and held “on suspicion.” The raid followed a tip that Philadelphia gangsters had rented the house and were waiting for an opportunity to “knock off” local detectives who have been “bearing down” on racketeers and holdup men. The briefcase on the table, detectives said, contained thousands of “numbers” betting slips.
3 Holdup Suspects Identified in Lineup Before 20 Victims
Camden Courier-Post —
3 Holdup Suspects Identified in Lineup Before 20 Victims
Brother of One Also Held With Gunman Captured Here
BLAMED FOR MANY JOBS
In a lineup before a number of recent holdup victims, three of five alleged bandits were identified yesterday, according to Detectives Benjamin Simon and Clifford Del Rossi. They are John Lenkowski, 18, of 911 St. John Street; Earl Stainker, 22, of 615 Hunter Street, Gloucester, and James Mealy, 18, of 342 Mercer Street, Gloucester.
The other suspects, who were not identified, are Joseph Lenkowski, 23, brother of John, and Philip Caplan, 37, of 919 North Ninth Street, who is being held for the grand jury charged with illegal possession of firearms.
The five suspects were lined up in detective bureau and more than 20 victims and witnesses in recent holdups viewed them. According to police the men under arrest are responsible for about 95 percent of the holdups and robberies in Camden and vicinity for the past 10 or 12 weeks.
According to Del Rossi and Simon, John Lenkowski was identified as one of two bandits who held up the Camden Liquor Company store, Broadway and Benson Street, two months ago. John, Stainker and Mealy were identified as three of the four bandits who stole $45 at the MacAndrews-Forbes office on Jefferson and Jefferson Street, early this month.
John Lenkowski was arrested on suspicion with Stainker by Detectives Simon and Del Rossi. Mealy will be taken to the detective bureau from the county jail, where he is serving a sentence imposed in Pennsylvania upon a motor violation.
Joseph Lenkowski, Stainker and Mealy were arrested by the two sleuths on May 5 and held for investigation in connection with several robberies in Pehnade but were released by Police Judge Pancoast two days later in their own recognizance.
“There is no question in my mind,” Simon said, “that these men planned and executed these holdups. Caplan, we believe, is the leader of the gang and made the plans for the jobs and furnished the others with guns.
John Lenkowski, Earl Stainker, and James Mealy, all identified yesterday in a police line-up by victims and witnesses of four holdups and robberies. The trio was picked from five suspects who were viewed by more than 20 victims of recent holdups. — Camden Courier-Post, May 19, 1934
Uninvited Picket Given Year Term for Having Gun
Camden Courier-Post —
Man Who ‘Muscled in’ N. Y. Ship Strike Refused to Leave Line
PALS ALREADY FINED
A former Philadelphia strikebreaker who “muscled” his way uninvited into the picket line outside the New York Shipbuilding Corporation and had a loaded pistol in his possession was sent to state’s prison yesterday for from one to three years.
He is Henry Parks, of 7073 West Chester pike, Upper Darby, Pa., who pleaded guilty in special sessions court before Judge Frank F. Neutze to carrying a concealed deadly weapon.
When Judge Neutze pronounced sentence Mrs. Mary Parks, mother of the prisoner, became hysterical in the courtroom, crying out that “my son is a good boy—he didn’t do anything.”
Parks and four companions were arrested outside the Camden shipyard on May 5 on the complaint of the strikers. The latter protested that Parks had joined the picket line unasked and when he was ordered to leave, declared he had a gun and no one could force him out of line.
Acting Motorcycle Sergeant James Wilson testified yesterday that a car containing five men had stopped opposite the shipyard’s main entrance and the occupants had been drinking. Wilson and Motorcycle Policemen Earl Wright and Joseph Black found eight bullets on the floor of the car, and then rounded up the men. Parks was in the picket line and had a loaded gun, Wilson testified.
At the time of the arrest, City Detective Benjamin Simon revealed that all five men were Philadelphia taxicab drivers and had taken those jobs as strikebreakers during the Philadelphia taxi lockout. The five men declared they had not come to Camden as strikebreakers, but that they had been drinking and were on their way to Gloucester for more beer when they saw the shipyard men picketing, and merely stopped to ascertain what progress had been made in strike settlement.
The five were “booked” at police headquarters “on suspicion of inciting a riot” but in police court it was changed to “loitering” against four and the gun-toting charge against Parks. The latter was held in $2500 bail by Judge Pancoast for the grand jury, but Parks did not wait for an indictment. He went into special sessions yesterday and pleaded guilty.
The other four, who were fined $25 by Judge Pancoast May 7, were Archie Oates, 5150 Ludlow street; Charles Merriken, 5423 Pine street, and Herbert Lennox, 258 South Fifty-fourth street, all of Philadelphia, and John Mason, 1126 Roosevelt boulevard, Llanerch, Pa.
On the day after the five men were arrested, Edward Baker, a member of the shipyard strikers’ grievance committee, reported to police that his car had been forced to the curb by another automobile containing four men. These men warned him to “lay off” the five prisoners, Baker said. Baker had rounded up the witnesses for the police in the case against the five defendants.
Police Admit Feitz Slaying Is ‘Mystery’
Camden Courier-Post —
POLICE ADMIT FEITZ SLAYING IS ‘MYSTERY’
‘Still in the Dark,’ Cops Say After Three Weeks of Vice Probe
BLAIR LAWYER SCORES ‘FARCE’
Editorial: “The Cop, the Criminal—And Who Else?” appears on page ten.
Three weeks after the slaying of Detective William T. Feitz, police admitted yesterday that they are “completely in the dark” in their efforts to solve the murder and find the slayer.
Although Mickey Blair, former pugilist, is held as the most important witness in the case and police say they believe Blair knows who killed Feitz, they have no one under direct suspicion, the police said.
This was in direct contradiction to a police statement of several days ago, in which it was said that a New York gunman of peculiar appearance was sought as the trigger man.
Lawyer Flays Police
The conflicting stories coming from the police department yesterday drew a scathing fire of ridicule from Blair’s attorney, Edward V. Martino.
In a review of Blair’s surrender, Martino flayed the police for “many contradictory statements” and said their handling of Blair is a “disgrace to the department.”
The handling of the case drew this comment from Martino:
“Such conduct on the part of an intelligent police force is detestable.”
Martino’s criticism of the department and the announcement that Mayor Roy R. Stewart will present such facts and evidence as he has gathered in his probe of police connivance with vice or dereliction in duty to Supreme Court Justice Frank T. Lloyd constituted the only developments in the case yesterday.
Double-cross Hinted
Stewart said he will give Justice Lloyd and Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando his complete data on the police and Feitz probes and is ready to present the same data to the grand jury if Lloyd and Orlando consider this course advisable.
Martino, describing step-by-step the events leading to Blair’s surrender and his subsequent examination drew the conclusion that Police Chief Arthur Colsey is “either telling a deliberate falsehood” or has been double-crossed with misinformation by his detectives. Martino said:
Police Admit Defeat In Vice Slaying
“On Saturday past, I received a New York telephone communication from Mickey Blair, and he told me that he had been advised that the police were looking for him. He requested me to ascertain whether this was true, and if so he would gladly come to Camden.
“I talked to Lieutenant George A. Ward on Sunday afternoon, and he told me that they did want Mickey. I talked with Mickey that afternoon, and he told me that he would come to Camden at about 1 p. m. on Monday.
“He entered my office at about 12 noon, and after talking to me about five minutes, during which time he told me that he knew absolutely nothing about the shooting, I advised him to go to the detective bureau alone.
Would Not Interfere
“I did not request the right to protect his constitutional rights, because it was my idea that by not interfering, the police could not find any excuse in their failure to solve the crime.
“They not only failed to appreciate the co-operation given them, but are continuously giving out so many contradictory statements that the general public is given the impression that Blair is deliberately lying. Chief Colsey has repeatedly told the newspapers that Blair stated that he was in New York at the time of the crime.
“Colsey is either telling a deliberate falsehood or he has been misinformed by one or two of his examiners. I talked with Blair at the county jail, and although he appeared tired and worn, he was surprised to learn of the story given out by Colsey.
“It is difficult to understand why the police did not arrest Mickey before he left Camden for New York, since he was in Camden until the Tuesday following the murder.
“He attended a wake at the home of his sister on Sunday, and attended the funeral on Monday (Labor Day) from his sister’s home on Decatur street, Camden. He did not leave Camden for New York until some time on Tuesday afternoon.
Called a Disgrace
“The general physical appearance of Blair before Judge J. Harry Switzer was a disgrace to the Camden City Police Department. He was handcuffed and chained, although he was thoughtful enough to pay his own expenses in traveling from New York, and willingly submit to the police. Such conduct on the part of an intelligent police force is detestable.
“My only hope is that the crime is solved, but in doing so, the officials in charge should be careful that they charge the guilty man or men with the crime.”
The sweeping grand jury investigation of crime and vice ordered of the grand jury by Justice Lloyd is not expected to start, Prosecutor Orlando disclosed, for at least two weeks.
“Our evidence is not entirely at hand,” said Orlando, “and until it is ready I will not proceed. Another reason why I can’t go ahead with it is the large number of cases which I have ready at this time and which must be presented to the grand jury when it opens its sessions next Thursday.”
Earlier, both Prosecutor Orlando and Police Chief Colsey admitted that the authorities were no nearer a solution to the murder of Feitz than they were 20 days ago when he was shot and killed in an alleged disorderly house in South Camden.
Furthermore, previous statements of the police notwithstanding, the identity of the killer or killers is shrouded in as much mystery as it ever was.
“Who killed Feitz?” was a question asked Prosecutor Orlando.
“I don’t know—do you?” was Orlando’s “two-way” reply.
Still ‘In Dark’
The prosecutor’s statement was the first revelation that police and Camden county authorities are still in the dark.
Police Chief Colsey echoed Prosecutor Orlando’s statement by telling newspapermen upon being questioned that he “wished he did know who killed Feitz.”
“We’re entirely in the dark,” he added.
Heretofore the police, through statements made by Chief Colsey, have expressed their confidence that they knew who the slayer or slayers of the detective were and were following important clues which would lead to their arrest.
While the authorities were admittedly groping about for clues in the Feitz murder, the police drive on gambling continued yesterday with the arrest of two alleged “numbers” bankers.
Held in $2000 bail to await the action of the grand jury on charges of operating a “numbers” lottery by Police Judge Switzer were Crawford Smith, 51, of 702 Carman street, and John Deronio, 52, of 1042 Cooper street. Smith pleaded not guilty to the charge which grew out of Deronio’s admission to police that he “wrote” the “numbers” for Smith for a considerable period of time.
Both Smith and Deronio were arrested by Patrolman George Clayton. Deronio pleaded guilty to the charge.
Will View 3 Suspects
Three suspects charged with the robbery of a South Camden candy store Wednesday night were either to be brought to Camden or material witnesses in the Feitz murder were to be taken to Chester, Pa., where they are being held, to learn whether either suspect could be identified as one of the killers.
Mayor Stewart continued his questioning of police yesterday, seeking data on crime and vice in this city.
Questioned by the mayor in his office were Lieutenant George Frost, commander of the police department’s one-man vice squad who is said to have told the mayor considerable about conditions, former City Detective Ben Simon who is now a patrolman; Vernon Jones, one of the 13 suspended policeman [sic] and the officer on the beat at Second and Sycamore streets the night Feitz was killed, and Detective Stanley Wirtz.
Chief County Detective Lawrence T. Doran, who is conducting Prosecutor Orlando’s investigation into the murder, said a search of the records of the city assessor’s office revealed the property in which the late Mrs. Emma Heisler was charged with operating a disorderly house is owned by the Hyman Varbalow Building and Loan Association.
Rented in Oct., 1933
It was rented, Chief Doran said, by Nathan U. Katz, a real estate agent of 410 Kaighn avenue, to a “Mary Dudley” on October 18, 1933, for $15 a month. However, the occupants did not enter the house immediately, according to Doran, because of needed repairs, which were made.
Katz told detectives that the rent was always paid in advance by a man who called at his real estate office. There was no lease on the property, it being rented from month to month.
“Had I known the place was being used for immoral purposes I would have ordered the people out long ago,” Katz told detectives.
At the same time, Chief Doran disclosed that after a conference with Police Chief Colsey, orders were issued that every person arrested in Camden, whether the charge is trivial or serious, will be placed in a police “lineup” and the material witnesses will face them to see if any of Feitz’s killers are among them.
Chief Doran was not sure whether Camden county authorities would be able to bring the two robbery suspects to Camden because they are also wanted in Pennsylvania for almost a score of other holdups and burglaries.
In the event Chester authorities will not turn the two men over to Camden detectives, the witnesses will go to Chester to examine them, Chief Doran said.
“We are letting nothing slip through our fingers at this stage of the investigation,” Chief Doran said. “There is a bare possibility that either of these two suspects may be implicated or have some knowledge that would be useful to us in solving this crime.”
Bribery Charged by Grand Jurors
Camden Courier-Post —
26 Other Persons Named in 111 True Bills on Numbers
KLOSTERMANS TO FACE TRIAL
A bumper crop of 111 indictments was returned yesterday by the September vice probing grand jury against alleged numbers operators alone.
In addition, Mickey Blair, free on bail as a material witness in the slaying of Detective William T. Feitz was indicted on a charge of conspiracy to rob Mrs. Emma Heisler, in whose house Feitz was slain.
The 111 numbers indictments were aimed at 26 individuals, including Fred and Joe Klosterman, long known as numbers barons. Each of the brothers was indicted on six counts of engaging in the lottery business and on 12 additional indictments charging sale of lottery tickets.
The complete list of true bills were handed up to Judge Frank F. Neutze of the Camden County Common Pleas Court.
The numbers indictments follows [sic]:
Engaged in lottery business—Antonio Macio, 2125 Haddonfield road, Pennsauken township, one count; Fred Klosterman and brother, Joseph, Mt. Ephraim avenue and Mechanic street, six counts each.
Selling lottery tickets—Geneva Harden, beauty parlor operator in Pennsauken township, ten counts; Marshall Howard, 1912 Derousse avenue, Delair, 10 counts; Frank Martz, 235 Erie street, Camden, two counts; Arthur Woodridge, 7910 Park avenue, Pennsauken township, two counts; Albert Young, 519 North Second street, Camden, one count; Andrew Pointkowski, 1475 South Ninth street, six counts; Crawford Smith, 702 Carman street, five counts; Charles Simonin, 709 Fairview street, Camden, five counts; John Studinger, 2504 Federal street, Camden, 10 counts; Lucille Barber, 8302 Park avenue, Pennsauken township, two counts; Samuel Ford, 1124 South Ninth street, two counts; John Geronio, 1042 Cooper street, one count; James Davis, 100 Mt. Vernon street, Camden, one count; Oscar Conway, 2803 Mitchell street, one count; John Barnes, 7805 Pleasant avenue, Pennsauken, two counts; Nathan Boston, Parry, Burlington county, one count.
James Gantt, 8302 Park avenue, Pennsauken, two counts; Mary Angelo, 600 Pine street, two counts; Thomas Kirk, 935 Carpenter street, two counts; Samuel Kane, 211 Walnut street, Philadelphia, one count; Samuel Karon, 1528 Mt. Ephraim avenue, one count; Walter Hart, 1245 Thurman street, Camden, five counts; Frank Kulzcnski, 1100 Orchard street, two counts.
The presentment required only three minutes and the grand jury immediately withdrew to its chambers to consider new evidence in its probe of vice and gambling here.
It was indicated that the first batch of indictments found by the grand jury was just that, and that further true bills would be forthcoming as the work of sifting the mass of evidence continues.
A quartet of former city detectives who were transferred to regular police duty June 14, and seven attaches of the county jail were among the list of witnesses subpoenaed.
The erstwhile plainclothesmen are Clarence Arthur, Benjamin Simon, Clifford Del Rossi and Leon Branch. All were put into uniform without explanation, and with the understanding, they declare, that they would not be displaced. All expressed surprise at their removal, inasmuch as others were later appointed to their posts, because they had good records while members of the detective bureau.
Arthur and Branch appeared briefly before the probing body.
Crawford Smith is the brother of Detective Walter Smith and former Detective Howard Smith, it was reported by Mayor Roy R. Stewart.
Michael Tenerelli, known in fistic cicles [sic] as Mickey Blair, was among those waiting in the grand jury anteroom when the jury adjourned to be called before the probers. All those called were subpoenaed on “John Doe” warrants.
Mickey told reporters he has no idea what form of questioning will be followed when he is called into the grand jury room. He was recently released under bail of $5000 as a material witness in the Feitz killing investigation.
Those who could not be heard by the grand jurors before adjournment yesterday were told to come back next Thursday.
Among the witnesses in the vice probe called into the jury room were two Camden county jail attaches, Mrs. Lillian Vincent, matron, and Frank Tyson, jail clerk.
Both were asked questions regarding the proceedure [sic] followed in releasing prisoners from the pail [sic], it was learned. Tyson was not asked by the grand jurors if the prisoners were ever allowed to leave jail before their terms were up, he said.
“We never discharged a prisoner during my long experience in the county jail,” he told reporters, “without the proper release slip. I do not know of any prisoner ever being released before his time was up.”
Other members of the county jail staff waiting to appear were Edmund Powell, former warden; William Kinsler, Walter Taylor, Joseph Rea and John Feitz.
Another witness to testify was Mrs. Anna Smallwood, of Fifth and Chestnut, who posted $5000 bail for Mickey Blair to effect the former boxer’s release in the Feitz murder case.
It is thought that the county jail attaches will be questioned in an endeavour to learn how prisoners are released before time, although confirmation of this report was lacking.
The grand jury also returned indictments against Robert R. Young and Fred H. Schmitz, both of Philadelphia, former employes of the RCA Victor Company, charging them with the theft of four automobile radio sets from the plant on September 19.
Harry Smith, John Lockwood, Edward Troutman and Thomas Moreland, of Camden, were charged with larceny of merchandise from the American Stores Company on August 30.
Stanley Gaisor and Henry Parewicz, both of Camden, were indicted on charges of the theft of an automobile owned by County Physician Edward B. Rogers. The automobile was stolen in Camden, August 31.
Paul Pralas was indicted on charges of atrocious assault and battery on Rocco Piliro on September 19 in Camden.
The following were indicted on charges of desertion and non-support: Cornelius Chambers, charged by his wife, Ethel, with deserting her and three small children.
Thomas Porter, of Clementon, with non-support of his three small children. Frank Drew, Camden, desertion and non-support of his wife, Martha, and three minor children. Walter Butterfield, Brooklawn, with desertion of his wife, Verna, and one minor child. Eugene Morselander, of Camden, with desertion of his wife, Gladys.
2 Speakeasy Owners Paid Hush Money, Graft Probers Hear
COLSEY DROPS ACCUSED MEN
Sixty-two indictments charging six Camden policemen with graft and bribe-taking were returned by the new grand jury yesterday.
The wholesale indictments constituted the first visible results of the probe into Camden’s vice affairs and connection of the police with vice, ordered by Supreme Court Justice Frank T. Lloyd.
They are charged with taking hush money.
Those indicted:
Patrolman Thomas T. Cheeseman, 20 indictments.
Patrolman Vernon Jones, 20 indictments.
Patrolman Howard Fisher, 10 indictments.
Patrolman George Weber, also known as Buck Weaver, 10 indictments.
Detective Joseph Leonhardt, one indictment.
Patrolman Frank Wilmot, one indictment.
All are attached to the Second district except Leonhardt, who was dismissed from the force two weeks ago by Mayor Roy R. Stewardt [sic], and has appealed his case to the Civil Service Commission.
Leonhardt was with Detective William T. Feitz on the night of September 2, when Feitz was slain in Mrs. Emma Heisler’s alleged disorderly house at 243 Sycamore street. He and Feitz had been made district detectives less than a week before the shooting. They had been assigned to the “beat” in which Mrs. Heisler’s house was located, relieving Cheeseman and Jones, who were demoted to patrolmen.
Cheeseman was a brother-in-law of Mrs. Heisler, who leaped to her death from a city hall window while being held as a witness in Feitz’s death.
12 Drew Suspensions
Those indicted, with the exception of Fisher, were among the 12 members of the force suspended by Mayor Stewart in connection with his personal investigation of police connections with vice.
Wilmot, Weber and Jones were returned to duty Wednesday after serving 30-day suspensions.
Cheeseman and Jones are named jointly in nine indictments; jointly with Fisher and Weber in nine other indictments; the four are lister [sic] separately in one set of indictments. Jones and Cheeseman are listed separately in another pair of indictments, while Leonhardt and Wilmot are named in one joint indictment.
Two men, Glenn Brown and Michael Tocco, are named in each indictment as having paid the policemen sums verying [sic] from $5 to $80 since last March. They are reported to be operators of illegal liquor establishments.
Jury Indicts 6 Cops On Vice Graft Charge
Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando announced evidence had been given the grand jury to support charges that each of the men indicted had been accepting graft from racketeers and underworld characters.
The nine indictments against Cheeseman, Jones, Fisher and Weber charge them with having received the sum of $5 from Brown on nine different dates in March and April of this year, for a total of $45.
Cheeseman and Jones are jointly indicted on nine counts for having received from Tocco the sum of $160, in various amounts ranging from $10 to $80 on various dates in May, June and July.
Cheeseman and Jones are each indicted on two separate counts. Jones is charged with having accepted a $40 bribe from Tocco on May 24 and with having received another $5 from Brown on March 3. Cheeseman is indicted for receiving the same sums from the same persons on the same dates.
Fisher is indicted alone on one count of having received a $5 bribe from Brown in March. Weber was also indicted alone for the same offense.
Leonhardt and Wilmot, mentioned in only one indictment, are charged with having accepted $20 from Tocco in March.
Cheeseman has been a member of the police department for 16 years, most of which he served in the capacity of a detective. He was demoted on Sept. 3, 1930, to the rank of a patrolman, but later was again promoted to district detective. Two months ago he was demoted back to patrolman again and has been patrolling a ‘beat’ in South Camden since that time.
Cheeseman Appointed in 1918
Cheeseman is 48. He was appointed to the police force on January 11, 1918, and lives at 249 Rand street. He has served in various capacities since appointment, having been a member of the city vice squad, detective bureau, district detective and patrolman. His rank in the department was listed as a detective, although recently he has been assigned to uniform in South Camden.
Fisher, 42, of 1139 Baring street, was appointed to the force September 29, 1919. He has spent comparatively all of his time in the department as a patrolman in the Second Police district.
Jones is 37 and lives at 1011 South Sixth street. He received his appointment April 27, 1924. He has served on the vice squad, as a detective and plainclothesman. He was recently demoted to a patrolman’s rank.
Leonhardt lives at 553 Division street and is 39. He was appointed a member of the police department on April 25, 1924, two days before Jones. He served until recently as a patrolman, but was promoted to district detective when Jones suffered demotion. He was discharged from the police payroll on September 26 by Mayor Stewart, who said he had gathered evidence against him in his probe of the department which followed the murder of Feitz.
Wilmot is 32 and lives at 201 Kaighn avenue. He was appointed a policeman on July 1, 1928, and has served as a member of the Second district since his appointment.
Weber, 47, of 1369 Princess avenue, was made a member of the force on May 17, 1922. He also has served his entire time as a patrolman in the Second district.
The indictments were presented to Judge Frank F. Neutze in Justice Lloyd’s absence.
Five Are Suspended
Mayor Stewart and Police Chief Arthur Colsey conferred shortly after the indictments were returned.
[Text between this point and the next crop is not on the scan; crop 09a is not in the archive.]
and Judge Neutze to grant these men a speedy trial,” the mayor declared, “so that the cases against them will be disposed of and their guilt or innocence established. In this way the community will have the benefit of their services, if they be found not guilty, as soon as possible.”
None of the policemen indicted had been arrested last night.
Chief of County Detectives Lawrence T. Doran said he expects them to surrender today and post such bail as may be set.
Named by Jury
THOMAS CHEESEMAN
VERNON JONES
Twenty indictments against each of these policemen, formerly assigned as detectives to the beat where Detective William T. Feitz was shot to death in a disorderly house, were returned yesterday by the grand jury. Cheeseman and Jones preceded Feitz and Leonhardt, dismissed and also indicted, on the death beat.
Quartet Indicted on Graft Charges
Four of the six policemen indicted yesterday on charges of bribery. They are George Weber, (upper left) also known as “Bucky Weaver”; Frank Witmot [sic] (upper right), Howard Fisher, (lower left), and Joseph Leonhardt, (lower right), who had been dismissed from the police department.
PAIR HELD FOR JURY IN THEFT OF LIQUOR
Camden Courier-Post —
Charged with possession of stolen goods, Leon Grenkwicz, 21, of 1213 Louis Street, and George Sanders, 22, of 307 Walnut Street, Haddonfield, yesterday were held without bail for the grand jury by Police Judge Lewis Liberman.
Charges were placed against them by Detective Benjamin Simon after they had been arrested in Audubon for being drunk and disorderly. Simon said his investigation indicated they were the men who, on September 25, stole a liquor truck belonging to James Thompson, wholesale beverage dealer, from Fourth and Arch Streets, where it was parked.
Simon said that he has the sworn statement of Hugh Gaffney, of 3 Albertson Avenue, Westmont, and John Whelan, of 831 Linden Street, that Grenkwicz tried to sell him some of the stolen liquor, for which Thompson is the sole agent in Camden.
Furthermore, said Simon, he has the evidence of a Merchantville man and his sister, whose names he did not reveal, that Sanders sold them a case of the same brand.
“Bob” Ashenfelter, Shot in Duel With Burglars, Asks Pension
Camden Courier-Post —
John Sheeran Claims Disability
Gladney and Roy Smith Ask to Leave Fire Service
Applications of four policemen and two veteran firemen for pensions will be considered today at a special meeting of the Police and Firemen’s Pension Commission in the offices of Mayor Roy R. Stewart.
Included in the list are Detective Robert Ashenfelter and Accident Investigator John Sheeran, both seeking retirement because of disability suffered while members of the department.
Others whose pension request will receive consideration at today’s session include Patrolmen Robert Ward and Jesse Smith and Charles M. Gladney and Roy M. Smith, members of the fire department.
Ashenfelter, who is 40, and lives at 352 Berwood street, was one of the first members of the police force to receive the Gold Star when that award for bravery was established by Mayor Stewart in 1931. He was appointed to the force by Mayor Victor King on July 1, 1926, and served as a motorcycle policeman until April 17, 1929, when he was appointed acting detective.
His physician stated that Ashenfelter was suffering from an infected right lung as a result of wounds he received in a sensational pistol battle with a burglar whom he killed in the robbery of the American Store, Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue, on August 24, 1931.
Receiving the report of the robbery, Ashenfelter went to the store with Detective Benjamin Simon. Ashenfelter walked to the rear of the store. As he reaced [sic] the door of a shed in the rear, he met a volley of seven shots fired from inside. One bullet knocked the gun from his right hand, another pierced his arm and a third entered his chest over his heart.
Despite his wounds, Ashenfelter was able to pick up his pistol with his uninjured hand. He emptied it through the door.
A moment later other officers arrived. When they opened the door they found Charles Rettberg, 21, of 1189 North Thirty-sixth street, lying dead on the floor.
Arrested on the scene were the dead man’s brother, Theodore, who later was acquitted, and Melbourne James and Gordon McCrea, who were sentenced to five years each in prison.
Ashenfelter was in the hospital for several weeks after the shooting.
During the World War he served as a lieutenant in the ordnance department attached to the 118th Field Artillery.
“Johnny” Sheeran, 57, was appointed to the police department July 15, 1913. He still lacks several months of the required years service but is seeking the pension on the disability clause because of a wound received several years ago.
Sheeran, attached to the Second Police District at the time, was helping to move some large steel cases in the old city hall when one of them fell on his left hand. Physicians at Cooper Hospital managed to patch the hand up, but Sheeran has never had the use of it since that time.
Lately he has been working in the Accident Bureau. He lives at 777 Wright avenue.
WOMAN, STUDENTS TAKEN IN HOUSE RAID
Camden Courier-Post —
Camden Residents and Phila. Visitors Arrested in Parkside Dwelling
Three Camden women and two Temple University students were arrested in a raid on an alleged disorderly house at 1450 Kenwood Avenue last night.
Charged with being proprietress of the place is Mrs. Charlotte Grimes, 48. She is the wife of Elmer Grimes, employed by the city as a custodian at Convention Hall and formerly custodian of the Camden High School athletic field, according to City Prosecutor John H. Reiners, Jr.
The students under arrest gave their names as Sidney Goldberg, 19, of 1400 Mt. Ephraim Avenue, and Herman Katz, 19, of 2601 Wilder Street, Philadelphia.
Welch Leads Raiders
The arrests were made by Police Lieutenant Walter Welch and Detectives Benjamin Simon and Joseph Mardino.
According to Welch, Mrs. Grimes signed a statement in which she said she had resided at 1450 Kenwood Avenue for 27 years, and maintained a disorderly house there for the last seven years. He has had men watching the place for a year, to get evidence on which to base a raid, he said. He declared that only persons recommended by patrons were admitted, and then only after making telephone calls.
Simon, who lives three blocks from the house, and Mardino saw a car with Pennsylvania license plates parked near the place last night, Welch said. They waited until they saw Goldberg and Katz leaving the house, and questioned them. It was on the strength of statements by the two youths that the raid was made, Welch added.
Cases Continued
The five prisoners were taken to police court today. After waiting until 10.05 for Simon and Mardino to appear, Welch asked that the case be continued until tomorrow.
Judge Lewis Liberman set bail for $1000 for Mrs. Grimes; $500 each for the other two women, $200 for Katz and released Goldberg in the custody of his brother, an attorney.
The latter said the two youths were willing to plead guilty to disorderly conduct charges, admitting they had been in the place, but Judge Liberman said he preferred to wait and hear the entire case tomorrow.
In answer to the query by the court as to how the two knew about the existence of the “disorderly house” Katz said: “Oh, things like that get broadcast around the university.”
Suspect Trapped at Alcohol ‘Drop’
Camden Courier-Post —
Suspect Trapped at Alcohol ‘Drop’
Sleuths Kept 3-Weeks’ Vigil at Abandoned Garage Near City Line
Constant observation of an abandoned garage for the past three weeks last night rewarded detectives with the capture of an alleged “bootlegger” and the confiscation of 100 gallons of untaxed alcohol.
Detectives Benjamin Simon and Joseph Mardino arrested Joseph Janes, 44, of 518 Chestnut street, as he allegedly was preparing to load the liquor into his car in the rear of a house on Haddon avenue near city line. He was released in $2000 bail on a charge of possessing untaxed alcohol. Simon and Mardino said they have been “keeping an eye on” the garage, a dilapidated frame strucutre [sic], suspecting it was being used as an alcohol “drop.” Janes admitted ownership of the alcohol but denied he knew the name of the person from whom he made his purchases other than that of “John.”
$200 Fine Breaks Up One-Man Lottery
A one-man lottery business was broken up yesterday when John Spear, 56, of 913 Pearl street, was fined $200 by Police Judge Lewis Liberman. Spear was arrested Monday in his home by Detectives Benjamin Simon and Joseph Mardino.
The police testified that Spear had turned one of the rooms of his home into an office and was accepting number bets. They said they found a number dream book in the office.
When asked who his backer was, Spear said he was in business for himself. He was charged with violating Section 423 of the city ordinance pertaining to gambling and fined $200. He paid the fine.
CIGAR STORE RAIDED BY ‘SECRET 6’ SQUAD
Camden Courier-Post —
Alleged Proprietor is Held in $500 Bail for Police Court Hearing
Raiders of the “Secret 6” of the Camden police department yesterday arrested Oscar Bendler, 40, as the alleged proprietor of a cigar store at 217 Market Street, where they reported they seized horse racing sheets, three phones and $114.
Bendler, who gave his address as 310 Erie Street, is charged with violating the city ordinance prohibiting gambling and is held in $500 bail for a police court hearing today.
The raid on Bendler’s place was made after the police squad had searched five other small shops and found only legitimate business being conducted.
Two of the shops were located on the Market Street ferry walk, two on Market Street between Second and Third Street and on Federal Street between Second and Third Street.
Fine-combing of establishments where it is suspected the gambling gentry may flourish was ordered by Police Chief Arthur Colsey. The picked squad of men who operated as members of Colsey’s “Secret Six” yesterday were Detective Sergeant Clifford Del Rossi, Sergeant Walter Rowand, Detectives Benjamin Simon and Joseph Mardino.
Cops Nab Store Owner in Horse Betting Raid
Camden Courier-Post —
City detectives late yesterday raided a cigar store at 460 Carteret street and seized alleged horse racing sheets and gambling paraphernalia, they said.
Richard Everett, 59, said to be the proprietor of the store, was arrested and posted $200 security for a hearing today before Police Judge Lewis Liberman for violation of a city ordinance prohibiting gambling.
City Detectives Joseph Mardino, Benjamin Simon, George Weber, and Vernon Jones conducted the raid.
Sleuth Battles Judge on ‘Bookie’
Camden Courier-Post —
Liberman Frees Man Over Protests of Police Who Raided Place
Frequent clashes between an attorney and detectives marked a police court hearing yesterday in which an alleged horse race bookmaker was freed for lack of evidence.
According to detectives who raided the defendant’s store Thursday, he had a “private telephone book” containing the numbers of a police station, several policemen and a number of city and county officials.
The defendant was Richard Everett, of 460 Carteret street. Detectives Joseph Mardino, Benjamin Simon, George Weber and Vernon Jones, testified they found the book, a number of racing forms and a mysterious tablet.
Simon began testifying to the effect that while he was in the store he took several bets over the telephone. The instrument was later ripped out and offered as evidence.
Meyer L. Sakin, counsel for Everett, objected to any testimony regarding Simon’s telephone conversation as not binding on his client, and when Judge Lewis Liberman agreed, Simon threw down his papers and said he was quitting.
City Prosecutor John H. Reiners, Jr., placated the detective, however, and he resumed. Again he got around to the telephone call, and again Sakin objected and again Liberman upheld Sakin.
“I’m done, then,” exclaimed Simon. “I’ll testify no more.”
“I have my suspicions in this case,” said Judge Liberman, “but I have to be guided by the rules of evidence, and there has been presented here no proper evidence of a violation. I’ll have to discharge the defendant.”
As the judge finished, Sakin, Simon and Mardino reached for the pile of papers and books which the detectives had seized. Simon beat Sakin to them.
“I want these back,” said Sakin. “They include records of this man’s business profits.”
“What kind of business?” asked Mardino. “You’re not going to get them. We want to study his business ourselves and see if we can make out this code.”
Finally, Judge Liberman ruled that Sakin could copy the records but the police could keep the originals.
“And who’s going to put this telephone instrument back?” inquired the lawyer.
“Maybe the company, we’re not,” said Simon.
As Sakin left the court room, Mardino shouted at him:
“Tell that client of yours he might as well close down. We’re not through.”
Camden Barber Fined on Gambling Charges
Camden Courier-Post —
Jordan M. Gabriel, [?]6, of the Milner Hotel, who operates a barber shop at [?] Ferry walk, was fined $50 by Police Judge Lewis Liberman yesterday on a charge of violating the city gambling ordinance.
According to Detectives Benjamin Simon and Joseph Mardino, Gabriel, who pleaded not guilty, was telephoning bets to a bookie when they entered his shop.
MATTSON SUSPECT HELD IN JAIL HERE
Camden Courier-Post —
Admitted Ex-convict Tallies With Description of West Coast Slayer
A suspect in the kidnapping of Charles Mattson, 10, of Tacoma, Washington, is being held by Camden police.
The suspect was arrested last night by Patrolman Raymond Carson as he appeared before the sergeant’s desk at police headquarters and asked for a night’s lodging.
The suspect gave his name as Edward F. Keach, 40, with no home. He admitted he served three years in the New Jersey state prison for larceny. He was arrested for the crime at Newark when he was 23, according to an admission to Carson and City Detective Benjamin Simon.
“His face resembles the sketched portrait published in newspapers of the suspect wanted after the Mattson boy was stolen from the home of his father, Dr. William W. Mattson, on the night of December 27, 1936,” Carson said.
The suspect is described as being slender built, has sharp features, similar to the fugitive kidnaper, has dark hair and dark complexion. He is five feet, 10 inches tall and weighs about 165 pounds.
Keach admitted to Simon and Carson that he has been roaming the country for three years and has been in almost every state in the Union except the state of Washington.
The Mattson boy was kidnapped from his parents’ home while a brother, a sister and a girl friend stood helplessly by, cowered by the pistol of the kidnaper. The kidnaper demanded a ransom of $28,000. The parents were prepared to pay the ransom when the body of the boy was found dead near Everett, Washington, several miles from the scene of the kidnapping.
Simon said Keach will be held here until police can check up his record and his whereabouts during the past three years.
4 Hurt as Auto Strikes Pole Strewing Live Wires on Road
Camden Courier-Post —
Four persons in a small coupe were injured last night when the machine crashed into a pole at Seventeenth Street and Admiral Wilson Boulevard during a dense fog.
The car broke off a telephone pole at the base, strewing live wires on the highway. Traffic was detoured until the damage could be repaired by Bell Telephone Company linemen.
The fog, which covered Camden and its suburbs like a blanket, grounded air liners at Central Airport, slowed up motor traffic on highways and the Camden bridge.
Thomas Tomlinson, 18, of Oak Avenue, Delaware Township, was taking driving lessons in a car he purchased a week ago when he crashed into the pole. Police said three passengers were crowded in the front seat and three more in a rumble seat.
Tomlinson was driving on a student’s permit and was accompanied by Allen Filer, 20, a licensed driver, of 713 Grant Street, police learned. Filer is in Cooper Hospital with a fractured right leg. His brother, William, 18, suffered a possible concussion of the brain and is in the same hospital. Tomlinson received bruises of the right leg and arm and was treated at Cooper Hospital.
Samuel McCall, 18, of 708 Bailey Street, was taken to West Jersey Hospital, where he was treated for cuts of the nose. He told police there that someone struck him with a bottle and he would get his assailant later. When taken to police headquarters, McCall was confronted by the others and admitted he was injured in the automobile accident, City Detective Benjamin Simon said.
Mary Williamson, 18, and Eleanor Shockley, 16, both of 625 North Front Street, escaped with a few minor bruises.
Delaware river ferryboats were operated with caution as the view of pilots was obscured by the density of the fog. Whistles were blown continuously and fog bells rang throughout the night.
Automobiles and buses were slowed down to five miles an hour by thick fog in the suburbs, especially in lowlands and near meadows.
The airport reported all local planes grounded and no airliners were making a call here.
The Weather Bureau forecast indicated it will be colder and cloudy today. The cloudiness will increase tomorrow followed by rain at night.
5 YOUTHS ARRESTED AS HOLDUP SUSPECTS
Camden Courier-Post —
Police Believe Bandit Gang Plans of Group Halted by Roundup
Police believed they had frustrated the formation of a hoodlum bandit mob yesterday with the arrest of five South Camden youths after a holdup of a grocery store at Tenth Street and Ferry Avenue.
Two of the five suspects were identified by the grocer, John Jacobs, as the bandits who entered his store at 960 Ferry Avenue, held him up at gun point and escaped with $23.95. Jacobs told Detectives Heber McCord and Clarence Arthur that he recognized one of the bandits as Anthony Mona, 19, of 947 South Third Street, a former boxer, whom he saw fighting in the ring, McCord said.
A radio call was sent to all cars to pick up Mona. A short time later, District Detectives Leon Branch and John Houston arrested Mona as he was eating in a restaurant near Broadway and Kaighn Avenue.
After questioning by McCord and Arthur, Mona implicated the others. They are Dominick Spinagotti, 17, of 251 Mt. Vernon Street; Vito Brandimorto, 20, of 245 Chestnut Street; Salvatore Martorano, 21, of 344 Cherry Street, and Victor Labato, 19, of 274 Mt. Vernon Street.
Mona was searched in the detective bureau. Police found $6.65 in change in his pockets. The others were rounded up at their homes by Detective Sergeant Benjamin Simon and Detectives Joseph Mardino and Robert Ashenfelter.
According to Simon the youths were “just beginning to embark on a career of crime.”
When the others were brought to the detective bureau for questioning, all but $2 of the loot was recovered, Detective McCord said.
McCord said the youths signed statements saying Mona and Labato entered the store while the others waited in Mona’s car outside the store, all fleeing together after the holdup.
Poor Acting Leads To Youth’s Arrest In Theft of Cash
Camden Courier-Post —
Curious detectives yesterday made it embarrassing for Charles Pennington, 21, of 906 South Seventh Street.
The youth told his employer, Louis Tartar, junk dealer of Ninth and Liberty Streets, a stranger stole $25 in receipts from a load of materials shipped to Philadelphia. Pennington’s employer took him to the detective bureau to report the theft. There, detectives Benjamin Simon and Joseph Mardino chatted with the youth.
Frankly doubting the story he told, the detectives suggested Pennington disrobe. The sleuths found $22 concealed in his shoes. Simon and Mardino said Pennington admitted the money belonged to his employer and that the theft story was false. He was held for police court on a larceny charge.
ABSENCE OF VICTIM DELAYS LARCENY CASE
Camden Courier-Post —
Because the complainant was not in police court yesterday Judge Gene R. Mariano continued the hearing of a larceny charge against Charles Pennington, 21, of 906 South Seventh Street, until today.
Louis Tarter, the youth’s employer, took him to detective bureau Tuesday when Pennington said a stranger stole $25 in receipts from a load of junk shipped to Philadelphia by Tarter.
Detectives Benjamin Simon and Joseph Mardino forced Pennington to disrobe and found $22 in his shoes. Pennington, according to the detectives, admitted his robbery story was a fake and he was held on the larceny charge. Pennington said the money belonged to Tarter, who has a junk yard at Ninth and Liberty Streets.
PHILA. MAN ARRESTED IN THEFT OF LIQUOR
Camden Courier-Post —
David Miller, 27, a window decorator for a liquor concern, who lives at 547 Whitaker Avenue, Philadelphia, was arrested yesterday and charged with larceny of whisky on complaint of Benjamin Rosensweig, proprietor of the Camden Bottling Co., 254 Kaighn Avenue.
Miller had an office at the Kaighn Avenue address. Rosensweig told Detectives Ben Simon and Gus Fortune he missed $500 worth of liquor in the past several months. The detectives found whisky hidden in equipment used by Miller.
At Miller’s home, they said, they found $180 worth of liquor, and Miller, they reported, admitted some thefts.
M.F. Middleton Felled by Gas In House Here
Camden Courier-Post —
Former City Commissioner Found Unconscious in Old Home
With gas flowing from a pipe detached from a gas range, former City Commissioner Melbourne F. Middleton, Jr., was found unconscious in the kitchen of his former home at 538 Cooper Street early Saturday night.
Middleton was reported last night to still be in a critical condition at West Jersey Hospital, where he was taken. The Camden Fire Department First Aid Squad worked over him for an hour at the house in a vain effort to revive him.
Middleton, a former president of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, and one time city councilman, was found by a son, C. Barry Middleton, and a friend, John Williams Rossell, who lives with the Middletons on Laurel Road, Moorestown. Middleton was clad in overalls and two large pipe wrenches were lying on the kitchen floor near him.
Young Middleton said his father told his family he intended to take up some linoleum in the kitchen of his former home. Middleton first went to his office Saturday and then to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to a service. From there he was traced to his former home, which is owned by him.
When Middleton failed to return home for dinner at the usual time Saturday his son and Rossell decided to search for him. When young Middleton discovered his father’s plight he notified police. Patrolmen Frank Cavallo, Henry Lutz, Walter Vecander and George Getley responded in radio cars and gave first aid until the fire department squad arrived.
The firemen worked on the former commissioner one hour with an inhalator before ordering his removal to the hospital, where they continued to work on Middleton for another hour but were unable to revive him. Hospital physicians continued working on him without success. They said his condition was critical.
Gas Man Called
At 4 p.m. Saturday the family living next to Middleton’s home telephoned Public Service that gas was coming from the house. Public Service sent a man to investigate but he was unable to get into the house.
Young Middleton and Rossell said they reached the house at 6.17 p.m.
While he was a member of the first city commission Middleton was director of finance but never missed responding to all alarms of fire. He was a member of the fire committee while serving in City Council as a member from the Second Ward. In that capacity he also answered all alarms.
Members of the Firemen’s First Aid Squad responding to the call were Deputy Chief William R. Harring, Hosemen Christopher Moll, William Spencer, Harry Haines, Russell Anderson, William Harry Deitz and Nelson Andrews.
City Detectives Benjamin Simon, Joseph Mardino and William Marter are investigating the cause.
FRED KLOSTERMAN HIT BY PUMP GUN FIRE
Camden Courier-Post —
NUMBERS KING FELLED AS CAP CUTS INTO HIS
Near Death in Hospital After Shooting Outside House Adjoining Cafe
‘WELCHING’ ON PAYOFF AMONG RUMORS PROBED
Four blasts from a pump gun last night felled Fred Klosterman, convicted South Camden numbers baron and cafe operator, outside his Club Cadix, Mt. Ephraim avenue and Mechanic street.
Klosterman, 39, was believed dying today in West Jersey Hospital. He was shot by one or more assailants in an automobile which blocked his parked car in which he was seated.
Before lapsing into semi-consciousness, Klosterman told police he could not understand why he was shot. He said he knew of no enemies. He could give no description of his assailant or of the car in which they escaped.
Detectives were investigating several possible motives for the murder attempt.
One was a report that Klosterman “welched” on paying off bets when the number “444” hit Friday.
Arrested Many Times
Klosterman had been arrested many times for numbers activities during the past decade and was on parole from a three-to-five year State prison sentence, served with his brother, Joseph.
Two months ago, police said someone fired a shot through the window of Klosterman’s saloon and broke the mirror behind the bar. The shooting occurred after hours and no one was in the place. The shot was fired after Joseph Osinski, 21, was shot in the leg in the office of the R and M Amusement Company. Osinski, police said, was employed by a man formerly associated with Klosterman.
The mystery shooting occurred at 10:05 p. m. when Klosterman, who lives at 1048 Mechanic street, next door to the saloon, went to the street in front of his home to put his automobile in a garage for the night. An hour before, he and his wife had returned home from a motion picture theatre.
So far as police were able to learn, there were no witnesses to the shooting. Alfred Giffins, of 1111 Mechanic street, said he heard the firing of shots and ran outside to see what was the matter. He found Klosterman lying on the pavement, his face smeared with blood, and a red stream forming slowly on the sidewalk from the gaping wounds in his body.
Taken to Hospital In Car
Giffins commandeered the first car that came along Mt. Ephraim avenue. It contained a male driver and two girls. The man took Klosterman to the hospital, two blocks away, and left before nurses could obtain his name. According to Acting Det. Sergeant Benjamin Simon, he received a call from Klosterman’s wife, Victoria, that her husband had been shot in front of their home. Simon, with Detectives Edward Mills, Edward Mardino [sic] and Gus Pfleiderer, went to the house, where they met Mrs. Klosterman. She said her husband had been removed to the hospital. They found Klosterman in the receiving ward, conscious but weak from loss of blood.
Simon reported Klosterman said he and his wife had returned from a motion picture show a short time before. He left his car in front of his home, parked against traffic and at an angle to the curb. After going inside with Mrs. Klosterman he went outside again to put his car in the garage.
Car Driven in Front of Him
As he took his seat behind the wheel, Klosterman told Simon, another car approached from the west. It halted in front of his car.
There was a blast from a shotgun. He was struck with the first blast, he said, and ducked down below the dashboard.
Three more blasts followed in quick succession. Three slugs entered his left shoulder a few inches above the heart. Another lodged in his chin and a fifth in his upper lip. Others struck the right side of the windshield and right front window.
The assailants’ car sped west on Mechanic street to Tenth and disappeared north on Tenth street.
Klosterman said he could not obtain the license number of the car, although police were investigating a report the car was a brown sedan with New Jersey plates.
Klosterman said he was able to open the door of his car and slumped to the sidewalk, where he was found by Githens.
The shotgun slugs that struck Klosterman were about the diameter of a lead pencil.
Police Guard at Bedside
An emergency operation for removal of the pellets from his face was performed by Dr. H. Wesley Jack.
After questioning by Simon, Klosterman was questioned by County Detective Chief Lawrence T. Doran. He repeated his earlier story. William B. Macdonald, court stenographer, took down his entire statement.
Commissioner Mary W. Kobus, director of public safety, and Police Chief Ralph Bakley, also were present. They ordered a police guard posted at his bedside.
Klosterman, with his brother, was paroled from state prison July 9, 1936, after serving part of a three-to-five year sentence imposed by the then Judge Frank F. Neutze.
The brothers were convicted by a Criminal Court jury on two of four indictments charging them with numerous violations growing out of their numbers business, then said to have a “bank,” or headquarters, at the Young Men’s Seventh Ward Republican Club, 1411 Mt. Ephraim avenue.
Fined $3000 Each
When Judge Neutze passed sentence, and fined each defendant $3000 in addition to the jail terms, he lashed them for “paying politicians for protection.”
“These politicians can be found in the Third and Fifth wards of Camden,” he said. “Some of them come from Philadelphia. You couldn’t have carried on this business for such a long time without help and consent of certain influential persons in your part of the city.”
A factor in the conviction was subpoenaing of the bank accounts of the accused brothers and testimony of bank officials their bank deposits averaged more than $2000 a day.
Judge Neutze emphasized he would hand out stiff terms when he recalled the defendants were acquitted on one numbers charge in January, 1935, and had gone back into the racket immediately.
This referred to a case heard in Criminal Court before Judge Samuel F. Shay in June, 1933, when both men were convicted and the convictions appealed by their attorney. They were released in $2000 bail each pending the appeal.
Fined in Police Court
In May, 1934, Assistant Prosecutor Isaac Eason announced in court the county was unwilling to stand the expense of a new trial, and asked the sentences be revoked and the defendants made to pay fines of $500 each. Judge Neutze agreed.
On June 14, 1933, Joseph Klosterman was fined $200 by Police Judge Garfield Pancoast for operating a numbers bank in a florist shop on Mt. Ephraim avenue, not far from where his brother was shot last night.
In December, 1931, Joseph Klosterman pleaded guilty to allowing disorderly persons to congregate in his establishment and was fined $100, also by Pancoast.
After the Grand Jury returned the indictments that led to the 1935 trial, Fred Klosterman disappeared from the city. He finally surrendered in February, 1935, and with his brother was placed on trial two months later.
Neighbors said that since the brothers gained their parole in July, 1936, they parted company. Fred, they said, continued to rule the South Camden numbers racket but his brother dropped out.
GUNMEN IN PHILADELPHIA MURDER COLOZZI IN NUMBERS WAR
Camden Courier-Post —
Westmont Victim Reported to Have Been Aide of Klosterman — SCARDUZIO DEATH TIEUP ALSO SEEN
A reputed employee of Fred Klosterman, Camden numbers baron, was shot and killed in Philadelphia last night in what police there believed was an inter-city fight for control of the numbers racket.
The dead man was Joseph Colozzi, 49, of Westmont, known in the underworld and police circles as a “cheap thief.”
While Captain John Murphy, of the Philadelphia vice squad, expressed belief the slaying of Colozzi and shooting last Sunday of Klosterman were related, County Detective Chief Lawrence T. Doran was working on another angle.
Visited Colozzi’s Home
Doran said Colozzi had been closely associated during the last 10 days with John Lenkowski, 22, a fugitive wanted here in connection with the murder of Andrew Scarduzio.
“Both of them were convicted of similar offences — thievery, and they apparently were hooked up together lately. I could not say whether either of them ever was in the numbers racket.”
Philadelphia police, however, seemed certain Colozzi was shot as a result of a new “numbers war.” They said they had information that the dead man apparently was in the employ of a Camden numbers bank.
Credence was given the report that local numbers barons are attempting to “muscle in” on the “Philadelphia play” when Irving Bickel, 34, who admits being friendly with Klosterman, was arrested yesterday.
New Setup Alleged
Bickel, Murphy said, declared he had been contacting numbers writers in Philadelphia to inform them of a “new setup” and invite them to join.
Detective Sergeant Benjamin Simon and Detective Edwin Mills questioned Bickel in Philadelphia yesterday and said he admitted “knowing Klosterman” but denied he worked for him.
Simon and Mills were in Philadelphia again today working on the Colozzi shooting to ascertain whether there was any connection between the slaying and shooting of Klosterman on Sunday. Simon said he would investigate to learn if the slain man ever had been in the employ of Klosterman.
A theory advanced yesterday by police that Klosterman had been shot by killers hired by Atlantic City gamblers brought on an expression of surprise from shore police.
Detective Captain Frank Feretti said he did not know of any gambling house near the Union Station in which Klosterman may have been interested. He said no request had been made by Camden police for an inquiry at the resort.
Colozzi was murdered at Eleventh and Carpenter Streets, South Philadelphia, last night. The top of his head was blasted by shotgun slugs to end a career in crime that extended over 30 years, with at least 30 arrests.
Colozzi’s body was found lying across the trolley tracks in a darkened section near the Bartlett Junior High School.
Police of the Seventh and Carpenter Streets station a few minutes before received an anonymous telephone call that “there’s been a shooting at Eleventh and Catherine.” The caller hung up.
No One Sees Shooting
Homicide squad detectives under Acting Captain William C. Engle rounded up a number of persons in the neighborhood but could locate no one who admitted he saw the shooting. That was what the police expected, for the section has been the scene of unsolved gang killings in the past.
Captain Engle admitted the possibility that Colozzi may have been allied in some way with Jersey gamblers attempting to poach on Philadelphia territory, and had met sudden death for that reason.
Though Captain Engle described the murdered man as a “cheap thief” he wouldn’t deny the possible link to the threatened outbreak in a numbers war between rival operators as evidenced by the Klosterman shooting.
“I won’t say there’s a tie up, and I won’t say there’s not,” said Engle. “We can’t tell, right now.”
Syndicate Under Way
But the story told Captain Murphy, head of Philadelphia’s vice squad, by a Camden man known to be a pal of Klosterman, put further credence in the rumored attempts at revision along the numbers front.
The man is Bickel of a hotel at Delaware Avenue and Market Street, who yesterday was held in $1000 bail for a hearing next Tuesday by Magistrate Thomas Connor in Philadelphia’s central police court on suspicion of being connected with the numbers racket. He was picked up in Germantown.
Captain Murphy said Bickel admitted to him he was contacting various numbers writers for the purpose of having them pool their resources.
“He admitted verbally he had the names of several Philadelphia writers and that he was trying to line up the boys,” Murphy said. “He is trying to coerce them with a new numbers set-up. That will cause a revival of gang warfare.”
Although the murdered man was never known to have had theatrical connections police said he often boasted he was an entertainer in a New York cabaret.
Brother of Philadelphia Cop
The body of Colozzi, brother of a Philadelphia policeman, was identified by the officer’s wife at the Pennsylvania Hospital, Eighth and Spruce Streets. Five bullets had penetrated his skull.
Police said Colozzi lived at 113 Westmont Avenue, Westmont, since his last release from prison, some time during September 1939.
He lived with his wife Rose and most of their eight children.
In Colozzi’s pocket, when a police ambulance arrived at the scene, was a card bearing his name and the Westmont address.
He was one of two brothers of John Colozzi, whose police record was said to be longer even than Joe’s, and is being sought.
Police of Haddon Township said Colozzi was known to them only as an “innocent” junk dealer, who plied his trade picking up old car parts in and around the section.
Colozzi’s last brush with the law according to the Philadelphia police records, was last Spring when he was implicated in a dress robbery. He was freed in September after serving part of his sentence.
Meanwhile Camden city and county detectives continued their investigations into the pump gun shooting of Klosterman, who remained in critical condition at West Jersey Hospital.
Klosterman was shot down in front of his saloon at Mount Ephraim Avenue and Mechanic Street at 10:00 PM Sunday as he went to the street to drive his car to a garage. The would-be killer sped away.
Seldom In Jail Long
Colozzi had run afoul of the law since early school days, but he often boasted that “with all the friends I got, I can’t stay in jail long.” He invariably managed to regain freedom, only to renew his jostles with police.
The stiffest sentence he ever got was on December 13, 1934 when Judge Frank F. Neutze sent him and an accomplice to state prison for robbing a coat factory at 7 South 3rd Street four months before.
In passing sentence on the much arrested “Manayunk Joe,” Judge Neutze put aside pleas the prisoner was the father of eight children and sent him “up the river” for a term of six to seven years.
“You’re a typical criminal and a menace to the public” Judge Neutze said in a searing rebuke. “A light sentence won’t do you any good. Your record is one of the longest shown to me since I have been on the bench. You represent a type that is better off behind bars, for outside of prison you are a menace to the public. I’ll go the limit with you.”
Obtained Police Badge
But Colozzi merely nodded, apparently thinking of which “friend” he would call on this time to get him out.
Previously Joe had established a second-hand tire shop on the White Horse Pike at Lindenwold and escaped serious penalty as police held a continuous club over his head for suspected escapades.
On one occasion he diverted his talents to another “profession” — extortion. By some means he obtained a police badge in Clementon Township. A few months later he and several other members of the police department were rounded up for wholesale extortion of money from motorists and truck drivers.
Those were the days of Prohibition, and the White Horse Pike was a frequently used highway for passage of beer trucks between Philadelphia and Camden and Atlantic City and other seashore points.
The extortion continued among other motorists most of them guilty of petty violations. There were times when Colozzi took “anything they had,” police said.
35-Year Police Record
Colozzi’s police record dates back to 1904, when as a child of 12 he was committed to the Glen Mills, Pa. Home for Boys for petty larceny. He served 19 months.
In 1909 he was given a two-month sentence in the Montgomery County jail at Norristown PA, after another conviction for larceny.
Then followed a series of brushes with the law, with Colozzi landing behind bars a dozen times, but invariably obtaining freedom before the expiration of his term.
The record continues: 1914, committed to Philadelphia County Prison, larceny, three months;
In 1915, for receiving stolen goods, Eastern Penitentiary, four years and six months;
In 1919, at Newark, larceny, sentenced to two to seven months and pardoned in December, 1920.
A 10-year stretch followed during which his name failed to appear on police records.
Acquitted of Charge
In 1929, State Police of the Hammonton barracks arrested him for extortion, but he was acquitted in Camden County Criminal Court May 30, 1930.
In 1930 he was arrested in Trenton for breaking and entering and sentenced to a year and six months in Mercer County jail.
In 1933 he was taken in custody by the U.S. Marshal at Trenton. No disposition of the case is listed.
Later in 1933, he was arrested for larceny in Philadelphia, and no record is known further of the case.
Later the same year Camden police arrested him for attempted larceny. No disposition.
In October 1933, he was jailed by U. S. Marshals for violation of the Dyer Act, interstate transportation of a stolen auto, but was placed on five years’ probation.
In July 1934 he was arrested in Camden for breaking and entering and in December of the same year was sentenced to six to seven years in State Prison.
The last time he appeared in local police records was less than a year ago, when he was arrested on a detainer for violation of federal parole and sent to Mercer County jail. A few days later he was freed.
Defendant Denies Taking Friend’s $444
Camden Courier-Post —
DEFENDANT DENIES TAKING FRIEND’S $444
Harry Benzuk, 46, of Glover avenue, Mt. Ephraim, denied to Camden police yesterday he stole $444 from a friend of 20 years’ standing, but offered to give the friend $250 in defense bonds if the larceny charges were withdrawn.
Accusing Benzuk is Alex Slucareck, 59, of Mt. Ephraim avenue near the Camden Forge plant. He said Benzuk visited him on Feb. 14, grabbed the money from his hands and fled in an automobile. He could not report the theft sooner he said, because he was ill.
Benzuk was arrested Saturday night by Detectives Benjamin Simon and Harry Kyler. He will be arraigned in police court tomorrow.
Bombings Being Probed By FBI
Gettysburg PA Times —
Camden NJ, October 6 (AP) — The federal Bureau of Investigation took a hand Tuesday in the investigation of two bombings here early on Sunday. The first blast ripped the doors off the H.B. Wilson public school. The second wrecked the entrance to a poolroom in a different part of the city. They occurred about two hours apart.
Detective Benjamin Simon said the FBI is working on the case because the school is headquarters for a draft board.
“We are convinced that the bombings are the work of the same person or persons,” he added “even though there appears to be no connection between the two.”
Simon said the bombs were of the home-made variety — sections of heavy pipe filled with black powder.
INTEREST AROUSAL
Waterloo IA Daily Courier —
Camden NJ (UP) — Detective Benjamin Simon had a personal interest in his investigation of the theft of three pistols from the gun shop of William Stein. Called on the case, Simon discovered that one of the missing weapons was his own. He left it there for re-bluing.
Cops Are Checking On Movements of Garrote Suspect
Camden Courier-Post —
LEROY SNYDER
Investigators of the murder of Richard H. Thompson, 36-year-old churchworker, today were checking the whereabouts and movements of a South Camden youth prior to and after the discovery of the crime.
Leroy Snyder, 18, of 736 Cherry street, arrested Thursday night for allegedly attempting to strangle a 16-year-old girl with a piece of clothesline, is under examination in the county jail by City Detectives Ellis and Simon and County Detective McLaughlin.
The probers said they were particularly interested in the piece of clothesline the girl said she wrested from Snyder’s grasp when he tossed it about her neck and pulled her to the sidewalk at Sixth and Walnut streets.
Detectives said the clothesline will be compared with a four-foot length clothesline found tightly knotted about Thompson’s neck when he was discovered Oct. 15 in a small areaway behind a row of garages at Fifth and Mickle streets.
Sneak Thieves Steal $371
Camden Courier-Post —
While the proprietor, William Simon, slept in his upstairs apartment, thieves broke into the Haddon House Restaurant, 1309 Kaighns ave., early today and stole $371, a box of cigars, a sport coat and a Persian lamb coat valued at $750. Simon is the son of City Det. Benjamin Simon.
Of the cash, Simon reported to Ptl. Vincent Wall and Douglas Tydeman, $308 was in bills in a cigar box and $63 in rolls of nickels, dimes and quarters. The proprietor said he went to bed at 1.30 a. m. and discovered the robbery shortly after 7 a. m. Police said the lock on a rear window was broken.
In a nearby robbery of the second floor apartment of Theodore Wise, at 1253 Kaighns ave., $6 in a shoebox was stolen from a closet. Wise reported the apartment door was forced.
Ten Retired Camden Policemen Praised, Receive Gold Badges
Camden Courier-Post —
At Benevolent Group Dinner:
By James M. Neville
Ten retired members of the Camden Police Department answered their last roll call Tuesday night.
They received gold retirement badges and lifelong membership cards in the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association at the second annual dinner of Local 35 in Kenney’s.
Their ages ranged from 52 to 65 and collectively they represented a total of 327 years of service to the city.
“You have put aside badges and clubs and now the new men can take over,” commented guest speaker County Judge Anthony C. Mitchell.
Lauded By Judge
“You can go home tonight and look in the mirror and say: ‘I wasn’t the worst cop in the world,’ for some of you are among the finest men we’ve had in the department over the years. You deserve your reward of retirement now,” the judge said.
E. George Aaron, commissioner of police, who was toastmaster, said some of the retiring men being honored by more than 125 members and guests “have given good and long service.”
“I’ve worked with them and I’ve lived with them,” continued Aaron.
“We have one of the finest and hardest working police departments in the state or anywhere. I even think the public is now aware of that, with a new respect for the policeman today.”
Retiring Officers
Those retiring in the year 1957–58 are:
Insp. Walter E. Rewand, with 41 years; Det. Harry Kyler Sr., 35; Sgt. John Stanton, 35; Det. Benjamin Simon, 34; Ptl. Samuel Corsella, 32; Sgt. Karl Friedrichs, 31; Insp. Thomas P. Murphy, 30; Det. Marshall Thompson, 30; Det. Sgt. Clifford Carr, 30, and Ptl. William Thorn, 29.
Insp. Anthony Skolski, in charge of the patrol division, was also presented with a gold card in a leather case for outstanding service, along with a lifelong membership.
Sgt. Joseph Hooven was given a silver card and lifelong membership for outstanding work. Hooven is in charge of auto investigation division.
Juvenile Problem
In lauding the hard tasks confronting the policeman of today, both Judge Mitchell and Commissioner Aaron rapped the soft attitude of the public toward juveniles who consistently break the law.
“Unfortunately everybody is worried about the juveniles,” Judge Mitchell said.
“We are not worried, as we should be, about the man who has his car stolen, his purse robbed, his daughter molested.
“Instead, everybody’s worried about poor little Johnny, who’s always in trouble with the police.
“Sometimes you have to struggle just to keep your hands off Johnny. You even feel like doing what his father should have done.
“The ability of today’s patrolman to hold within the line of duty, keep his hands off, hold his patience with little Johnny, is commendable.”
Law Change Urged
“What Judge Mitchell has said is important to you policemen,” said Aaron. “Before I entered police work I considered myself something of a reformer. But ever since I came up against these youngsters who don’t mind breaking the law, I’ve found it very disturbing.
“I’d like to see the Legislature pass a law reducing the age from 18 to 16.
“I have no quarrel with arguments about broken homes and other causes for misbehavior, but we must see to it that these youngsters do not do more damage.”
The commissioner pointed out that only two percent of the youth in the nation can be classified as delinquent.
‘But that adds up to a considerable number when you figure it out,’ he stated. “Besides, we have first-hand evidence that these youngsters can be real nasty. Some are sadistic and cruel to a point that few adults realize.
Defiance Shown
“When taken into custody, these youngsters know that nothing is going to happen to them, which doesn’t make the job of the policeman any easier.
“It seems to me that a lot of these youngsters must be taught they can’t do wrong before 18 years of age and get away with it.”
Second Vice President Mike Lombardi, of Maple Shade, informed the membership that plans are underway to present a bill in the Legislature which will provide policemen with three-fourths full pay, instead of one-half, for 20 years service.
Other speakers included Sen. Joseph W. Cowgill who said he would vote for any legislation favoring policemen.
“I have always and will always support any legislation which is reasonable,” he added.
“The Camden police department has lost much in the retirement of these 10 good men.”