Introduction
CLARENCE BUNKER was born in Pennsylvania on November 22, 1892 to Josephine and Lawrence Bunkowski. His given name was Julian Clement Bunkowski. In time he Americanized his name to Clarence Bunker, however, over the years both names turn up in government documents. Lawrence Bunkowski brought his family to Camden a few years later.
In 1914 a son, Lawrence Bunkowski, was born to “Clarence” Bunkowski and his wife Bella, and was named after his paternal grandfather. When Clarence Bunkowski registered for the draft in June of 1917, the family lived at 1264 Everett Street, and he does not appear to have been using the Bunker surname. A daughter, Henrietta, had been born not long after the arrival of the first child.
When the Census was taken in 1920 Clarence Bunkowski was working as a caulker at one of Camden’s shipyards.
By 1924 Clarence Bunkowski had adopted the name of Clarence Bunker and was working as a Camden police officer. By January of 1928 he had been promoted to detective. Clarence Bunker’s brother Joseph J. Bunkowski lived at 1268 Everett and also served with the Camden Police Department. Clarence Bunker and family were still at the Everett Street address in April of 1930; they maintained a presence at that address as late as the fall of 1969.
Clarence Bunker was still working for the Camden Police Department in the spring of 1942. His son, Lawrence Bunkowski, was appointed to the Camden Fire Department on April 12, 1942 and reported for duty four days later. Lawrence Bunkowski and his wife Tillie then lived at 1107 Kaighn Avenue, a few doors away from Engine Company 7. They later moved to 1402 Park Boulevard in Parkside.
By 1949 Clarence Bunker had left the Camden Police Department. He died in January of 1967. Clarence Bunker was survived by his wife Bella, who died in 1975, and his son Lawrence.
Lawrence Bunkowski had served the City of Camden for over 24 years when he retired from the Fire Department on October 4, 1968. He passed away in November of 1974. His wife later lived in Woodbury, New Jersey. She joined her husband on June 25, 1988.
World War I Draft Card
World War I Draft Card — Clarence Bunkowski
Gangster Shot During Melee in Sixth Ward
Camden Courier-Post —
Joseph Deven Held On Murder Charge After Death Boxer’s Brother; ‘Mose’ Flannery and 4 Others Held as Witnesses; Was Craps Game Says County Police
HOLDUP ATTEMPTED CITY COPS DECLARE
Victim of a shot fired in a melee, the exact cause of which remain undetermined, Joseph Cimini, 31 years old, was killed in the Sixth Ward Republican Club, 908 Broadway.
Cimini, declared by police to be a Philadelphia gangster, was killed before the eyes of two district detectives, Clarence Arthur and Clarence Bunker, who had been summoned to the club by warning that a fight was in progress.
Joseph Deven, 28 years old, known to his associates as “Polack Joe” and a colorful figure in Third Ward politics, fired the shot that killed Cimini.
Declaring that he had fired in self-defense, after Cimini struck him with the butt of a revolver, Deven was locked up without bail on a charge of murder.
Joseph ‘Mose’ Flannery, 26 years old, picturesque Eighth ward political worker, was held as a material witness. Detectives had seized Flannery who was to have precipitated the battle by brandishing a revolver just before Cimini was shot. The officers say that Flannery fled –after the shooting and was captured afterward at Broadway and Federal Street.
The name of the dead man was given as Joseph Gannon, but shortly before one o’clock this afternoon, he was identified as Joseph Cimini, 1301 Ellsworth Street, Philadelphia. The identification was made by a brother, William Cimini, a pugilist who has boxed in this city several times under the name of “Billy” Gannon.
Six Others Quizzed
Six other men who were present at the time of the shooting, or when the argument began, were questioned by city and county detectives.
They are Newton Blanchard, 30, 923 St. John Street, former Camden boxing referee and declared by some of the witnesses as the man who conducted the crap game at the club; Michael Dandrea, 26, 1067 Norris Street; Russell Sage, 26 years old, of 1102 Marion Street a taxicab driver who is said to have driven Gannon and Flannery to the club in his car; Maurice O’Brien, 27 years old, of 1429 Bradley Avenue, a former New Jersey State Trooper, Harry Trooper, Harry Waterhouse, 28 years old, whose address was given as the same as Sage’s; and Charles “Chick” Hunt, 27 years old, of 1218 Broadway, a former Camden boxer.
Blanchard and Dandrea were released after questioning and after each had made a statement to Chief of County Detective Lawrence T. Doran. The others were held with Flannery as material witness.
Differences of opinion between county and city detectives investigating the shooting were heightened during the afternoon. The county sleuths insisted upon the theory that the shooting had resulted from a feud between Flannery and Hunt, with Cimini taking the former’s side and Deven the latter and said that the heat of the argument had possibly been heightened by disagreement over a crap game.
The city police, on the other hand, declared that the entire affair was the result of an attempt by Flannery to hold up the other men. Deven’s statement to Chief Doran made no mention of a hold-up.
Building up a case against Flannery, the officers this afternoon lodged charges of attempted hold-up, carrying concealed deadly weapons, atrocious assault and battery and assault to kill against him. The two latter charges were made as the result of identification of Flannery as a participant in two recent robbery attempts. J.E. Feinstein, café proprietor of 508 Kaighn Avenue, declared that Flannery, Cimini, and Sage were thereof four men who held him up on New Year’s Day. He defied them and they left when he said, “Go ahead and shoot,” he asserted. Flannery was also identified, according to police, as the man who had beaten and attempted to rob Henry Mehrer, an Audubon policeman, and his two companions outside the Ringside Inn, on the Black Horse Pike, a fortnight ago. Mehrer and Feinstein were taken to police headquarters by County Detective Howard Smith, who is authority for the statement that they identified Flannery.
Cimini was shot shortly after 3:00 this morning and died almost instantly. Doctors at Cooper Hospital pronounced him dead on arrival. He had been shot just above the heart by a bullet from Deven’s gun.
Events preceding the shooting remain, to some extent clouded today. Chief Doran said he learned of an enmity existing between Flannery and Hunt. Deven appeared to have attempted to quiet “Mose,” the county detectives said. Cimini struck Deven and Deven fired.
Chief John Golden of the Camden city detective bureau stated, on the other hand, that the shooting had apparently followed an attempt to hold up the other men in the room. Golden based his view on the statements of Clarence Arthur, a city sleuth. According to Arthur, when he and Bunker appeared at the door of the room, Flannery and Cimini held revolvers and the other men in the room were standing with their hands upraised.
According to the story pieced together by county detectives from the statements of witnesses, a group of men had apparently gathered at the club for a crap game. Blanchard, it was stated, acts as the “stick man,” the term used in gambling parlance to designate the man who conducts a crap game.
City and County agree that Flannery and Cimini arrived together in Sage’s taxicab. Whether there was an argument, the result of an enmity between Flannery and Hunt, or whether the attempted hold-up theory is correct, remains to be learned by additional official investigation.
Chief Doran stated the witnesses had told him that words passed between Flannery and Hunt and that the former had gone downstairs. Returning he brandished a revolver.
Two Flee Place
It was at this point that Blanchard and Dandrea left the room and fled down the stairs. On the street, they encountered Detectives Arthur and Bunker, who were patrolling Broadway in a police automobile.
In describing the subsequent events today, Arthur declared that Blanchard had informed him that “two Philadelphia gunmen are up in the Sixth Ward Club holding up a bunch of fellows.”
The detectives did not immediately go to the club, but found Patrolman Frank Del Rossi and followed him up the stairs of the building.
“There were about fifteen men in the room,” Arthur asserted. “When we got to the door Flannery and Cimini had their guns out and apparently were about to search the others. The other men had their hands in the air.”
“When they saw us Flannery and Cimini threw their guns down and the others lowered their hands. I went up to Flannery and started to frisk him. Bunker went to another man, whom I don’t know, and started to frisk him.”
It was then he said that he heard the shot. Believing that it was Bunker who was shot, he released his hold on Flannery and swung around. As he did Flannery turned and fled downstairs, Arthur declared.
Bunker said he believed that it was Arthur who had been shot and he too released his grasp on the man he had been searching. The detectives turned in time to see Cimini fall.
“I did it! I shot him!” Deven is declared to have shouted, throwing his revolver on the table.
According to the story told by witnesses to the county detectives, however, Deven had stepped up to Flannery just before the shot was fired and had said “Mose, you can’t get away with this here.”
Flannery is said to have had a gun in his hand at the time.
As Deven spoke, the witnesses say, Cimini stepped behind him and struck him with the butt of a revolver. Just then detectives entered. Devin whirled and, drawing his gun, fired.
Cimini was placed in a police ambulance and taken to the hospital. After he had been pronounced dead his body was taken to the morgue, where it was awaiting identification today. Neatly dressed, Cimini is of Italian extraction. He has coal-black hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. Coroner Charles T. Murray will perform a post-mortem examination, he said.
Flannery Captured
When he fled from the club, according to Arthur, Flannery jumped on a Public Service bus driven by David Smith, of 423 Haddon Avenue, which was passing at the time.
“Faster! Faster” he is declared to have urged Smith as the latter drove along Broadway in the direction of Federal Street.
At Federal Street and Broadway, Arthur and Bunker caught up to the bus and arrested Flannery as he descended from the vehicle.
“Why don’t you give me a chance to get to Philadelphia?” Arthur declares Flannery asked him. “I can get bail over there.”
Seek Written Statement
Chief Doran stated this afternoon that he was attempting to obtain a written statement from Flannery and would also seek to have Deven sign a statement regarding the shooting. During the morning, Flannery refused to talk while Devin, although admitting that he fired the shot, declared that he shot in self-defense. He made no reference to the hold-up attempt, according to the county detectives.
Cimini has a Philadelphia police record but, according to his pugilist brother, “was not bad but just wild.” He was recently arrested in Philadelphia after a fight with policemen.
“But he never held up or robbed anybody,” his brother declared this afternoon after identifying the body. “He got into a jam now and then. Yes, I know that he knew ‘Mose’ Flannery, but I never mixed with that crowd.”
It was reported at City Hall this afternoon that Samuel Orlando had been retained as attorney for Flannery and that Walter Keown, Camden county solicitor, would represent all the other men. The presence of Keown at detective headquarters, during which he had a conference with Captain Golden, seemed to lend credence to the latter report but neither rumor could be confirmed.
Flannery for years has figured in police cases and in political warfare in the Eighth Ward, where he was sometimes a lieutenant and sometimes an opponent of “Mikey” Brown, the Republican leader of the ward. Last March he was arrested and indicted on charges of atrocious assault and battery on his wife and her mother. At one time he was held as a suspect is a Philadelphia shooting but later was released.
The accused man, Deven, is a short, slim little man with an air of meek complaisance. He has been a taxicab driver and was last arrested on a charge of drunken driving. In May of 1926 he attempted suicide by shooting himself after he had failed to effect a reconciliation with his estranged wife. At that time, he shot himself but the bullet only grazed his chest.
Joe Deven, long a political power in the Third Ward, first flashed into citywide prominence in 1925, when he was employed by federal authorities as a deputy U.S. Marshal to guard the padlocked Poth brewery at Bulson Street, just off Broadway. At the time Deven was thus maintaining the sanctity of the Eighteenth Amendment, he was also operating a bootlegging establishment downtown and had been arrested once or twice for violating the Volstead Act.
The Courier at that time exposed this paradoxical situation, with the result that the U.S. Marshal summarily dismissed Deven. He keenly resented the political chicanery that had been used to put Deven in office. In explaining how Deven was appointed, the Marshal said that he had been recommended by “prominent Republican leaders” in Camden, chief among whom was William D. Sayrs, now a city commissioner but then a field agent in the office of the Internal Revenue Department.
Sought City Job
Not long after Deven’s dismissal as brewery guard, Sayrs and other Republican leaders made strenuous efforts to secure a city job for him under the Non-Partisan administration. They sought to exact a promise from The Courier that this newspaper would remain silent in the event Deven was appointed to a city position. No such promise was made and Deven remained jobless, politically at least.
Then came a humorous twist to the situation. Sayrs disagreed with some of the Organization leaders and, for a time, walked his own political footpath. Some of the leaders, fearful of what Sayrs might attempt politically, killed two birds with one stone by hiring Joe Deven to shadow Sayrs and to report to them the number of times he conferred with Non-Partisans. Thus, Joe had a job and Billy was watched.
Sayrs knew he was being shadowed by his old friend, and apparently he knew who had hired Deven to do the work, but he refused to take the situation seriously and chortled, frequently, when he would see his “Shadow” trailing about town.
In the last year, however, Deven has again been the particular political protégé of Commissioner Sayrs and also has won the friendship of many other political leaders. Nevertheless, he has not been, so far as can be determined, the recipient of any particular political patronage, though his political influence in the Third and Fifth Wards is said to have expanded rapidly under the new administration.
MURDER MOTIVE AT G.O.P. CLUB SPLITS SLEUTHS
Camden Evening Courier —
County Detectives Contend Philadelphia Gangster Was Slain in Quarrel Over Woman
POLICE CLAIM HOLD-UP ATTEMPT CAUSED FIGHT
Deven Charged With Crime, Flannery and Taxi Driver Held Without Bail
With city and county authorities definitely divided on the motive and circumstance of the Sixth Ward Republican Club slaying, Joseph “Polack Joe” Deven was arraigned in Camden police court today and held without bail on a murder charge.
Through County Solicitor Walter Keown, retained as his attorney, Deven waived a police court hearing and was held to await grand jury action in the slaying of Joseph Cimini, Philadelphia gangster, at the political club early Saturday morning.
At the same time County Prosecutor Ethan P. Wescott announced his operatives had abandoned the theory Cimini was killed as the aftermath of an attempted hold-up, and were concentrating their investigation in the case on an effort to “find the woman.”
Statements of witnesses to the fatal shooting, the prosecutor added, made no mention of a hold-up, but contained the declaration that Cimini had been shot as a result of a feud with Charles “Chick” Hunt, former South Camden pugilist, concerning the affection of “Chick’s girl.”
Police Claim Holdup
On the other hand, Captain John Golden, chief of the city detective bureau, declared he was unable to recall any mention of a girl in the statements obtained from witnesses, and added emphatically that his department still held the shooting had followed an attempted holdup of the club by Cimini and Joseph ‘Mose’ Flannery.
Flannery and Hunt were both witnesses to the shooting by Deven, picturesque figure in Third Ward politics, which occurred at the Sixth Ward Club’s headquarters, 908 Broadway.
After Deven had appeared in Police Court today, Flannery was arraigned as a material witness and as an accessory to the crime, with an additional charge accusing him of carrying concealed deadly weapons. Similar charges were made against Russell Sage, a taxicab driver, who arrived at the club with Flannery and Cimini early Saturday morning. These two were committed to the county jail without any bail by Judge Bernard Bertman.
Hunt, however, was released under $1,000 bail as was Martin O’Brien, 27 years old, a former New Jersey State Trooper, and Harry Waterhouse, 28 years old, 1102 Marion street.
Three Others Arrested
During the day the police continued to build up their case against Flannery by arraigning him on the charges made by Milton Feinstein and Henry Mehrer. They also arrested Joseph Genther, 29 years old, 414 Atlantic Avenue; Robert Wolfe, 21 years old, 1106 Mechanic Street, and Eli Conaghy, 27 years old, 814 South 6th Street. Wolfe, who is Flannery’s brother-in-law, and Genther were held “on suspicion” of having been with “Mose” at the time the latter is declared to have attacked and attempted to rob Mehrer, an Audubon policeman, outside the Ringside Inn, on the Black Horse Pike.
Conaghy, Flannery and Sage were arraigned and held without bail on charges of threatening to kill Feinstein and of carrying concealed deadly weapons. Feinstein declares these three with Cimini, the slain man, entered his cafe on January 2 and attempted to hold him up, threatening to kill him if he refused to “come across.” When he defied them by telling them to “go ahead and shoot,” Feinstein says, they departed.
Wolfe, Genther, and Conaghy were arrested by City Detectives George Ward and Thomas Cheeseman. It was Cheeseman who lodged the formal complaint of murder against Deven.
Two Others Released
Two other men who were questioned in connection with the murder case were in court this day but neither was held. They are Newton Blanchard, 923 St. John Street, a former boxing referee and alleged “stick man” at the crap game declared to have been in progress at the club before the shooting, and Michael Dandrea, 26 years old, of 1657 Norris Street. Both men had been released after questioning on Saturday. Police say they are the men who told police that trouble was imminent at the club and that “Flannery and another fellow are trying to stick up a bunch of other fellows.”
The city police hold-up theory was further attacked today by Francis J. McCarthy, a Philadelphian, who arrived before noon at the county prosecutor’s office and said he would co-operate with the authorities. He wishes to clear the dead man, he said, of the stigma of suspicion that he was slain while engaged in an attempted robbery.
Hearing in Police Court was brief. There was no testimony and Keown merely announced Deven would waive a hearing. Appearing also as attorney for Hunt, O’Brien, and Waterhouse, he said the other three men were “present at the unfortunate shooting” and thus should be held as material witnesses. He added the prosecutor’s office had permitted the release of the three under $1,000 bail each and requested Judge Bertman follow suit. The court acceded to this request but stipulated that new bail must be provided. The three men were freed shortly afterward when the bond was furnished by James Louis, 603 Kaighn Avenue, who had provided the bail yesterday in the prosecutor’s office.
Despite the declaration by two Camden district detectives who were present at the time and who said there was no evidence that gambling was in progress at the club, county detectives disclosed today that statements of the shooting contained the assertion that the men had gathered for a crap game.
These witnesses also declared the fatal shooting resulted from an argument over a woman for whose attention Cimini and Hunt were rivals.
In circles where the leading figures in the shooting move, it was freely predicted things would be fixed up for Deven and that Flannery, political worker and supposed gangster, was to be “made the goat.”
Flannery is blamed by the city police for precipitating the battle. He has also been identified, according to County Detective Howard Smith, as one of the men who beat and robbed Henry Mehrer, an Audubon policeman, outside the Ringside Inn on the Black Horse Pike a fortnight ago. In addition, he is charged with attempting to hold up Milton Feinstein, cafe proprietor, 508 Kaighn Avenue. Cimini and Sage were also identified by Feinstein, according to Detective Smith.
According to the version of Cimini’s death given in statements by witnesses to county detectives, “Chick” Hunt might have been the victim of the slaying had it not been for Deven’s interference.
Gamble Over Affections
Like actors in a carefully-rehearsed drama, the various witnesses to the shooting made their statements nearly twelve hours after the shooting and, both city and county detectives say they agreed in all important aspects. Prosecutor Wescott declared, however, that no mention of an attempted hold-up was made despite the fact that City Detectives Clarence Arthur and Clarence Bunker — before whose eyes Cimini was shot down — stated Flannery and Cimini were holding the other men at bay when the detectives entered the room.
Instead, the statements of the witnesses described the scene as a dramatic gamble, with death as the stake, over the affections of a woman beloved by both Cimini and Hunt. This woman, who is married and estranged from her husband, is being sought today, Prosecutor Wescott said. According to detectives, Hunt was severely beaten last Wednesday night in a downtown gambling place by members of Cimini’s gang. Cimini, known also as Joseph Gannon, was a brother of William Cimini, a pugilist known in the ring as Billy Gannon.
The stories told by the witnesses place Hunt as one of the players in the crap game which was in progress at the club on Saturday morning. Deven was at the window, looking out, according to the witnesses, when he saw a taxicab draw up in front of the building. Flannery, Cimini and Sage descended and entered the club, it was declared.
“Here comes Mose, Chick, with that guy what’s gunnin’ for you” Deven is declared to have shouted.
A dozen gamesters fled from the room. “Chick” and a few of his friends held their ground and were waiting when the trio entered. Cimini, it is stated, walked over to Hunt.
“I told you,” he said with a sneer, “to stay away from that dame. She’s my girl. You were warned and now you gotta take your medicine.”
Hunt said nothing.
Flannery drew from his pockets two automatics and flung them on the green-topped table, the stories go.
“C’mon, Chick,” he said. “Don’t be yella. He toldja about the broad and he toldja what he’d do. Take your gun and shoot it out.”
“Chick” demurred.
“I don’t want none of that stuff, Mose,” he pleaded. He eyed Cimini carefully as the latter held one hand on the butt of a pistol which protruded from his belt.
Deven Interferes
Hunt made no careless movements toward the pistols on the table. Then Deven is declared to have interfered.
“None of that stuff, Mose” he said warningly. “Who’s this guy to come here making trouble? He’s no member, is he?”
Cimini moved quickly, the witnesses say. With an upward flip of his hand he brought the barrel of the automatic sharply against Deven’s chin. The latter lurched forward snatching one of the pistols from the table.
The weapon was discharged, the bullet tearing through Cimini’s heart. He died instantly.
The next moment, Arthur and Bunker, district detectives summoned by one of the players who had fled, burst through the door and lined up the men against the wall.
A short time later police arrested Blanchard and Dandrea. Blanchard, police say, was the man who gave them warning of the impending battle. Both men were released after questioning.
Released from Lakeland
The detectives found Deven cringing with fear under the table, the weapon still in his hand. Four other pistols were picked up in different parts of the room.
Deven was identified as a lovesick husband who appeared in the prosecutor’s office several months ago and asked to be “put away.” His wife had left him, he said, and he was afraid he might harm someone.
He was committed to the asylum at Lakeland. When or how he was released is a mystery. Lakeland officials said they had no record of him. Deven once shot himself in a suicide attempt police say, in grief over estrangement from his wife.
Gangdom’s prevailing opinion is that Flannery is “in” for it. Attempts and threats against the blond gangster’s life have furnished many lurid tales for the habitúes of downtown hangouts.
Further, Flannery has made many bitter enemies through his political activities. In the last election he worked as a Democrat against “Mikey” Brown in the Eighth Ward. His overbearing tactics and bravado among the other downtown characters has increased the feeling against him, it is said.
Thus far, he has succeeded in keeping out of the toils for any length of time. His police record includes arrests for rum-running, carrying concealed weapons, alleged ballot frauds and attempted murder. His most recent arrest came in Philadelphia when he figured in a pistol battle in which a man was slain.
18 Persons Are Nabbed, 3 Released by Police
Camden Evening Courier —
Detective Suspended for Beating up Two Witnesses Awaiting Questioning
18 PERSONS ARE NABBED, 3 RELEASED BY POLICE
Cops Cruising in Bandit Chaser Nab Trio Near Scene of Crime
Joseph “Mose” Flannery was shot down and mortally wounded because he challenged another racketeer’s claim to the love of a woman.
Of that police were certain today as they resumed the investigation of the murder of the Eighth ward political worker who died in West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital at 6:08 p.m. yesterday.
A startling development, a “tangent” in the probe of the shooting at Front street and Kaighn avenue, came today when a Camden city detective was indefinitely suspended on charges of assaulting two men who were awaiting questioning at detective headquarters.
City Detective John Kowalski, known as “Happy Kowal,” was ordered dropped from the police payroll this morning by Chief of Police Lewis W. Stehr. He is charged with beating up Joseph Moll, 25, son of former Policeman Frank Moll, and James Bonner, of 907 North Front street.
At the same time that the Kowalski suspension order was revealed, County Detective Chief Lawrence T. Doran and Capt. John W. Golden, chief of city detectives, announced that of 18 persons arrested yesterday and today, 13 were being held in police headquarters, two had been released under bail, and three had been cleared of any connection in the Flannery murder.
Funeral services for “Mose” Flannery will be held at 8:00 a. m. Saturday at the undertaking parlors of Frank L. Leonard, 1451 Broadway, and will be followed by requiem mass in Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Broadway and Ferry avenue at 9:30. Rev. Fathers Kelly, Henry and McCorriston will officiate. The body may be viewed in the Leonard parlors Friday evening.
Two of those in cells today are women, and detectives declare the two “know more than they have told of the background of the slaying of “Mose” Flannery.” Of those released after questioning, two were women.
Woman Tells of Fight
The four women were arrested through a strategic move by city detectives made yesterday in a house at 103 Kaighn avenue, which had been raided a month ago. The proprietor had been arrested and fined [illegible] for maintaining a disorderly house. Seven alleged inmates of the place also had been arrested, but released on their promise to leave the city.
Detectives said that the two women detained today were believed to have been in the Kaighn avenue house at the time bullets rained out of an automobile at Front street and Kaighn avenue and found their mark—“Mose” Flannery.
The women are Rita Leslie, 21, of 3816 North Tenth street, and Joyce Harris, 23, of 1011 North Twelfth street, both of Philadelphia.
It was a story of a fight in a house at Sixth and Van Hook streets told by the Leslie girl early today that led the investigators to believe that Flannery’s fatal slaying was the result of an argument “over a woman.”
Detectives were investigating the story of the Lewis [sic] girl when Detective Kowalski made the alleged attack on Moll and Bonner.
It was shortly after 12:30 a. m. today when County Detective Chief Doran and Captain Golden were questioning “witnesses” in Golden’s private office. Moll and Bonner were awaiting their “turn,” and were seated in the main room at the detective bureau. Detectives were at their desks. Among them was Detective Wesley McGrath.
Detective Hits Prisoners
The door from the corridor was flung open and Detective Kowalski entered.
What followed was recounted today by Chief of Police Stehr, whose account of the alleged assault he said was based on details given him by witnesses.
According to Chief Stehr, Kowalski, without warning, approached Moll and with clenched fist, struck him full in the face, kicked his shins, and then turned on Bonner, on whom he repeated the performance. McGrath tried to stop his fellow detective, but Kowalski brushed him aside and struck Moll again in the mouth, the blow cutting Moll’s lip. Kowalski, according to eye-witnesses, then repeated his attack on Bonner.
(Continued on Page Ten)
Three Arrested in Flannery Death
(Continued From Page One)
William D. McDonald, a court stenographer, who had been sitting at a desk, smoking, rushed into Golden’s private office. Doran and Golden hurried into the main room and seized Kowalski. Others who entered the room at the time of the attack were James Hollis, chauffeur for Captain Golden, and several men called into the investigation.
The suspension order was given to Captain Golden by Chief Stehr this morning but had not reached Kowalski, who was scheduled to report for work at 4 p. m. today. He has the right to ask for a trial before the police board.
Stehr said he had received no official statement but had been informed by Captain Golden that Kowalski “might have had a few drinks.” Stehr said he would investigate the reports that Kowalski was intoxicated.
Kowalski had been an efficient detective, Chief Stehr said. The suspended officer joined the city police force in 1919, and has been a detective for a year and a half.
Many Suspects Grilled
Suspected of being Philadelphia gunmen, two men who gave their names as Samuel Katz, 29, of 208 North Franklin street, and James Wallace, 26, of 670 North Eleventh street, both of Philadelphia, were arrested today and held as “material witnesses.”
Questioned last night after they were taken to city hall from the house at 103 Kaighn avenue, Naomi Carey, 19, of 5325 Callowhill street, and Jean Kenny of the Bell Ridge apartments, Fifteenth and Spruce streets, both of Philadelphia, were released shortly after midnight.
William Bonner, 27, brother of James Bonner, arrested “on suspicion” at 9 p.m. yesterday by Policemen Arthur and Bunker, was released in $500 bail as was Patrick Driscoll, 25, of 1225 South Third street.
Theodore Baker, 22, of 222 West Merchant street, Audubon, arrested yesterday and suspected of being the driver of a taxicab which carried the Flannery slayers, was released today after detectives marked “no complaint” against his name on the police blotter.
In addition to those arrested yesterday, Henry Matorisch, 26, of 232 Graisbury avenue, Audubon, and John H. Kenny, 33, of the Bell Ridge apartments, Philadelphia, were detained by police as material witnesses.
Matorisch was arrested at 2:35 a. m. today by Sergt. John Skolski. Kenny was “picked up” yesterday by policemen at Front street and Kaighn avenue.
Seven others were in cells, including some of those who asked a truck driver to take the mortally wounded Flannery to the hospital early yesterday.
They were: James L. Hawkins, 37, declared by the police to be the owner of the saloon at 101 Kaighn avenue; Walter Novak, 22, of 442 Jackson street; Russell Sage, 25, of 407 Mechanic street; Joseph Novak, 34, of 508 Jackson street; Eugene Murphy, 51, of 101 Kaighn avenue; Joseph “Cuzzy” Scarduzio, 30, of 419 Winslow street, and Joseph Moll, 25, of 101 Kaighn avenue.
Twice yesterday detectives impersonated racketeers in answering telephone calls in the Front street and Kaighn avenue neighborhood. On one occasion, County Detective Chief Doran answered a call which told him of the whereabouts of “Cuzzy” Scarduzio and which led to Scarduzio’s arrest.
Police “Trap” Women
Arrest of the four girls in the house at 103 Kaighn avenue resulted from similar strategy of other investigators, City Detective Thomas Cheeseman revealed today.
The telephone at 103 Kaighn avenue rang yesterday afternoon while detectives were searching the house which was then vacant. One of the officers answered. The voice on the other end of the line asked for “Joe.” Detectives said Joseph Moll was the “Joe” sought.
“This is Joe,” answered one of the detectives.
“Is it all right for us girls to come over from Philadelphia tonight?” a woman inquired.
The impersonator of “Joe” assured the inquirer “it would be O.K.”
The four women arrived at the Kaighn avenue address shortly after [text missing between crops] which had its climax with the arrest of “Cuzzy,” surprised in the home of Garfield DelDuca, 674 Fairview street, by Doran and Golden.
After Rita Leslie had informed police of a party which ended in a fight in the saloon at 101 Kaighn avenue last Monday night detectives left headquarters shortly before midnight, their mission not revealed, but said to be a search for a man who police said ran a “shady” business near the spot where Flannery was “given the works.”
Says They’re Lying
“I don’t see why the other girls are lying,” Rita was said to have told her questioners. “We had nothing to do with the shooting. I’m just telling you about what happened before. I don’t know anything about how Flannery was shot and I don’t think the other girls do, either.”
Details of the “fight” in the saloon were not revealed by police, but they said they were convinced that an argument “over a woman,” in which Flannery took a prominent part, had a bearing on the case and would be “run down” to the limit.
That there was a “woman in it” police were certain. Tall, strong-featured blonde, Flannery looked more the part of a “model for a collar ad” than he did the underworld “worker” police declared him to be.
“Mose” was a “sheik” to young women in his “set,” police said, as they investigated the report that Flannery struck a woman in a house at Sixth and Van Hook streets last week, and that the woman’s “man” had sought revenge and had been successful.
It was that information which led to the arrest of the four Philadelphia women last night.
‘Cuzzy’ Held as Suspect
“Cuzzy” Scarduzio was questioned more rigidly than any of the others, and shortly before last midnight detectives took a step which they refused to explain, but which was seen as significant.
While they held the other men as material witnesses, they deferred slating Scarduzio in the police docket until the last minute. And when they did, they slated him “on suspicion,” and marked it as an arrest by Lawrence T. Doran, chief of county detectives.
The dead political worker was a son of James and Mary Flannery, who now live at 1123 Princess avenue. Flannery in 1924 married Anna M. Bogga, from whom he had separated after a stormy married life during which Flannery several times was arrested on his wife’s complaint.
“Mose” Flannery was raised in Camden, and in the Eighth Ward. His avocation was politics, and even before he was of age he was a power in the turbulent Eighth Ward. Later his underworld activities led him mostly to South Philadelphia, but always, at election time, he came back to work in the Eighth.
Went to Camden High
He went to the local schools and was widely known. He was a year or two in Camden High School, and would have graduated with the class of 1923. It was often said that he wasn’t even 26, but nearer 24. There were stories that he said he was older so he could vote before he was of age.
His rise in gangdom was meteoric, as it was in politics. His fellow gangsters were wont to say “Mose has got brains.” Judges before whom he appeared at first told him he was making a mistake—that he had a good future before him if he followed the right trail.
He spoke well and dressed well. He looked like an earnest, enthusiastic young professional man.
An order to close the Kaighn avenue saloon and revoke the license of James L. Hawkins, its proprietor, was issued by David S. Rhone, city director of public safety.
Commissioner Rhone instructed Chief of Police Lewis W. Stehr to “close up the saloon at once.” The orders were carried out immediately and two policemen placed on guard at the spot where Flannery crumpled up under gun fire.
Rhone Refuses Statement
Commissioner Rhone absolutely refused to make any statement in connection with the case, nor would he discuss his order to Chief Stehr to close the saloon.
“You’ll get no statement from me,” Rhone told a newspaper man. “I don’t care to be quoted in the newspapers. I’ve given my orders to Chief Stehr. If you want to know about them, talk to him.”
“As head of the department—the
New Vice Squad in 3 Raids Nabs 6 as Suspects in Bandit Gang
Camden Courier-Post —
Police Believe Prisoners Know Something of Wierman Murder
PROSECUTOR BALDWIN SEEKS SPEEDY TRIAL
Indications Point to Sextet Staging Recent Holdups Netting $25,000
Arrested by the new Camden police vice squad today in three East Camden dwellings, four men and two women are believed by county authorities to be members of a bandit gang which collected $25,000 and murdered a Camden man in a series of eight holdups during the past two months.
Prosecutor Baldwin expressed belief that the suspects were either implicated in, or know who executed the shooting of William “Big Bill” Wierman, alleged Camden beer runner, during a holdup April 28 at the Bellmawr County Club.
He announced he would ask the grand jury this afternoon to indict them on charges made against them this morning by the city police, and would probably place them on trial here next week.
Meanwhile, all victims and witnesses to the daring holdups in and near the city will be summoned to the courthouse to attempt to identify the prisoners.
He highly complimented the newly created vice squad on its efficient raids made after a week of painstaking investigation.
Firearms Seized
In each residence police seized a veritable arsenal of revolvers, sawed-off shotguns, repeating rifles and hundreds of ammunition, all hidden in closets or secret caches under the floors. An opium “layout,” hacksaw, pairs of colored eyeglasses and silverware were also confiscated.
The discovery of the tinted eyeglasses in the residence was of significance to Police Lieutenant Ralph Bakley, who pointed out that one of the armed bandits who held up the son of Freeholder Leonard Brehm at Front and Kaighn avenue two weeks before the Wierman slaying wore green glasses to escape identification.
The detectives aided by state troopers executed their raids with a precision which prevented any of the suspects from resisting or escaping. Two men attempted to slip through the ring, but one surrendered after a single shot was fired at him, and the other was captured while trying to scale a rear fence.
The suspects gave their names as:
John Fisher, 38, of 41 South Thirty-third street, Camden.
Nicholas Bartluci, 23, of 764 South Berwick street, Philadelphia.
Joseph Conti, 34, of 708 South Eighth street, Philadelphia.
Catherine Christman, 28, of 2202 Filbert street, Philadelphia.
Marco Reginelli, 32, of Apartment 2, at 143 North Thirty-fourth street, Camden.
Mrs. Mary Reginelli, 24, his wife, same address.
Committed Without Bail
All six were arraigned before Judge Pancoast in the city police court this afternoon. As they were arrested in a joint complaint charging each with carrying concealed deadly weapons was lodged against them by Detective Louis Schlam, member of the vice squad. An additional complaint charging possession of narcotics was placed against Conti and Catherine Christman.
All of the suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges and were remanded to the county jail without bail. Prosecutor Baldwin stated he did not immediately fix bail, but would hold them for further investigation. They will be finger-printed and “mugged” so that county authorities can obtain their police records.
Bartluci has been arrested four times in Philadelphia since 1926, but each time was released or exonerated. The charges were inciting a riot in 1926.
[The page-one text breaks off here; the lines joining it to the page-two text below are not in the crops.] suspicion of hold-up and robbery in 1927, 1928 and 1929.
Conti is a familiar figure in the Philadelphia underworld, according to police, and it is believed that he may be the same Joseph Conti who was arrested as a witness in a recent gang murder in that city.
All of the prisoners treated their arrest with levity. Conti, while being led from the courtroom after his hearing jocularly remarked to Patrolman Everett Joslin:
“Wait, and I’ll get a machine gun out of my shoe for you.”
All the men were handcuffed when arrested in police court.
Conti and the Christian [sic] woman were arrested when police broke down the door of a house at 3719 Highland avenue, Camden. Fisher and Bartluci were seized at the South Thirty-third street address, while the Reginellis were captured in their apartment.
Conti made a desperate bid for freedom when he saw the detectives, armed with shotguns, repeating rifles, revolvers and tear bombs. The suspect dashed through the rear door, but came to an abrupt standstill when a member of the vice squad, Detective James Paradise, fired one shot at him.
Bartluci also attempted to escape and was clambering over a rear fence when he fell into the arms of Detectives Walter Smith and Vernon Jones.
All were arrested “on information received,” the only explanation the police would give. It was revealed that the special vice squad, organized by police heads a few days after a Camden bank messenger was robbed of $6700 in broad daylight May 23, has had the three dwellings under surveillance for the past week.
The raiders first visited the Highland avenue place at 5:15 a. m. An automobile was in front of the house, and Conti and the Christman woman were in it, according to detectives. When the suspects saw the police, they leaped from the car and ran into the house, locking the door after them.
Batter Down Door
Under the leadership of Detective Theodore Guthrie, the vice squad members quickly surrounded the place, and Detectives Smith and Jones knocked at the front door. There was no response, and the detectives then battered the door down, rushing into the dark interior with drawn revolvers.
They found Catherine Christman, but Conti had fled out the rear. Detective Paradise’s shot changed his mind about escaping.
Then a thorough search was made of the premises for weapons or possible loot. In closets, under beds, the detectives found weapons of all description. Baseboards and the floors were hammered, and several traps were found to contain weapons when floor boards were ripped up.
The raiders took their prisoners to City Hall, and then descended upon the South Thirty-third street house, at 6:30 a. m. There they had to force open the front door when their demands for entrance met no response. They arrested Fisher, who made no attempt to resist when he saw it was futile. Bartluci, however, dashed into the rear yard, but was captured.
Here, another thorough search uncovered weapons, and when the prisoners and confiscated material had been disposed of, the raiders sped to the North Thirty-fourth street apartment, forcing the front door open at 7.30 a. m., after surrounding the place.
Those who participated in the raids were the following members of the vice squad, headed by Detective Guthrie: Paradise, Jones, Walter Smith, Clarence Bunker, Louis Schlam, Clarence Arthur, Howard Smith and Joseph Mardini. With them were Sergeant Wilfred L. Dube and Detective Andrew Zopesky, of the state police.
Seized in Raid
The following is a list of what was seized in each place:
At 3719 Highland avenue: One automatic 12-gauge shotgun, serial numbers filed off to prevent tracing to the buyer; one bolt action high-powered .38-calibre rifle; one .38-calibre short-barrelled revolver, loaded; one .38-calibre long-barrelled revolver, loaded; one hacksaw and blade; one box of 50 12-gauge buckshot cartridges, one pair of green glasses, three dozen silver spoons, 10 rifle bullets, 33 .38-calibre bullets, two bunches of keys, one handbag and a complete opium layout, including an extra pipe and a quantity of opium.
At 41 South Thirty-third street: One .45-calibre Colt automatic, loaded; one .45-calibre side-break revolver, loaded; one extra clip of 20 bullets, one 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun, two barrels; four dozen 12-gauge shells, four dozen rifle bullets, 32 .38-calibre bullets and three .45-calibre long rifle bullets.
At 143 North Thirty-fourth street: One automatic .12-gauge shotgun, Remington, Model 11, serial number 324870; one sawed-off shotgun, serial number filed off; one .32-calibre Savage automatic, six dozen 12-gauge shells, 13 .38-calibre bullets for a Luger revolver, eight dozen .32-calibre bullets, one dozen .25-calibre bullets and a pair of amber-colored glasses.
Military System Adopted for Cops
Camden Evening Courier —
Dickinson Makes District Heads Responsible for Men; Vice Squad Disbanded
Following closely upon the heels of disbanding the special vice squad, Major C. V. Dickinson, deputy director of public safety, today announced that the commander of each of the four police districts will be responsible for the conduct of the men under him.
The same system of burden of responsibility existing in military services will be in effect in the Camden police department, the major averred. Each patrolman will be responsible to his sergeant, each sergeant to his lieutenant and the lieutenants to the deputy director.
Major Dickinson, Camden’s new “police czar,” also reiterated that he is demanding strict adherence to the police regulations and rules. One rule requires that no member of the police department, whether he is in uniform or plainclothes, on duty or off, may enter a soft-drink parlor or other drinking resorts “except in the strict commission of duty.” He has also informed the police heads to instruct their men to faithfully observe all other rules, including those requiring salutes to superior officers and those regulating neat appearance.
Major Dickinson completely abolished the special vice squad last night, reassigning the remaining five members to other units in the department.
Three of the squad were assigned to special duty and will work directly under Major Dickinson. They will be stationed in his offices at city hall and will take orders from him alone.
They are Detectives Theodore Guthrie, former head of the squad; James Paradise and Clarence Bunker. Guthrie and Paradise both live in the Sixth ward, the home bailliwick of Major Dickinson, while Bunker lives in the Thirteenth ward, within a few blocks of the residence of Dr. Rhone.
Of the two remaining members, Howard Smith is assigned to detective headquarters and Clarence Arthur was ordered to report to the Fourth Police District today in uniform. Smith, a resident of the Second ward, will take up his new position at 4 p. m. today. Arthur was appointed to the police department from the Third ward.
Other Changes Made
Two other changes in the department were announced yesterday by Major Dickinson. Henry Lutz, a patrolman in the Second district, was appointed a member of the mounted squad under Sergt. Clarence Thorn. John Kowal, who was an acting district detective in the Fourth district, was shifted to police headquarters as a member of the bandit chaser crew stationed there.
The vice squad was formed by Police Chief Lewis H. Stehr on May 26 after a series of holdups had been perpetrated. The squad originally consisted of nine men, but gradually became smaller as the members were reassigned to the various districts.
An order was sent to all district commanders compelling members of the department on patrol duty to remain in their district until relieved. In order that this may be carried out all policemen must report at their various station houses 15 minutes earlier than previously. Instead of each shift leaving the station houses on the hour they will leave ten minutes sooner thus reaching their districts before the man they are relieving has reported off for the day.
Police rules and regulation books have been issued to all men and they will be expected to “learn the contents by heart,” according to Major Dickinson.
New Cafe Applications
Dr. Rhone, director of Public Safety, announced yesterday that new application forms for 1931 soft drink permits will be made. A drastic change will be made in the forms.
They will delve extensively into the personal character and integrity of the applicant. He will be asked if he is naturalized, and if so when he obtained his final papers. He must tell if he has ever been arrested and the disposition made of his case. He will be asked if any place of a like nature operated by him has ever been raided or padlocked.
If the applicant can satisfactorily answer all questions on the form and his permit granted a $100 fee is charged. The permits will probably be granted the latter part of January, Director Rhone said. He will endeavor to keep the number below 100.
Suspect Is Nabbed at Fairview Home in Shooting of Cop
Camden Evening Courier —
Collingswood Man Held on Charge Made By Police at Springfield, Mass.—Accused of Having Gun When Caught Crawling From Cellar
A two-week search for a Collingswood man wanted in Springfield, Mass., on a charge of shooting and beating a patrolman, ended in Fairview this morning when George Fingerhut, 26, was captured by three Camden district detectives as he was attempting to flee from the home of his sister.
Fingerhut, who said he lived at 68 Collings avenue, Collingswood, was caught by Detective Howard Smith as he attempted to crawl through a cellar window, gun in hand. Fingerhut had been trailed from Collingswood by Patrolman George Smith, of the Collingswood police, a son of Detective Smith.
According to the Springfield police, Fingerhut was one of three men who shot Patrolman Joseph Gauderau two weeks ago when the patrolman surprised them in the act of stealing a car. After shooting the patrolman, one of the men beat him over the head with a revolver. Gauderau is not expected to live.
Jailed 60 Days
The suspect was arraigned before Police Judge Pancoast on a charge of carrying deadly weapons and being a fugitive from justice. He entered pleas of not guilty to both charges and was sentenced to 60 days on the deadly weapon charge. He was ordered held 30 days pending extradition proceedings.
Fingerhut, after the three detectives testified he had a loaded revolver in his hand when he attempted to flee from a house at 953 Monitor road, Fairview, asked Pancoast to set bail on the fugitive charge. Bail was set at $15,000. He said he reached Camden last night.
The residence at 953 Monitor road is occupied by Raymond Gondolf and family, according to the police. Raymond Gondolf is a son of Peter Gondolf, a Fairview contractor, Republican committeeman from the Fourteenth Ward. Mrs. Raymond Gondolf is Fingerhut’s sister.
The Gondolfs were away from their home last night. Fingerhut, finding the house unoccupied, used it as a hiding place, according to a report filed by Detective Smith.
Fingerhut’s brother, Hugh, and a man known to the police only as “Pete” have been arrested in New England and are being held in Springfield. George Fingerhut, according to the Springfield police, has a long criminal record.
Home Surrounded
The police received a tip yesterday that Fingerhut would try to visit Fairview last night. Detectives Theodore Guthrie, Clarence Bunker and Smith watched the house during the night, and this morning when no sign of Fingerhut was seen Bunker, [sic] went to the rear of the house, Smith to the side and Guthrie to the front door.
Guthrie knocked several times, but his knock was not answered. Then it was that Smith saw a man crawling through a cellar window with a revolver in one hand. Stepping behind some shrubbery, Smith waited until Fingerhut emerged from the cellar window and then covered him with a revolver.
At police headquarters Fingerhut refused to make any statements. His photographs and Bertillion measurements will be broadcast by the Camden police to ascertain if he is wanted in any other cities.
World War II Draft Card
World War II Draft Card — Clarence Bunker