Introduction
Gustav Albert Koerner Sr.
GUSTAV ALBERT KOERNER SR. was born August 17, 1896. He served for many years with the Camden Police Department. He joined the force on June 16, 1923, and by February of 1928 was one of Camden’s motorcycle policemen. He later was promoted to Detective, and had reached the rank of Detective Sergeant by 1935. He was serving as a Captain of Detectives by June of 1944. When the 1947 Camden City Directory was compiled he was living at 807 Haddon Avenue, with wife Mary and at least one child, a son, Gustav Albert Koerner Jr.
By December of 1951 Gustav Koerner had risen to the rank of Chief of Police for the City of Camden. He retired on April 19, 1960.
Gustav Koerner had moved to 430 North 38th Street in East Camden at some point after 1947. He was still listed in the New Jersey Bell Telephone Directory at that address as late as 1977.
Gustav Koerner passed away in January of 1987.
BROKEN BOTTLE MAIMS OFFICERS QUELLING FIGHT
Camden Courier-Post —
BROKEN BOTTLE MAIMS OFFICERS QUELLING FIGHT
Hurlock Severs Artery in Thrilling Battle to Subdue Men Engaged in Raid in East Camden
FIVE UNDER ARREST AWAITING HEARING
East Camden was aroused last evening over a report that two policemen, William Hurlock and Louis Shlam, of the Third district, had been killed and a colored man shot in a riot at Thirtieth and Pleasant streets, and that another man was surrounded in a house nearby by a posse of police and that shots had been exchanged.
District Detectives Shlam and Hurlock and Acting District Detective Raymond Stark received a call that there was a riot at Thirtieth and Pleasant streets. They responded and found a fight in progress among some drunken men.
There were both white and colored men, and when Officer Hurlock attempted to arrest George Hill, white, one of the men, a tussle ensued and as the men rolled over the floor a broken bottle on the floor gashed the wrist of Officer Hurlock and severed an artery in the struggle he fainted from loss of blood.
In the meantime Officer Shlam was struggling with two more white men when it is alleged that George Carpenter, aged 74 years, a husky negro, despite his age, tried to hit Shlam with an axe. The officer jumped just in time and retaliated by hitting Carpenter a blow over the head with his blackjack. The blow did not hurt the aged man who fled to a nearby house and barricaded the door.
In the meantime the patrol wagon had arrived as well as Motorcycle Policeman Gus Koerner, who picked up Policeman Frank Carle to the scene. Policeman John Stanton also went to the scene.
Four men were placed under arrest. They gave their names as George Hill, Joseph Lohrman, Frank Nidle and Leo Helvins. They were sent in to the City Hall in the patrol wagon, while District Detective Hurlock was rushed to the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital in the car of Fritz Heger.
An attempt was then made to arrest Carpenter who had barricaded himself inside the house and defied the police for two hours. He was finally induced to come out into the street and was quickly nabbed.
Inability of Hurlock to appear in court to-day caused a postponement of the hearing. The officer was taken home after being treated at the hospital. His injury is causing him much distress. Hill is accused of assaulting Hurlock and Carpenter is charged with assault on Shlam. The others are accused of disorderly conduct.
City Employee Is Freed in Gun-Carrying Case
Camden Courier-Post —
When Paul Genovese, 48 years old, of 613 South 4th Street, a city gardener, was arraigned in police court this morning on a charge of carrying concealed deadly weapons, he told Judge Bertman he did not know it was illegal to carry firearms. Sentence was suspended after a severe reprimand.
Genovese was arrested Sunday night at Third and Washington streets by Policeman Gus Koerner. The case was postponed to produce additional witnesses.
In court this morning Koerner said he found Genovese chasing another man with the gun. The policeman said Genovese was intoxicated.
Bertman rebuked the defendant and told him that just because he was a city employee and wore a badge he was not entitled to carry a gun and blackjack. In suspending sentence he told him he could not carry a weapon at any time in the future under any circumstances without the proper permit.
Camden Cops Lose to Central Quintet
Camden Courier-Post —
‘Caveman’ Clayton Sparkles in City League Victory; Wayne Boys Win
Central Camden beat the Camden Police quintet to make it two straight in the Municipal basketball circuit at Convention Hall last night. By blanking Clarence Phifer, and holding Ott Laxton down to six points the Central outfit spiked the Coppers’ attack. Clayton and Grover Wearshing did the heavy work for the winners. Clayton held Phifer without a field shot and tallied four times from the field. Wearshing bagged a trio of double-deckers.
Gus Koerner was ejected from the game when Referee Keneman ruled him off the floor for abusive language.
The Wayne dribblers battled down South Camden under a 46–20 score in the other combat Jimmy Reed and Devlin were the bright stars for the winners.
Game statistics
Detectives Holding 3 Burglar Suspects
Camden Courier-Post —
Clothing Stolen From Store, Teacher’s Desk Looted; Bell-Ringer Arrested
City detectives today were questioning three youths arrested in different sections of Camden, who are believed to be responsible for a series of robberies. At the same time police were investigating the theft of clothing from a store at Ann and Sycamore Streets, and the pilfering of $1.50 from the desk of a teacher of the Broadway School.
Francis Smith, 19 years old, of 1120 Locust Street, and Raymond Walker, 19 years old, of 747 Woodland Avenue, were arrested by Policeman James McTaggart, in the rear of a house at Broadway and Atlantic Avenue. The boys said they were “waiting for somebody.” McTaggart took them to police headquarters at 1.50 o’clock this morning. There, screw drivers were found when their clothing was searched. Captain of Detectives John Golden today declared that he believed Thomas Vanor, 21 years old, of 1242 Daley Street, Philadelphia, was the man who has been breaking into houses in North Camden, after ringing doorbells and not getting an answer.
Vanor was caught by Policeman Frank Evans near Front and Erie Street. When first questioned at police headquarters, Vanor was unable to explain what he was doing in that neighborhood. A telephone call that “a man is breaking into a store at Ann and Sycamore Streets” was received at police headquarters at 11.30 last night. Motorcycle Policeman Gus Koerner investigated and found that the store window had been broken by a bottle. Neighbors who were questioned reported that a man jumped from the window and ran up Sycamore Street, carrying some clothing.
Police believe boys broke into the Broadway School. Although several school rooms were ransacked, a check-up revealed that only $1.50 had been stolen.
Gangster Shot as Racketeers Open War Here
Camden Courier-Post —
Shooting of an alleged racketeer at Broadway and Kaighn Avenue, near the threshold of one of South Jersey’s notorious reputed gambling joints, threw Camden police into renewed warfare on gangdom yesterday.
Like the shots that riddled Hughy McLoon, the dwarfed Philadelphia hunchback—shots that blew off the lid off Philadelphia vice and police corruption—those that echoed in the recognized rendezvous of Camden gangdom promised to have far-reaching effects.
The victim was Joseph Connors, 28, of 135 North Broadway, Gloucester, alleged beer racketeer. With a bullet in his lungs and another in his abdomen, he was conceded “an even chance” to live at West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital last night.
John Doris, 24, brother of Frank Doris, who died in the electric chair for murder during the Olney Bank holdup is under arrest charged with the shooting.
A roundup by a special squad of detectives immediately following the shooting resulted in the arrest of 10 men, among them some well-known gangsters and racketeers. All were held in bail as material witnesses.
Those netted in the roundup and the bail demanded follow:
Russell Sage, 426 Mechanic Street, several times suspected in Camden gang shootings, held without bail for trying to help Doris escape; James “Jimmie” Toland, former Philadelphia paplist and now operator of the Nonpareil Club, $2500 bail; Joseph Simms, cook in the Nonpareil Club, $500 bail; Charles Riehm, 1051 Haddon avenue, manager of the club; William Kelly, alias Leo Morton, 425 Van Hook street, $500; Harry Selah, 1240 South Third street, a spectator who named Doris as the assailant; William J. Merrick, 1128 Liberty street, $2500; Lorenzo Cole, 920 Jefferson avenue, $500; Ernest Matsios, 506 Kaighn Avenue, $500; Leo McKenna, 426 Mt. Vernon street, $500.
Motive in Doubt
Motive for the shooting was so tangled in the mazes of gangland’s intrigues of love, avarice and rivalry that police confessed they were unable to fathom it. Gangland’s glib explanation was that Doris and Connors quarreled over change for a $5 bill in the Nonpareil Club at Broadway and Kaighn Avenue several hours before the shooting.
The shooting took place in front of the American Restaurant, 506 Kaighn Avenue after the two men had engaged in a bitter quarrel at a table inside. Other patrons saw both arise and punch viciously. Doris suffered several cuts on the face in the exchange. Then the fighters walked out to the street to finish the battle.
But as Connors raised his hands, the other pulled a pistol and began firing at point-blank range. Connors screamed and ran back toward the restaurant, the pistol still in readiness in pursuit.
Shot Shatters Pane
Three shots were fired. One crashed through a window of the United Shoe Repair Shop on the opposite side of the street at 505 Kaighn Avenue.
In his haste to escape, Connors collapsed near the glass pane of the restaurant door, cutting his hands and face.
The wounded man ran through the kitchen into Amber street at the rear. Doris pursued him as far as Broadway but turned from the chase when a group of pedestrians ran toward him.
A few seconds later, Connors staggered into the restaurant, holding onto his stomach, ran through the kitchen into a back room, looking for a way out. And Doris, the gun still in his hand, followed, but tripped and fell, and then got up and continued the chase.
Almost identical testimony was given by James Sims, also a cook.
Doris was the only witness for the defense. He “remembered nothing” of how he happened at being “punched in the nose, some place in South Camden.” Doris was on the stand only a few minutes. As he left, Keown rested his case.
Doris first was tried in the Connors’ shooting last June. Arraigned on charges of atrocious assault and battery and carrying concealed deadly weapons, he was returned to the county jail pending a second trial when the jury, although believing him guilty, disagreed as to his charge. The first trial was comprised of eleven women and three men.
Doris, in addition to being involved in the Broadway and Kaighn Avenue shooting, is believed by police to hold the key to solution of the mysterious murder of Joseph “Mose” Flannery, for which he is under indictment.
One-Legged Hiker Seeks Camden Kin
Camden Courier-Post —
One-Legged Hiker Seeks Camden Kin
Makes Trip From North Carolina to Find Sister.
Hitch-hiked from Winston-Salem, N. C. with the aid of but one leg, William Beale, 25, arrived here last night seeking relatives, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Murphy, “near Camden.”
Beale was picked up in Wilmington by Rev. A. J. Kilpatrick, Trinity Church, Swedesboro, who drove him to Camden.
Beale told Detective Gus Koerner his aunt, Jeanette Beale, had married Edward Murphy, who lives several miles from Camden. Until last year, he said, he had corresponded with them and wished to visit them.
While police aid him in his search, Beale will be permitted to remain at City Hall.
2 Police Officers Made Lieutenants
Camden Courier-Post —
Rhone Reported Ready to Make Five Patrolmen Sergeant
Reports that five members of the Camden police department will be promoted to sergeants tomorrow were circulated, today after announcement that two sergeants had been appointed lieutenant.
Those who, according to rumors, will be elevated to sergeant are Nathan Petit, of the second police district, to be assigned to the traffic squad; Gus Koerner, detective bureau; Walter Rowand, first district; Frank Truax, Second district, and Edward Hahn, third district.
The two new lieutenants who took oath of office yesterday are Samuel Johnson and Thomas Cunningham. The former was a sergeant of police attached to the detective bureau and will continue in that department, while Cunningham, while a sergeant, was acting lieutenant in day command at the fourth district. He remains in that district. The appointments were announced yesterday by Commissioner David S. Rhone, director of public safety.
Both were immediately administered oaths of office by Dr. Rhone’s secretary, Bayard M. Sullivan, at the director’s office. Lieutenant Cunningham is already eligible for retirement, having served more than 20 years on the city police force.
The two appointments complete the seven lieutenancies created by a city ordinance. Ten members of the police department passed civil service examinations for the post, which pays an annual salary of $2500. Each must serve one year as lieutenant before becoming eligible to take examination for captaincy.
The five previously appointed lieutenants are George Frost, now night commander of the fourth district; Walter Welch, third district; Charles Laib, a sub-commander of the traffic bureau under Captain Charles T. Humes, traffic Inspector; Ralph Bakley, second district; and George Ward, first district.
The other three candidates who passed the examination, Sergeants John Potter, Herbert Anderson and Harry I. Newton, did not receive lieutenancies, although Potter had the highest percentage in the tests.
2 Held in Raid as Night Club Has Opening
Camden Courier-Post —
PROPRIETORS FIGHT CLAIM OF POLICE THEY OPERATED IN VIOLATION OF LAW
NORTH CAMDEN PLACE HAS STRICT EXISTENCE
Case Sent to Grand Jury After Hearing in City Magistrate Court
Although they were not included among the 500 guests invited to the “grand opening,” First district police last night visited the new Ambassador Club at 519 Main Street on orders of Mayor Roy R. Stewart and arrested the two alleged proprietors and six other persons.
Stephen Kirby, 33, of 552 Bailey Street, former boxer and city fireman, and Eugene Lorenzo, 33, who gave the club as his address, were held by Judge Garfield Pancoast, in $500 bail each for the grand jury as proprietors after they pleaded not guilty in police court this morning to charges of operating a disorderly house. The other six, including two women, were released in their own recognizance as material witnesses.
Police charged that the establishment had no soft drink license and that two half-barrels of high-powered beer were found on the premises. Kirby held that the place was privileged to operate as it had been incorporated by the state as a club and that he had a half-barrel of near beer.
The raid on the alleged whoopee house follows the raid made Monday night on a Chinese gambling establishment at 507 North Fifth Street, one block distant. Both raids are part of Mayor Stewart’s announced program to “clean gangsters and their lairs from Camden.”
Police said that Kirby appeared at police headquarters last Monday night and offered bail for the 57 Chinese prisoners but that the bail was taken from another bondsman.
Although the establishment advertised in invitations a “grand opening” for last night, it had been in operation for some days past. Lieut. George Ward, commander of the district, led the raid. He was accompanied by Detectives Alfred Shire and Walter Smith.
Incorporation Claimed
Kirby told police the club was incorporated by himself and six men, and that it had been closed on Monday night following a visit there by Lieut. Ward, Shire and Smith. This visit followed the complaint of Eli Carson, of 5101 Chester avenue, Philadelphia, that he had been robbed there of a watch, Kirby said. This was verified by police.
“We held a meeting yesterday,” Kirby maintained, “and decided that as a club, incorporated by the state, we had the right to open irrespective of police orders. We had even an official reopening and it was known as ‘grand reopening.’”
Two barrels of alleged high-powered beer were found in the club, and bottles, believed by police to have contained whisky.
Lieutenant Ward ordered all the prisoners to be held as “principals” until identity of the proprietor could be established. On his order Sergt. Gus Koerner refused to accept a $1000 surety bond proffered for release of the seven other prisoners last night.
On Sunday night Detective Edwin Mills went to the club and received the watch Carson contended was stolen from him. Kirby declared that the watch was accepted as security for a $7 loan by Lorenzo and denied an allegation of Carson that women frequented the upper floors of the club.
Following the closing of the place Kirby said that an invitation was “sent out to 500 members for the official reopening.”
Kirby declared last night that the raid was unjust.
“I am an American citizen and ex-service man, as are three others arrested with me,” Kirby said. “We are incorporated as a club and make no disturbance, but we’re raided. I can’t understand that, in view of the fact that that Chinese place raided the other night still shows lights at 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning.
“I was released pending a hearing when I posted $100 cash, but the police would not accept a bond of $1000 for the other seven. They wanted cash, but finally the others were released in $500 bail each for a hearing this morning. And yet those Chinese arrested were released in $10 security.”
Camden Burglar Slain; Cop Wounded in Gun Duel
Camden Courier-Post —
Wounded Sleuth and Companion
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.
NO WARNING IS GIVEN AS SLEUTH IS FELLED
“Tip” on Robbery at Thirty-Second and Pierce Given By Telephone
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 36th 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 North 32nd 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.
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 before 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 a rain of fire came 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 Benjamin Simon, who pulled him out of danger.
Meanwhile Evans, hearing the shots, left Charles Wainwright in front of the building with the wounded man and Simon. Seizing the machine gun, Evans 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, then fired a long 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.
Patrolman Elwood Humphreys 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.”
Charles Rettberg
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.
To Investigate Death of Man Found in Shed
Camden Courier-Post —
Named: Benjamin R. Denny, John Cooper, South 2nd Street, and John Huston.
Victim of Amnesia Found Wandering On Streets Here
Camden Courier-Post —
Found wandering in the vicinity of Twenty-seventh and Federal Streets last night an unidentified man was sent to Cooper Hospital apparently suffering from amnesia.
Detective Sergeant Gus Koerner found the man, who said his brother is a New York policeman. The man was unable to give a coherent reply to questions about his name or address.
Fingerprints will be taken today, Koerner said, in order to determine whether the man has a police record. Koerner said he speaks with an Irish brogue, is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs about 145 pounds and has a prominent nose. He was dressed in a brown suit, gray overcoat, sweater and brown shoes.
Mystery Prisoner Tries to End Life
Camden Courier-Post —
‘Amnesia Victim’ Jailed Pending Examination by Physicians
Police still were attempting last night to identify the man picked up by police Monday night and who attempted to commit suicide on the way to the Bertillion room at police headquarters to be fingerprinted. Although he maintained he does not know his name or where he comes from, police believe him to be holding something back.
Placed In Jail
He was placed in the county jail on order of Judge Pancoast pending examination by county physicians. As he was being led into the Bertillon records room, the prisoner made a sudden dash for the window and tried to throw it open. Detectives William Boettcher, Clifford Del Rossi and Clarence Arthur dragged him away and subdued him after a violent struggle. While his incoherent responses to questions indicated he might be a victim of amnesia, Del Rossi expressed the belief the prisoner was “concealing something.” Copies of his fingerprints will be sent to Eastern police departments in an effort to identify him.
Brother a Policeman
The man was wandering in the vicinity of Twenty-seventh and Federal streets last night. Detective Sergeant Gus Koerner questioned him but the only information he could elicit was that the man had a brother on the New York police force. Koerner took him to Cooper Hospital and then to the city jail.
Bandits Rip Off Trousers And Take Worker's $500 Cash
Camden Courier-Post —
Trio Attacks Man on Way to Shipyard and Menaces Barber Who Goes to Aid With Revolver; Hurl Torn Garment in Victim’s Face
After holding him up and tearing off his trousers completely from his legs three bandits robbed Adam Wallace, 61, of 1021 South Second Street, of $500 at 7:00 a.m. yesterday.
A South Camden barber who attempted to assist the man as the bandits were struggling with him was threatened with death by one of the thugs who pointed a revolver at his face.
Wallace told Detective Sergeant Gus Koerner he was walking along South Second Street on his way to work at the New York Shipbuilding Company when three colored men approached him at Boyer’s Court, which is between Sycamore Street and Kaighn Avenue.
One of them grabbed him around the neck, he said, and he was dragged into a small alley. He attempted to struggle with the men he told Koerner, but they overpowered him and threw him to the ground. They then tore his trousers and took $500 he had in one of the pockets.
While the thieves were struggling with the man, Herman Bird, colored, a barber, of 1131 South Second Street, who was washing the windows of his shop less than 100 feet away heard the commotion and ran to Adam’s assistance.
One of the trio stopped him before he reached the alley and placed the revolver against his mouth and told him to “go back where you came from or you will get shot.”
After taking the trousers the bandits found the money and hurled the torn garment back at Wallace who was still lying on the ground.
He returned to his home less than two squares away and reported the theft to detectives. The money, he said, was cash that he has saved up in several years employment at the shipyard. He did not tell detectives how he happened to be carrying it today.
3 Boys Arrested, One as Burglar
Camden Courier-Post —
Others Captured on Roof of Vacant House; Oldest 13
Three small boys were arrested last night as lawbreakers.
John Greely, 13, of 419 Cedar Street, charged with malicious mischief and breaking and entering, was arrested by Detective John Kaighn on complaint of Carl H. Brummer, of 629 Clinton Street, manager of an American Store at Fourth and Elm Streets.
Two other boys, Victor Linkletter, 13, and William Hoy, 12, both of 506 Penn Street, are charged with trespassing. They were arrested by Detective Sergeant Gustave Koerner and Detectives Kaighn and Frank Crawford, who from windows of the detective bureau in new city hall, said they saw the boys on the roof of a vacant three-story building at 427 Market Street.
Climbing up the rear of the building they said they cornered the boys hiding behind a chimney, apparently planning to enter the building.
All three will be arraigned in police court today.
Camden Boy, 13, Held on Burglary Charge
Camden Courier-Post —
Charged with malicious mischief and breaking and entering, John Greeley, 13, of 419 Cedar Street, was sent to the Detention Home to await action by the Juvenile Court at a hearing yesterday before Police Judge Pancoast.
Patrolman Walter Patton testified he arrested the boy as he emerged from a chain grocery at Fourth and Elm Streets. Complaint against John was made by C. H. Brummer, 629 Clinton Street, manager of the store.
Two other boys, Victor Linkletter, 13, of 506 Penn Street, and William Hoy, 12, same address, arrested on the roof of a vacant building at 429 Market Street, were freed. Detective Sergeant Gus Koerner said he believes the boys were going to enter the place.
Four Men Arrested in Shooting Threat
Camden Courier-Post —
Four men were arrested last night as the result of an alleged threat to shoot one of them.
Michael Di Orio, 30, of 245 Pine Street, was held in $1000 bail on a charge of threatening to kill George Hettrick, 23, of 905 Moore street, who was held in $500 bail as a material witness to the case. Others held as witnesses are Ralph Di Servio, 21, of 307 Pine Street, and James Liccketto, 24, of 640 South 3rd Street.
Hettrick, according to Sergt. Gustav Koerner, said Di Orio threatened to “give him the works” while he was attending a party Monday night. The others were with the accused, Hettrick said. Detectives Walter Smith, John Trout and Marshall Thompson nabbed the trio at a restaurant and said Hettrick identified them at police headquarters.
5 Men and Woman Held in Bus Barn Holdup
Camden Courier-Post —
FOUR OF NOTORIOUS “FORTY”
COPS ARREST 4 IN PHILA. HOTEL COUNTING CASH
CAMDEN POLICE TO SEEK EXTRADITION OF GANG AT HEARING THURSDAY
LICENSE NUMBER OF CAR LEADS TO RAID ON ROOM
Scores of Crimes Charged to Members of “Band of 40 Thieves”
Five men and a woman, reputedly members of Camden’s notorious “band of 40 thieves,” were arrested yesterday and formally charged with the holdup of the Public Service bus garage at Fifteenth and Mickle streets.
Efforts are also being made by local and state police to link the sextet with the $4000 Marlton National Bank holdup last Friday, and more than a score of other recent crimes throughout South Jersey. All six will be given hearings Thursday. The five men are held without bail; the woman is in jail in default of $5000 bail.
Stanley Powell, 28, of 1256 Whitman avenue, and Stephie Ciesla, 22, of 1224 Chase Street, were taken into custody in Camden.
John Lenkowski, 28, of Chestnut and Louis streets; Stanley Geda, 22, of the 1200 block Everett street; Stanley Krause, 19, of 1252 Sycamore street, and Mitchell Sadowski, 18, of 1200 Sycamore street, were arrested in Philadelphia. Lieut. George Ward, of the Camden detective bureau, is preparing extradition papers to have them returned to this city.
SUSPECTED IN HOLDUPS
The six are also suspected of complicity by local and county police in the holdup ten days ago of the Genova Cafe, Third and Arch streets; the $900 payroll robbery last month of the Young and Metzner Company at Sixth street and Atlantic avenue; the attempted robbery of a Westville chain store last Friday when shots were exchanged with police; the holdup of an ice cream stand at Central Airport; the larceny of an automobile from the Cadillac-LaSalle agency in Westville, Friday, and the theft of more than a score of stolen automobiles.
A total of $187.50 was found in the possession of the quartet nabbed in Philadelphia yesterday. This was described as part of the loot from the Public Service garage job by Lieutenant Ward.
The spectacular capture of the four was hailed by local authorities the first step in the breaking up of the notorious gang that has been operating in South Jersey for so long. The arrest of Powell and the Ciesla girl came a few hours later. Lieutenant Ward and Detective Sergeant Gus Koerner, aided [continues]
Store Bandits to Be Quizzed in Chester on Feitz Murder
Camden Evening Courier —
Material Witness Will View Suspects Caught by Camden Sleuths
BRICKNER QUESTIONED BY COLSEY ON HOLDUP
Police Order All Persons Arrested to Face ‘Line Up’ in Slaying Probe
Seven men and women held by Camden as police as material witnesses in the murder of Detective William T. Feitz two weeks ago in an alleged South Camden disorderly house will look over two men arrested in Chester PA after a store holdup here.
This was announced today by County Detective Lawrence T. Doran, who is directing the investigation for Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando.
At the same time, Chief Doran disclosed that after a conference with Police Chief Arthur 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 the 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.
Will Visit Chester
In the event that Chester authorities will not turn the two men over to Camden detectives, the witnesses will go to Chester to examine them, Chief Doran said.
Those held in Chester in connection with the holdup Wednesday night of the candy store of Michael Guzik at 1301 Sheridan Street identified themselves as Peter Muraska, 10, of 342 McDowell Street, and Ray Tuttle, 30, of 2529 West Ninth Street, both of Chester.
While neither Chief Doran nor Chief Colsey believe Muraska or Tuttle may be implicated in the murder of the detective because they are not known to be killers, both declared the suspects will be questioned as to their whereabouts at the time Feitz was shot to death.
“We are letting nothing slip through our fingers at this stage of the investigation” Chief Doran said.
While waiting for Chester police to bring the suspects here, Chief Colsey was making inquiry into the actions of Patrolman William Brickner during the holdup.
Questioned by Colsey
Brickner was summoned to Chief Colsey’s office at City Hall today to explain why he had rushed from his home at 1263 Chase Street to the scene of the holdup when told by neighbors that it was taking place and then gave his gun to his son Elmer so he could watch the place so he the policeman could telephone police headquarters for help.
According to Guzik, the proprietor of the store, the bandits were in his store 30 minutes. They locked the doors behind them and gagged Guzik and guarded his wife, Blanche, and her sister, Mary Pitura, 18.
September 3, 1934 — William Feitz Investigation Photos
Camden Evening Courier
Named: William T. Feitz, Lawrence T. Doran, Frank T. Lloyd, and Thomas Cheeseman.
Arrest of Six Links Numbers and Fake Cash
Camden Courier-Post —
Men Nabbed Here Believed to Be Members of Ring
A tie-up between a huge counterfeiting ring and a gambling syndicate backing the “numbers” was believed unearthed by Camden police and Federal authorities following the arrest here yesterday of six colored men on charges of attempting to pass bogus money.
Federal investigators were delving into the intricacies of the Philadelphia and Camden numbers racket today to learn if the “pay-off” of any “bank” is made in counterfeit coins.
One of the men arrested, Edward Duncan, 36, of 805 Sheridan Street, Philadelphia, told Detective Sergeant Gustav Koerner and agents from the Department of Justice, that he had received a bogus $10 bill found in his possession in payment of a bet yesterday with a Philadelphia numbers syndicate.
Duncan and five companions were arrested yesterday as they attempted to have the bill changed at a gasoline station at Haddon Avenue and Sycamore Street.
An attendant, Samuel Goldberg, saw that the bill, tendered in payment for a purchase of gasoline, was counterfeit and called Special Officer John Voll and Patrolman Paul Jackson, standing nearby.
They arrested the men, who were later held in $10,000 bail each to await the outcome of the investigation.
It was learned later that the same men had attempted to pass a bogus bill at a gasoline station at Crescent Boulevard and Park Avenue, Collingswood, but had fled there when the station attendant summoned police.
Federal investigators working on the case expressed a belief last night that the counterfeit ring was using the numbers bank to flood this section with the spurious bills.
The others arrested with Duncan were Frank Henderson, 27, of 2021 Lambert Street; Fletcher Hammonds, 28, of 2007 Mervine Street; Aaron Howell, 46, of 2008 North Twenty-first Street; James Wilson, 33, of 2023 Norris Street; and Samuel Stanley, 38, of 1936 North Twenty-second street, all Philadelphia.
Johnson Gets Ward's Job as Kobus Orders Cop Shakeup
Camden Courier-Post —
“These changes are being made for the good of the service,” Commissioner Kobus declared. “There will be other transfers of officers and men so that all the police may familiarize themselves with all the branches of the department.”
Lieutenant Johnson was appointed a policeman on January 1, 1910. After 10 years as a patrolman, he was promoted to a detective, where he made a splendid record. On November 28, 1928 he was made a sergeant, and again promoted on April 8, 1930, when he became a lieutenant.
Ward was appointed a policeman on August 2, 1917, promoted to detective January 1, 1927, sergeant November 14, 1928 and lieutenant on January 24, 1930.
In a shakeup of Camden police officials yesterday afternoon Lieutenant Samuel E. Johnson was named acting chief of detectives by Commissioner Mary W. Kobus, director of public safety.
Lieutenant George A. Ward, who has been in charge of the detective bureau for a year, was transferred to take Johnson’s place in charge of headquarters.
Detective Louis Shaw was made assistant to Johnson, replacing Detective Sergeant Gus Koerner, who was transferred to the Second District.
Johnson was a detective sergeant when former Police Chief John W. Golden was head of that bureau, but later was transferred to police headquarters.
Ward has been in and out of the detective bureau several times. He served for a time as the commander of the First District and later was in charge of the police headquarters on the 12:00 midnight to 8:00 AM shift. He was a political lieutenant of former Public Safety Director David S. Rhone.
'Joey Powell' Rearrested as County Opens Holdup Probe
Camden Courier-Post —
Orlando Acts as City Cops Free Former Boxer in Payroll Plot
FRAMEUP CHARGED BY ANOTHER SUSPECT
Prisoner Says Ex-Fighter Got Him in on Theft, Tipped Police
Joseph ‘Joey’ Powell, former boxer who was arrested by city police in connection with a South Camden holdup and subsequently released, was rearrested by county detectives last night.
Powell was taken into custody on orders of Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando, who also ordered the arrest of a second suspect.
Camden police turned the case over to the prosecutor’s office after the arraignment of Walter Lewandowski, who was caught in a police trap Friday night as he allegedly attempted to steal a $800 payroll at the Eavenson & Levering Company’s plant at Fourth Street and Ferry Avenue.
Lewandowski was arraigned before Police Judge Lewis Liberman Saturday.
According to Chief Colsey, Lewandowski made a statement in which he accused Powell of plotting the holdup and making him the “goat.”
“The holdup was Powell’s idea”…
Gus Koerner and City Detective Clifford Carr. The detectives were tipped off that the factory office was to be held up and laid in wait for the man.
When Lewandowski showed up, Carr and Koerner pointed revolvers at him. He fled down a stairway and Carr fell on him. The two grappled and the detective says the man pointed a gun at him.
County Detective Chief Lawrence T. Doran yesterday charged that Wirtz had supplied the guns and automobile to be used in the holdup and then posted Carr and Koerner inside the plant to capture the bandits.
Wirtz, Doran said, admitted the charges in a statement given in the office of Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando.
No motive for the detective’s action were revealed by Doran.
Following the questioning of Wirtz and Sergeant Koerner at the prosecutor’s office, both men visited the office of Justice Frank T. Lloyd late yesterday.
Chief Doran said that no one implicates Koerner or Carr in any way in the statements received.
Koerner said:
I was doing police work. I was brought into this case on a tip that a holdup was going to be staged and I had no knowledge of the guns or the car. I didn’t know what it was all about but merely was there to perform my duties as a policeman.
Wirtz is 37 and lives at 1197 Thurman Street. He was one of the first of the new policemen to be appointed to the department in 1924 after Civil Service was put into effect following the adoption of Commission government in 1924. He is a veteran of the World War and got a special rating for that reason when he took the Civil Service examination. In 1931 Wirtz was appointed as an accident investigator in the detective bureau and has served in that capacity ever since. He has a good reputation as a policeman and has never been in trouble before.
“I will give the grand jury the full facts. The members will decide for themselves what action to follow.”
Suspended Tuesday
Wirtz was suspended Tuesday after County Detective Chief Lawrence T. Doran announced Wirtz had admitted supplying the pistols and car, allegedly used in the abortive attempt to obtain a $800 payroll at the wool-scouring plant.
Wirtz was still under suspension last night, Colsey announced.
William B. Macdonald, court stenographer, recorded the statements made by each man.
Koerner and Carr were “planted” in the office of the company before the holdup and frustrated the attempted crime, capturing Walter Lewandowski, 24, of 924 Atlantic Avenue.
“All three made full statements to us,” Colsey said and then declined to reveal what the statements contained.
Denies Stories Clash
“He was listed as a mental case,” Doran said, “and was examined by the county physician and pronounced O.K.”
Illness Causes Shifts for Police Officials
Camden Courier-Post —
Temporary changes in the police department to offset the absence of Lieutenant George Frost, head of the First District, who is ill, and Lieutenant George Ward, of headquarters, who is away on police business, were announced yesterday by Chief Arthur Colsey.
Sgt. John Potter, of the Third District, is made acting lieutenant and placed in charge of the First. Patrolman Louis Schmidt, of the Third, replaces Potter as acting sergeant.
Lieutenant Herbert Anderson, of the Fourth District, replaces Ward at headquarters, with Sgt. John Skolski acting as lieutenant in charge of the Fourth.
Sgt. Gustav Koerner, of the Second District, who has been working in plain clothes, is to report in uniform.
Patrolman John Kowal, of the Second District, is shifted to the First district, with Patrolman William Schultz going from the First district to the Second district.
Kobus Warns Cops to Keep City Clean
Camden Courier-Post,
KOBUS WARNS COPS TO KEEP CITY CLEAN
Expresses Belief Camden is 'Remarkably Free of Vice and Gambling'
Expressing the belief that Camden is “remarkably free of vice, gambling and other unlawful elements,” City Commissioner Mary W. Kobus, director of public safety, yesterday said she wants the police to keep it that way.
Failure to comply with her order, she told a dozen police officials in an hour-long conference in her office, will result in “serious consequences.”
The session was held behind closed doors, but Commissioner Kobus later said she “laid down the law to those in charge of enforcing it.”
Police Chief Arthur Colsey headed the group, the others being Lieutenant Ralph Bakley, director of police personnel; Acting Lieutenant Herbert Botts, Acting Lieutenant of Detectives Louis Shaw, Acting Lieutenant John Skolsky, Lieutenant George Frost, Lieutenant Walter Welch and Sergeants Frank Evans, Nate Pettit, August Koerner, Edward Hahn and Harry Newton.
“I told them,” the latter said, “that I believed they and their men had done a good job in cleaning up conditions in Camden six months ago and I want it kept that way.
“I think Camden is remarkably free of vice, gambling and other unlawful elements and I want it kept that way.
“Law enforcement is a 24-hour job. It's a job requiring everlasting vigilance — those in charge of enforcement have got to be on their toes all the time.
“I think our police department is doing a good job, but just the same, I don't want any letdowns and I told Chief Colsey and his subordinates that I don't. We have rid the city of a lot of unpleasant elements and we are going to keep rid of them.
“I also told Chief Colsey and his staff that I want all members of the department to co-operate fully with other law enforcement agencies of the county. I particularly desire that reports on cases submitted to the grand jury be as complete and detailed as possible.”
Five Nabbed in Raid Get Hearing Delay
Camden Courier-Post —
Five Nabbed in Raid Get Hearing Delay
FIVE NABBED IN RAID GET HEARING DELAY
Police Seize Evidence of Betting on Horse Races at 322 Kaighn Avenue
Scheduled police court hearings of five men seized in a raid Wednesday on an alleged horse-race gambling establishment at 322 Kaighn avenue were continued until today by Judge Gene R. Mariano at the request of counsel for the men. Bail of $1000 each also was continued until that time.
The defendants are Morris Goldstein, 32, of the Kaighn avenue ad[dress]
Police Jailer Hurt as Bosco Hurls Platter
Camden Courier-Post —
Barber Indicted in Murder Cuts Patrolman With Shattered Plate
OFFICERS GRAB ARMS, LEAD HIM BACK TO CELL
Sam Bosco, Camden barber indicted and arrested on a murder charge last Friday, went temporarily berserk in the city jail late Saturday, police revealed yesterday.
In a fit of nerves and rage, according to the police, the heavy-set prisoner flung a platter of food in the face of the jailer, Policeman William Michalak, who had opened Bosco’s cell to give him a hot meal he brought from a nearby restaurant.
Bosco then menaced the jailer with a jagged fragment of the platter that shattered on the cell floor. Michalak rang an alarm which attracted Police Lieut. Herbert Anderson, Detective Thomas Murphy, Motorcycle Policeman Marshall Thompson, Sgt. Gus Koerner and Policeman James McLaughlin from the adjacent police headquarters in City Hall.
Anderson and Murphy went into the cell tier at the end of which Bosco stood, still brandishing the piece of broken dish. After grabbing his arms, they led him back to his cell. He offered no resistance.
“I was excited,” he told them later.
Race Book Raided, Four Arrested
Camden Courier-Post —
Several racing forms and four telephones with two direct wires to tracks now in operation were seized, according to Koerner and Murphy. The police first arrested Roland Flynn, 36, of 589 Carman street; Neil Zeldman, 43, of 1064 Langham avenue, and James O’Donal, 27, of 1119 Empire avenue, and held them in $1000 bail for violating the State crimes act.
Woman Arrested
Later Mrs. Rose Koplin, 37, who lives in an apartment over the store, was taken into custody on the same charge and held in $500 bail. Mrs. Koplin’s brother, Milton Katz, posted cash bail for her release.
Frank Palese Surrenders in Racket Quiz
Camden Courier-Post —
Bingo Big-Shot?
Lent Car to Others He Says; Denies Charges
Frank Palese, 26, of 900 South Fourth street, wanted as one of the alleged operators of the new “bingo” lottery racket, surrendered yesterday to County Detective Wilfred Dube.
Palese had been sought during the weekend as the “big shot” of the racket after Joseph Marino, Harry Girard and five others were seized in the case.
All but Marino and Girard were released in $500 bail before the surrender of Palese.
Prosecutor Orlando fixed bail at $1000 each for Palese, Marino and Girard. Carl Kisselman, retained as counsel for the defendants, said he would provide the amount for them.
According to Palese he simply lent his automobile to Marino and Girard, who were in Palese’s car when arrested, and he knows nothing whatever about’ the lottery charge.
Among those out on bail is Fred Rossi, former boxer, who used the ring name of Pee-Wee Ross.
3 Men and Woman Nabbed
Police Judge Mariano overruled police objections and postponed until Wednesday morning the hearing of three men and a woman arrested as the result of a gambling raid at 1149 Lansdowne avenue Saturday.
The request for a delay was made by Benjamin Asbell, defense lawyer, who said he had been retained only late Saturday and had lacked an opportunity to prepare his case.
Sergeant Gus Koerner and Detective Thomas Murphy, Jr., asked that the case go on at once, saying they had enough evidence to hold the suspects for the grand jury. Murphy said Safety Director Kobus had asked that the hearing be held yesterday.
Judge Mariano, however, said that Asbell’s request was not unusual and that attorneys should be allowed time to obtain their evidence or witnesses. He continued the same bail which police set when the four were arrested.
Lines to Tracks Seized
Koerner, Murphy and Patrolman James McLaughlin said that horse race betting was conducted on the second floor of the Lansdowne avenue building, the ground floor of which is occupied by a grocery.
Several racing forms and four telephones with two direct wires to tracks now in operation were seized, according to Koerner and Murphy. The police first arrested Roland Flynn, 36, of 589 Carman street; Neil Zeidman, 43, of 1064 Langham avenue, and James O’Donal, 27, of 1119 Empire avenue, and held them in $1000 bail for violating the State crimes act.
Later Mrs. Rose Koplin, 37, who lives in an apartment over the store, was taken into custody on the same charge and held in $500 bail. Mrs. Koplin’s brother, Milton Katz, posted cash bail for her release.
Katarina Pologruto, 420 West street, posted bail for O’Donal, who also is known as O’Donnell, and Flynn. Frank Davalos, saloonkeeper, of 441 Benson street, furnished bail for Zeidman.
Murphy reported that $700 had been bet on race horses at the establishment up until 3.30 p. m., Saturday, the time of the raid.
4 Men Arrested in Race Bet Raid
Camden Courier-Post —
4 MEN ARRESTED IN RACE BET RAID
Bookmaking Sheets Found in Rear of Broadway Cigar Store
Four men were arrested when police raided a room in the rear of a cigar store at 433 Broadway, late Saturday, and confiscated a telephone and horse-racing sheets as evidence the place was used for bookmaking on races.
They gave their names as Dominick Di Pilla, 40, of the Broadway address; Anthony Di Pilla, 38, of 512 Benson street; Nicholas Dentina, 20, of 249 Pine street, and Edward Bock, 26, of 219 Cooper avenue, Woodlynne. None would admit being in charge and each was held in $1000 bail for a hearing in police court today.
The raid was made by Detective Thomas Murphy, Sgt. Gus Koerner and Policeman James McLaughlin.
Woman and 2 Men Seized in Numbers
Camden Courier-Post —
Slips Representing $138 Play Reported Taken in Jackson Street House
Two men and a woman were arrested and numbers slips representing play of $138 were seized in a raid on a house at 1039 Jackson Street yesterday.
Detectives described the place as a “drop” for the slips and said they believed they were left there by writers and delivered to “banks” at night.
Those arrested gave names and addresses of Joseph Orlowski, 31, of the Jackson Street address; Mary Stanska, 29, of 1275 Chase Street, and John Pawela, 21, of 1564 Louis Street. All were charged with violating the State Crimes Act pertaining to gambling.
The raid was made by City Detectives Thomas Murphy, Jr., and Gustav Koerner and Policemen James McLaughlin and Raymond Carson. Besides the slips, the detectives seized $52.97 in money lying on a table.
Murphy said he and Koerner have been watching the place for several days and raided it today when they saw several persons enter. Those arrested are being held in $2000 bail for a hearing in police court tomorrow.
3 With Guns Get $80 in Broadway Holdup
Camden Courier-Post —
Three men, two of them wearing handkerchiefs over their faces, held up a gasoline station attendant at Broadway and Lansdowne Avenue yesterday and escaped with $80, according to detectives.
The police said the men entered the place at 2 a.m. and pointed guns at Robert Horner, 17, of 107 Penn street. The man who did not have his face covered tried to hide his identity by holding his handkerchief to his face.
Horner told Detective Sergeant Gus Koerner two of the men were in their shirt sleeves while the third wore a tan coat. William Risley, of 1380 Lansdowne Avenue, watchman at a nearby bag factory, said he saw the men “acting suspiciously” in the neighborhood and telephoned police headquarters.
Slaying May Lead to Smashing Black Market in Gas
Clearfield PA Progress —
Camden Detectives Get Escaped Felon
Camden Courier-Post —
Trap Police Character in Phone Booth at Airport Circle
A Camden police character, who escaped Sunday from the Bordentown state prison farm, was captured late yesterday by two city detectives in a telephone booth of an airport circle taproom while he was talking with a former girl friend.
Anthony Mona, 26, of 947 South Third Street, who had served only a month of a two-to-three year sentence for larceny of a saddle and violation of parole, was trapped in the booth and meekly submitted for arrest.
Detective Sgt. Thomas Murphy and Detective Clifford Carr captured Mona about an hour after they received a tip he had been seen in East Camden and Pennsauken township. On this information John L. O’Hara, principal keeper of the state prison, and Thomas A. Mahaney, parole officer, came to Camden to aid in the search. Last night they took Mona back to prison.
Mona made himself conspicuous by wearing a heavy dark beard and dark glasses. The detectives first checked the escaped convict’s home and were told he had not visited there. A second unsuccessful clue led to a house on River avenue near Thirtieth street.
Warned that Mona was armed the detectives received a “sure tip” he was seen entering the Pennsauken taproom. Detective Capt. Gus Koerner told Murphy and Carr to fire their pistols if Mona moved to use a revolver.
Entering the taproom the detectives converged on the telephone booth with drawn revolvers. They kicked in the booth door. Mona was heard to say to the woman he was talking with: “Here’s the law now. No use talking now.”
Mona fled from Bordentown while doing farm work. He was sentenced by Judge Sheehan Nov. 17, 1943, after his conviction on a charge of stealing a saddle from a Haddonfield riding academy. The court suspended sentence and fined Mona $100, payable in weekly installments. When he failed to keep up the payments he was brought before Judge Sheehan on May 10 and sentenced to serve the term.
Mona’s Camden police record dates from Feb. 9, 1938 when he was arrested for a holdup. March 2, he was given a suspended sentence of 18 months to three years. In February, 1940, he was arrested on a statutory charge and a support order was later made against him. He was arrested May 8, 1940, on an assault and battery charge. No disposition was made of this charge. On Feb. 3, he was arrested on suspicion in Pennsauken township and later fined $10 and costs for failing to have his driver’s license.
Father Shot, Son Tries to Shield Mother
Camden Courier-Post —
Ex-Fireman Wounded in Arm; Woman Takes Blame
The son of a former city fireman made a fruitless attempt last night to save his mother from arrest by asserting he fired a shot that hit his estranged father in the arm while the latter was threatening the mother and trying to break into their East Camden home.
While Tennie Hutchinson, Jr., 25, was insisting to city detectives it was he who fired the shot and wounded his father, Tennie Hutchinson, Sr., 47, in the left arm, the mother, Veronica, 48, walked into the detective bureau and admitted her guilt.
Detective Capt. Gus Koerner, with Detectives Pfleiderer, Trout and Ellis, were questioning the son, when Pfleiderer received an anonymous telephone call the mother was enroute to the bureau and she had fired the shot.
Mother Admits Shooting
A few minutes later, the mother entered the room. “Did you shoot your husband?” Pfleiderer asked Mrs. Hutchinson. He received an affirmative reply.
Mrs. Hutchinson, who lives at 49 South Twenty-second street, told the detectives she was home alone about 6 p. m. yesterday when her husband rapped on the front door demanding entrance. She refused to let him in, she said. As he was trying to break in the door, the son approached the house, coming home from bowling with his sister, Mrs. Eleanor Knighton, 22, of the same address. When the father saw the son, Mrs. Hutchinson, the parent ran around to the back door and tried to get into the house, meanwhile threatening to kill her.
While the former fireman was standing on the back step, the wife said, she grabbed a .32 calibre revolver and fired one shot through the window of the door.
Son Takes Blame
A few seconds later the son entered the front door, took the gun from his mother, and told her: “No matter what happens, mother, I fired the shot. Even if dad dies, I did it.”
The shot attracted neighbors, including Rev. Newton C. Conant, of 52 North Twenty-second street, who took the gun away from the son when he emerged from the Hutchinson home. When police arrived, the son said he did the shooting. The father was taken to Cooper hospital for treatment, and the son to the detective bureau for questioning.
The son told Koerner his mother and father had been separated for several months and his father had threatened his mother for the past several weeks.
Hutchinson, Koerner said, tried to end his life Wednesday night by slashing his throat with a razor, when he was unable to gain entrance to the Twenty-second street home. He was taken to Cooper hospital for treatment and later placed in the rest room for observation. When nurses and physicians began tending other patients, Hutchinson fled the hospital, Koerner said.
Driver for Fire Chief
Hutchinson was a driver for former Fire Chief Carter before he left the department in 1938. Police said he has been living in Salem county lately and working for duPont’s at Gibbstown. The couple have two other children, Kenneth, six, and Douglas, 13, who were out playing when the shooting occurred.
After detectives took statements from the mother and son, the former was released in $1000 bail on a charge of atrocious assault and battery to await a hearing in Police Court tomorrow morning. The son was released in his own recognizance as a material witness. The bail bond was offered by the elder Hutchinson’s brother, George H. Hutchinson, of 619 Clinton street.
Casablanca Witness Murdered
Camden Evening Courier —
POLICE CHARACTER ARRESTED IN NIGHT SLAYING OF GRAND JURY WITNESS
VICTIM SPURNED TIP TO KEEP ALIVE IN JAIL
Camden police early today arrested a Delaware township ex-convict for investigation in the slaying last night of Romeo DeSantis, star witness against suspects in the recent Casablanca roadhouse holdup.
DeSanctis, released on bail last week as a material witness to the holdup, was killed as he sat with a companion in a parked car, a few hours after he testified before the grand jury in connection with the holdup.
The companion, Leon Grenkwicz, a well-known police character, is in critical condition in West Jersey hospital from bullet wounds of the face. He walked three blocks to the hospital from the scene of the shooting on Mt. Ephraim avenue near Kaighn.
Warned to Stay In Jail
Joseph C. Putek, 35, who has a record of 12 arrests and several convictions on charges that include holdup and robbery, was taken into custody today at his home on Fulton street by Captain Koerner and Detective Carr, of the Camden police. He was booked on suspicion and for investigation. He insisted he was in Philadelphia when DeSanctis was shot.
Prosecutor Mariano said DeSanctis was killed because he testified before the grand jury. Released from jail when his bail was reduced from $50,000 to $7000 as a result of a writ obtained by his family, DeSanctis met a fate feared by the authorities, Mariano revealed. “I told him he had better stay in custody,” the prosecutor said. “I warned him he might be killed.”
“Let Us Have It”
Grenkwicz, conscious in the hospital, told police he and DeSanctis were seated in his car, facing north. He said a large, dark colored sedan drew alongside and just ahead of his car.
A man holding a gun, Grenkwicz said, leaned out of the window and “let us have it.” Police said the weapon was either a machinegun or a sawed-off shotgun with extra large buck shot as ammunition.
“I was a damned fool to be with DeSanctis,” Grenkwicz added.
The left side of DeSanctis’ head, police said, was nearly blown off. Grenkwicz was struck in the face and left hand.
Slugs Rip Through Auto
Slugs tore through the left door and window, the windshield and hood of the car and some struck a plate glass window of a bakery at 1212 Mt. Ephraim avenue, directly behind the car.
The killers’ car continued north on Mt. Ephraim avenue, turned east on Kaighn Avenue and disappeared. A police alarm description of the auto was broadcast immediately.
The shooting occurred 80 yards from an alleged speakeasy DeSanctis is said to have operated on Mt. Ephraim avenue and only about 300 yards from Cappy’s Restaurant, 1105 Kaighn Avenue, where Stephen Burns, now under arrest as a suspect in the roadhouse holdup, was employed as night manager. Burns was arrested Feb. 14 as he left the restaurant.
Patrolman Oliver Morgan reported he saw DeSanctis in the restaurant between 6 and 6.30 p.m. last night. Prosecutor Mariano immediately ordered police to obtain the names of all persons in the eating house yesterday. Mariano said Grenkwicz denied he was in the restaurant.
Charles Cook, a city fireman, of 1142 Mt. Ephraim avenue, near Kaighn Avenue, ran to the scene from his home after hearing the shooting.
Cook and four employes, two women and two men, of Cappy’s Restaurant, made statements last night in Mariano’s office, where county, city and state police assembled to coordinate their investigation.
“Cappy” Roman, proprietor of the restaurant, later was questioned. Roman, police said, told them both DeSanctis and Grenkwicz ate dinner in his place last night about 6 o’clock.
Freed in $7000 Bail
DeSanctis, who lived at 1351 Decatur Street, was released about 10 days ago in $7000 bail as a material witness in the Casablanca holdup. The roadhouse was held up at 2.55 a.m. Feb. 27 when five masked bandits herded 50 or 60 patrons into the kitchen and robbed them of their money and emptied the club cash registers.
Leaving the roadhouse, the bandits singled out DeSanctis and ordered him to accompany them as a hostage. When they reached the outside, however, they were fired upon by Delaware township policeman Power. DeSanctis dropped to the ground as the bandits escaped in a waiting car, which had been spotted by the policeman.
DeSanctis was arrested later in the day and held incommunicado for seven days before he was arraigned as a material witness and held in $50,000 bail. DeSanctis’ family later obtained a writ of habeas corpus and subsequently he was released in $7000 bail.
Meanwhile, police arrested Burns, Leonard Lutz and James McBride, all ex-convicts, as suspects in the robbery.
McBride Brought to Camden
McBride was lodged in a cell in Camden jail today after being extradited from Philadelphia. Extradition proceedings were delayed by an application in his behalf for a writ of habeas corpus, but at a hearing on the writ before Judge Brown in Philadelphia this morning, the suspect’s attorney, Louis F. McCabe, withdrew the writ after stating identification had been established for extradition purposes. McBride then was turned over to Mariano and County Detectives Mulligan and Dube and brought to Camden.
Burns and Lutz are in the county jail awaiting action of the grand jury.
It was reported that testimony given the grand jury yesterday by DeSanctis was for the purpose of obtaining indictments against Burns and Lutz.
Grenkwicz, who gave his address as 118 Pershing road, Brooklawn, has a long police record including holdup and robbery. He was arrested in 1933 as a suspect in the $11,000 holdup of the Radio Condenser Co.
Anthony Mona Wounded in Drive-By Shooting
Trenton Evening Times —
Jersey Parolee Shot By Philadelphia Gunmen
CAMDEN, N. J. — AP — A 20-year-old [sic] man identified by Detective Captain Gus Koerner as a recently paroled convict was peppered with shotgun slugs Sunday night outside his home.
Koerner said police were seeking three men in connection with the shooting of Anthony Mona, released four months ago from the Bordentown (N. J.) state prison farm. Mona’s condition was reported not serious.
Mona, who was scheduled to go on trial in Camden County criminal court tomorrow on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a 15-year-old girl, had just gotten into his car when a car drove by slowly and its occupants opened fire, Koerner said. A second blast missed but shattered a window in Mona’s home.
He staggered a half block to a nearby store after the shooting, told people there to “call the cops. I’ve been shot,” and then collapsed.
Gunmen Robbed Them of $1020 and Car
Camden Courier-Post —
The three persons pictured were robbed by gunmen yesterday. Two bandits pointed pistols at Mrs. Mary Derengowski, 56 (left), and took approximately $1000 from the till of a saloon she operates with her daughter at Lansdowne Avenue and Louis Street. When William Szymborski, 40 (center), of 1165 Kenwood avenue, and Joseph J. Lesniewski, 28, of 1179 Lansdowne Avenue, gave chase in Szymborski’s automobile and caught up with them, the thugs turned their guns on the pursuers, forced them to drive them to Eighth and Mt. Vernon Streets, and then took the car and Lesniewski’s wrist watch and $20. The car was abandoned at Second and Clinton streets.
Police Search All Night for Thugs Who Took $1000
Camden police today arrested three men in connection with an armed holdup yesterday of a Camden saloon.
Police worked through the night on the case. They broke off the investigation for a short rest at 6 o’clock this morning, however, and were to continue it later.
The saloon, Briggs Cafe at Lansdowne Avenue and Louis Street, was robbed of about $1000 at 3.05 p.m. yesterday by two neatly dressed, armed bandits.
Shortly afterward the bandits took a watch, $20 in cash and the automobile of two men who pursued them.
Truck Driver Quizzed
Booked on “suspicion” at 5.30 o’clock this morning at Camden police headquarters was Angelino J. Martelli, 22, a truck driver, whose home at 1173 Lansdowne Avenue, is near the Briggs Cafe. Police explained he is being held for further questioning.
At 5.45 a.m. two other men were booked as material witnesses in the case. They are Charles Beyer, 23, an electrical worker, 727 South 8th Street, and Dominic Maione, 24, a salesman, 405 South 5th Street.
Detective Capt. Koerner took charge of the investigation late yesterday, and, with Detective Sgt. Trout and Detective Cahill, Sgt. Trout and Detectives Cahill and Schultz, worked through the night.
2 Women Held at Bay
The saloon owner, Mrs. Mary Derengowski, 52, and her daughter, Mrs. Stella Briggs, 34, reported the bandits held them at bay with pistols while they rifled a cash drawer and cash register.
Mrs. Briggs was upstairs painting when the robbers entered the saloon.
Mrs. Derengowski was in a back room when she heard the door bell.
As she approached the bar to serve two men standing there, she noticed they had drawn pistols.
Warned to ’Keep Quiet’
“Keep quiet,” one told her, “and you won’t get hurt.”
She told police, however, she screamed as one of the gunmen forced her into the back room.
Attracted by the screams, Mrs. Briggs ran downstairs and was confronted by a gunman who ordered her in the back room with her mother.
At that point, the women said, the bandit holding them at bay fired two shots. He then called his partner in the barroom and told him to hurry and take the money.
Mrs. Derengowski slipped through a side door into Louis Street and screamed for help.
Victims Chase Them
The bandits fled down Lansdowne Avenue, heading toward Philadelphia, with the women chasing them.
Joseph J. Lesniewski, 28, of 1179 Lansdowne Avenue, joined the chase and was gaining on the thugs when he noticed an automobile approaching. William Szmborski, 40, of 1165 Kenwood avenue, moving in the same direction.
Lesniewski leaped on the running board of Szmborski’s automobile and persuaded him to follow the fugitives down Rose street and onto Mechanic street, where the car drew abreast of the bandits.
Szmborski stopped the car and Lesniewski leaped from the running board just as the bandit driver shot twice. The gunman ordered him back to the machine. Lesniewski entered the car and climbed in behind him.
The bandits forced Lesniewski to surrender his $20 cash and his wrist watch, then ordered the driver to “get going.”
Driven To Mt. Vernon
Szmborski drove to Louis Street near Mt. Vernon, where the bandits ordered their pursuers from the car and drove it away.
Radio car Patrolmen James Caputi and William Prucella were notified and took up the hunt. The vehicle was abandoned at Second and Clinton streets.
A short time after the holdup, Police Sgt. John V. Wilkie recovered an abandoned machine which he said apparently was to be used as a “get-away” car.
A second automobile, found with the key in the ignition lock, was found in the 1200 block of Washington Avenue.
Neighbors told Wilkie they saw three men drive up in the automobiles and one drove away. Two, who Wilkie said fitted descriptions of the robbers, left in the automobile toward the saloon. The third remained at the wheel.
Third Man Faces
Wilkie said when the bandits fled from the bar they apparently became confused and the third man turned the car instead of east toward the car. The third man abandoned the car on Mechanic street.
Mrs. Derengowski told police the cash drawer contained about $1000 at the holdup.
One bandit wore a panama hat pulled low over his face and wore a black jacket. The women said the second thug had a panama hat and wore an Army jacket and pants.
Navy Vet Sought
The automobile abandoned near the scene was registered in the name of Joseph Gimello, 20, of 325 Washington Street. Wilkie had Gimello held for questioning and he had not returned home and admitted he owned the machine.
They said the youth enlisted in the navy when he was 17. During the war he was dishonorably discharged recently. However, according to Wilkie, the parents told police the boy’s conduct had changed and they feared he was suffering from a mental condition.
An alarm for the broadcast to hold Gimello for questioning in connection with the holdup.
Man Spurned Takes Life, Kills Woman
Indiana, Pennsylvania Gazette —
CAMDEN, N. J., Feb. 21. — (P) — A Philadelphia political worker shot a Camden woman fatally in a parked car and then killed himself last night, Detective Captain Gus Koerner reported.
A note left by the man, police said, indicated he resorted to murder and suicide because she broke her promise to marry him and became another man’s wife a week ago.
Frank Spayd, about 40, Republican ward worker and assistant chief custodian of voting machines in Philadelphia, was dead when police reached the automobile on a lonely Camden road.
Named Chief of Police
Camden Courier-Post —
NAMED CHIEF of the Camden police department today, Captain Gustav Koerner, a 26-year veteran of the department and one time baseball player, is shown receiving the congratulations of Public Safety Director Aaron. A native of Camden, Chief Koerner succeeds George W. Frost, who resigned Jan. 1, 1948. Captain Samuel Johnson had been acting chief since then.
George W. Frost — E. George Aaron — Mary MacClennan
John Garrity — Walter Mattison — Albert Cornog — Edward Carroll
Samuel Johnson — Walter Rowand — Frank Call — George E. Brunner
Angelo Malandra — James J. Mulligan — Bart A. Sheehan — Nathaniel Petit
David S. Rhone — Mitchell Cohen — Charles T. Humes
Philadelphian Shoots Woman, Ends Life
Bradford, Pennsylvania Era —
Camden, N. J. —(AP)— Frank A. Spayd, Philadelphia, shot a Camden bride of less than a week and then killed himself as the two sat in a parked car Thursday night, Detective Captain Gus Koerner reported.
The woman, identified as Mrs. Jean Rush Dawson, about 30, died at 6:45 a. m. yesterday at Cooper Hospital.
Koerner said Spayd, about 40, left a note indicating he resorted to murder and suicide because Mrs. Dawson broke her promise to marry him and became another man’s wife a week ago.
Christmas Curfew
Berkshire, Massachusetts Evening Eagle —
CAMDEN, N.J. — A 10 PM curfew for boys and girls under 18, not enforced here since World War II days, has been imposed for the duration of the Christmas season, Police Chief Gustav Koerner announced.
Chief Koerner said a wave of petty crimes by juveniles breaks out each year just before Christmas. He pointed to a burglary of the Camden Free Public Library in which $6 in change was stolen as an example.
Juveniles found on the street after the curfew hour who are not accompanied by adults will be questioned by police. Chief Koerner said youngsters without good reasons for being out will be booked and sent home. Their parents will be summoned for a hearing the next day.
City Hall, 1952 — Chief Koerner and New Police Officers
From Left: First one is probably Frank Mignone, then Tom Kelly, Peter Paull, Charles Kocher Sr., Chief Koerner. Photo courtesy of Charles Kocher.
Numbers Suspect With 9800 Plays Caught at Span
Camden Courier-Post —
On Way From Phila.; $2122 Bets Indicated; Previously Arrested
A suspected runner for a numbers ring was arrested Friday at the Camden bridge toll gates by Camden detectives who said the suspect was carrying 9800 numbers plays.
Held in city jail on a charge of maintaining a lottery in violation of the state crimes act is Thomas Lauria, 34, of 1296 Van Hook Street.
District Detective Edward Shapiro and John Moffa, who seized Lauria as his automobile was approaching from Philadelphia, said the slips indicated a total play of $2122. Shapiro said the slips were in a briefcase alongside Lauria in the front seat of the car. Some of the slips were for plays as high as $10.
Kaighn School and Hollingshead Fire
Camden Courier-Post —
Kaighn School Razed; Blazes Set in Church, Unoccupied House
Police today are investigating the possibility that three fires Wednesday within a quarter-mile area inside of three hours and 46 minutes were the work of a firebug.
The blaze which razed the Kaighn School, 5th and Chestnut sts., seriously damaged Our Lady of Mt. Carmel R. C. Church, 4th and Division sts., and consumed a pile of rubbish in the basement of an unoccupied three-story house at 7th and Pine sts., came on the 12th anniversary of the disastrous Hollingshead Fire.
That fire, on July 30, 1940, leveled the R. M. Hollingshead plant, then located at 9th and Market sts., took 10 lives and caused an estimated $4 million damage, according to city fire department records. It was Camden’s worst fire.
Police Chief Koerner, commenting on Wednesday’s fires which caused damage estimated at more than $17,000, said: “We are going to make a thorough study of every available clue to see whether the fires could have been started by one person.”
Koerner, Pfefferle Investigate
Fire Chief Pfefferle agreed with Chief Koerner and said that he had already requested the fire marshal’s office to probe into the circumstances of the chain of fires. He kept the city’s fire department on the go from 12:46 p. m. until well after 9 p. m.
The most disastrous of the chain of fires broke out when fire broke out in the cupola of the Kaighn School at 3 p. m. Damage to the school was “$90,000 or more,” by Joseph C. Ragone, secretary of the Camden Board of Education.
School Closed for Three Years
The three-story abandoned school has been a shambles by 6 p. m. One of the oldest schools in the city, the Kaighn School had not been used for the past three years. Alarm No. 351 was sounded. Engine 3, left the scene at 9 p. m.
Upon arrival on the scene Zook and other officers had sounded the alarm while thousands of onlookers chocked the two or three emergency cars, an ambulance, at least one truck, apparatus belonging to fire and police officials choked the narrow streets. Shortly after, Wm. Van Pfefferle’s fire engine cream vendor halted as the crowd created nervousness among spectators.
Two men were injured slightly. Walter Dilsworth, of Engine Co. 3, William Warren, of Engine 3, and Eugene Alston, of Engine 1, were treated at Cooper Hospital. The Rev. Michael Argullo told a Courier-Post reporter: “I’d been coming by the Kaighn School for a long time and I always thought it looked like a fire trap, I don’t hesitate to say that if this fire had broken out at night we would have had 30 or 40 dead, the roof collapsed within the first 20 minutes.”
‘Bootleggers’ Used School
Still another possibility of tragedy was suggested by Chief Engineer Pfefferle. “We found ample evidence that the abandoned school had been taken over partially by bootleggers. Among the debris we found a lot of whisky bottles. If any of these bootleggers had been using candles for light in there is very little chance that he would have been discovered. And let’s see, we’ll look for tenants in buildings that were damaged.”
The chief added that although it was proper for the police to probe into the possibility of an arsonist, he was personally satisfied that none of the children were responsible.
“We still have work to do,” Pfefferle declared.
He said it was difficult to estimate the loss in the three fires and that he had not as far as he knew seen much worse school fires. He said the third fire, in the basement of the unoccupied three-story brick apartment at 7th and Pine Street, was caused by vandals.
New Truck Used
One of the new Mack aerials ladder, used for the first time on a real fire, “worked in first class condition.”
To protect both firemen and civilians, Pfefferle had the Public Service Gas and Electric Co. employees extinguish the lights on a transformer on a pole near the school and left an area of four blocks near the school without light until 5 p. m., when he resumed the service.
Damage at the earlier fire at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, 4th and Division sts., was estimated at “several thousand dollars,” by Rev. Richard Gerbino, the pastor.
Woodley Snyder Reenacts Candy Store Attack
Camden Courier-Post —
Suspect’s Police Record Started at Age of 9 Years
A Camden man with a record of arrests since he was nine years old is being held by Camden police today charged with the near fatal beating of Mrs. Rachel Weiner on Oct. 1.
Woodley Rex Snyder, 26, of 737 Kaighn Avenue, was booked Wednesday night in police headquarters on a charge of atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill after he allegedly admitted the savage beating of Mrs. Weiner in a small candy store she operates at 763 Kaighn Avenue. Her condition remains critical at Cooper Hospital.
Snyder “surrendered meekly” and was arrested at 6.15 p.m. Wednesday at the parsonage of the Rev. George Nicholas, 823 Walnut st., pastor of the Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church, Ann and Sycamore sts. Police said Snyder lived at the parsonage until Sept. 11.
Convinced by Pastor
Detective Sgt. Vincent Conley and Detective Clifford Del Rossi, who had worked around-the-clock since the beating in an effort to capture Mrs. Weiner’s assailant, made the arrest. The detectives said the Rev. Mr. Nicholas cooperated with police and had convinced Snyder he should give himself up.
Police Chief Koerner said Snyder “admitted hitting Mrs. Weiner on the head seven or eight times” with the butt of a .25-calibre automatic pistol.
The blood-stained pistol and a blood-stained jacket and pair of pants, recovered during the investigation, are being sent to Trenton for examination at the State Police laboratory.
Lived With Brother
Detective Capt. Thomas Murphy disclosed how suspicion fell on Snyder.
“Snyder and a roommate, William Spearman, lived at the home of Snyder’s brother, Julius, on Kaighn Avenue, Murphy stated. “Spearman told police that some of his clothing was missing. A search of the room revealed bloodstained clothing, which Spearman said must belong to Snyder.
“Further search disclosed a .25 calibre revolver under a mattress and Spearman said this did not belong to him and must be Snyder’s. Snyder’s brother backed up Spearman on identification of the clothing.”
Conley and Del Rossi quoted Snyder as saying:
“I had no motive. I walked into the store to get something to eat and she walked toward me. A feeling came over me.”
The detectives said Snyder admitted having the gun in his possession, but denied that he entered the store planning a hold-up. Snyder was quoted as saying:
“If I needed money, I could get it this way.”
Snyder’s trail after the beating led from Camden to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Rockville Center, L.I.; back to Philadelphia, to Camden, to Philadelphia, to Washington, to Baltimore, to Philadelphia and then to Camden Wednesday when he was arrested.
Eluded Pursuers
Detectives were on Snyder’s trail continually and missed him by less than an hour in Baltimore. Conley and Del Rossi traced him to an uncle’s home in Baltimore, but Snyder at the same time was in an aunt’s home in the same city, where he allegedly stole $12, according to detectives.
According to detectives, Snyder served time continually from the time he was nine years old until he was 20. In 1942 he was sentenced to Jamesburg on five charges of breaking, entering and larceny, and served additional time for escape.
Agrees to Surrender
Detectives said Snyder returned to Camden at 4 a.m. Wednesday after telephoning the Rev. Mr. Nicholas, who pleaded with him to give himself up, from Philadelphia.
Detectives quoted the preacher as saying Snyder told him he’d “rather be shot walking down the street than return to prison.” The Rev. Mr. Nicholas fed him and after continued pleadings Snyder “told him to call police,” Conley said.
Snyder was first aware that he was wanted by police when he visited an aunt in Rockville, L.I. on Monday.
Private Plane Tears Into S. Camden Street
Camden Courier-Post —
THE TWISTED WRECKAGE of a monoplane which crashed into Sylvan Street in South Camden on Wednesday night after plunging out of control is examined by police and firemen following removal of the pilot, William A. Kruesser, 26, of 875 Fairview Street. Doctors say Kruesser, though seriously injured, would recover. Hundreds of persons witnessed the crash.
William A. Kreusser Jr. — Fairview Street — Sylvan Street — Albert Buzine — William Vogel
Joseph Ballinghoff — Engine Company 10 — John Dugan — William A. Kreusser Sr.
South 8th Street — South 9th Street — Evers Park — Margaret Kreusser
Kills His Bride and Then Suicides
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Times —
Kills His Bride And Then Suicides
CAMDEN, N.J. (UP) — Two Camden newlyweds were found shot to death yesterday in a climax to what their landlords said was a day of quarreling.
Police found Mrs. Joan Salwan, 21, dead and her husband, Norman P. Salwan, 25, dying, when they arrived at the couple’s apartment in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Prentice.
Police Chief Gustav Koerner and Det. Capt. Thomas P. Murphy said Salwan killed his bride of two months, then turned the gun on himself.
Patrolman Harry Brown said he found Salwan lying beneath his wife’s body, a .22-caliber automatic in his hand.
Salwan died about an hour later in Cooper Hospital.
Merchants Laud Crackdown on Street Peddlers
Camden Courier-Post —
Nuisance Eliminated, They Say, Praising Action by Police
Camden City’s police crackdown on the illegal operations of pretzel vendors and other type peddlers in the mid-city business area was hailed today by the merchants.
All merchants contacted agreed the problem has been eliminated and expressed hope the regulation would continue to be enforced, particularly through the Christmas shopping period.
The police action was praised by each merchant. Many had complained previously against the vendors standing in store doorways or in front of display windows selling their wares such as pretzels, sewing bags, produce, etc.
Photos Tell Story
On October 18, The Courier-Post published several photographs of teen-age children hawking pretzels on the Camden Lits sidewalks and at the doorways during the heavy downpour of rain the previous Saturday night.
The problem was brought to the attention of Police Chief Gus Koerner, who ordered police to enforce the city ordinance on peddlers which requires they keep moving at all times.
Among the merchants commenting the problem has been eliminated, and praising the police for their cooperation were: G.L. McLean, manager, F. W. Woolworth store; Jack D. Neilson, assistant manager, J. C. Penney store; S. G. Hall, manager W. T. Grant store; Albert Rose, manager of Crawford Clothes; Furman Shaw, of F. L. Shaw, jewelers; Miss Leah Lipman, manager of the Deb Shop; Charles Reilly, assistant manager of Horn & Hardart Restaurant; a spokesman for Robert F. Hurley, of Bond Wine & Liquor store; Paul Rapp, manager of L. and M. Hausner cigar store.
Several weeks ago 19 merchants in the Broadway and Federal Street area signed a Camden County Chamber of Commerce petition urging city officials to take action on the peddler nuisance and shortly afterwards a Chamber delegation met personally with Director of Public Safety Aaron to present a direct appeal for relief.
Boxing Show Slated to Aid Drop-A-Buck
Camden Courier-Post,
Boxing Show Slated to Aid Drop-A-Buck
More than 500 members of boys clubs and Little League teams in the area will be guests at a special amateur boxing show Tuesday night at Convention Hall from which proceeds will benefit the Frank H. Ryan Drop-A-Buck Club.
Sponsors for the young guests are being solicited now by a committee headed by Police Insp. Anthony Skolski.
The show will be staged by the Camden Police Athletic League and sponsored by Camden Local 35, New Jersey Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
Ten three-round bouts will present boxers from the Philadelphia Police Athletic League and some Middle Atlantic AAU champions will be on the card.
Among sponsors of one or more children already signed are Deputy Public Safety Director Willard C. Schriver; Police Chief Gustav Koerner, Skolski, Municipal Judge Anthony Marino, Dets. Joseph Mardino and Ernie Santaniello, Art Sharp, Andy Fanelli, Nick Tedeschi, Anthony Galiozzi, the Hub Steak House, Rt. 38, Maple Shade; Hill Clothing store, 2636 Westfield ave.; Roma Cafe, 3rd and Royden sts., and Local 35, NJSPBA.
Persons, organizations or business establishments wishing to become sponsors are urged to contact Skolski at the city police department. Assisting are Anthony Moffa, co-chairman; George MacKenzie, Charles Kocher, Mario Ferrari, Peter Paul, Edward Yeager, Walter Busko, Thomas Kelly and Douglas Holmes.
William Schultz Retires From Police Force
Camden Courier-Post —
Police “Burn” Guns Seized In Arrests
“59 Auto Patterns:
Your 1959 automobile may owe its sleek lines in part to a variety of deadly weapons confiscated over the past 18 months by the Camden Police Dept. and melted down Friday in brief “last rites” at the Camden Foundry Co., Delaware Avenue and Elm Street.
Guns, knives and blackjacks taken from convicted holdup men and other criminals became a mass of molten metal after being tossed into a foundry furnace at 3200 degrees F.
According to John W. March, president of the company, the metal will be used in casting patterns for bodies of 1959 cars.
Present at the scene were: Willard C. Shriver, deputy director of public safety; chief of police Gustav Koerner; Lieut. William Yeager; Fire Chief William V. Pfefferle, and Sgt. William Schultz of the police dept.
Chief Koerner explained that the contraband could not be disposed of until after the criminals’ periods of appeal from conviction had expired.
This was why the horde of 50 pistols and revolvers, 20 shotguns, 20 knives, 15 blackjacks and 2 sets of brass knuckles had accumulated, he said.
City Detective Bureau to Be Closed at Night
Camden Courier-Post —
Sleuths to Get Street Duty:
City Detective Bureau To Be Closed at Night As Part of ’New Look’
Ousted Mayor Sues 4 Other Commissioners
Trenton Evening Times —
CAMDEN (AP)— Mayor Alfred Pierce filed suit yesterday in Superior Court to regain his post as director of public safety.
Pierce, ousted from the post by the other [sic] other city commissioners June 9, charged that they acted illegally.
Defendants are commissioner Edward Garrity, now public safety director, and commissioners Frank Italiano, Frank Abbott and William Shepp.
Pierce was ousted by his fellow commissioners in the culmination of State Police raids on gambling establishments in the city. Pierce asked State Police to conduct the raids and charged widespread links between gamblers and city police.
A grand jury subsequently indicted several police and later criticized Pierce for “suppressing evidence” favorable to former Police Chief Gustave Koerner, among those it indicted.
Pierce denied this allegation, the stated basis for his ouster as public safety director.
Gold Badges to Be Given 15 City Cops
Camden Courier-Post —
Fifteen retired Camden City policemen will be honored by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Local 35, Wednesday night at the Police and Fire Club, 1175 Whitman Avenue.
Police Chief William H. Neale, will present awards. The awards will be gold retirement badges mounted in wallets. The men receiving them will have served 20 or more years.
According to Patrolman Robert Mentz, PBA secretary, this is the first time since 1960 that retirement badges have been presented. The ceremonies will follow the organization’s business meeting.
Awards will be made to: Edward Suski, Harry Cattell, Clifford DelRossi, Frank Gutherman, John Houston, Thomas Kauffman, William Stibi, Leon Feltz, Russell Young, Henry Leutz, George Ellis, Everett Joslin, Ralph Cline, John Kaighn and former Chief Gustav Koerner.