Newton Blanchard
Newton E. Blanchard was born around 1897 to George and Martha Blanchard. His father, a Philadelphia pressman who lived at 3029 Susquehanna Avenue, was nearly 60 when Newton was born; his mother was 35. Newton grew up alongside several half-siblings from his father’s earlier marriage.
Newton Blanchard enlisted in the Canadian Army prior to America’s involvement in World War I, serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force and later as an instructor in the U.S. Army Air Force. He boxed in amateur bouts during his youth and later served as a referee. He was also known as a skilled bridge player, competing with players of national prominence.
By 1928, Blanchard was living at 923 St. John Street in Camden and was acquainted with Jesse D. Seybold, who lived at the same address and ran various sidelines. In January of that year, Newton Blanchard came to the attention of the police when he was present — and served as the alleged “stick man” (crap game conductor) — at the Sixth Ward Republican Club on the night Joseph Cimini was killed.
After this brush with the law, Newton Blanchard married. In August 1935 he posted bail for Jesse Seybold when the latter was arrested on liquor charges, and also paid Seybold’s $200 fine. By then Blanchard was living on the White Horse Pike in Collingswood.
By the 1950s Newton Blanchard had gone into the restaurant business, operating Marlton Manor in Delaware Township, a restaurant widely known in the area. By 1956 he and his wife Virginia and son James T. had moved to Diplomat Parkway in Collingswood. Newton Blanchard died on December 10, 1957, at Cooper Hospital. He was survived by his wife and son.
Gangster Shot During Melee in Sixth Ward
Camden Courier-Post —
Headquarters of the Sixth Ward Republican Club on Broadway below Spruce Street. The entrance is to the left, the first floor front being occupied by a barber shop. The arrow indicates the room where the shooting occurred.
Joseph Deven Held On Murder Charge After Death of Boxer’s Brother; ‘Mose’ Flannery and 4 Others Held as Witnesses; Was Craps Game Says County Police
HOLDUP ATTEMPTED CITY COPS DECLARE
Victim of a shot fired in a melee, the exact cause of which remain undetermined, Joseph Cimini, 31 years old, was killed in the Sixth Ward Republican Club, 908 Broadway. Cimini, declared by police to be a Philadelphia gangster, was killed before the eyes of two district detectives, Clarence Arthur and Clarence Bunker, who had been summoned to the club by warning that a fight was in progress.
Joseph Deven, 28 years old, known to his associates as “Polack Joe” and a colorful figure in Third Ward politics, fired the shot that killed Cimini. Declaring that he had fired in self-defense, after Cimini struck him with the butt of a revolver, Deven was locked up without bail on a charge of murder. Joseph “Mose” Flannery, 26 years old, picturesque Eighth ward political worker, was held as a material witness. Detectives had seized Flannery who was to have precipitated the battle by brandishing a revolver just before Cimini was shot. The officers say that Flannery fled after the shooting and was captured afterward at Broadway and Federal Street.
The name of the dead man was given as Joseph Gannon, but shortly before one o’clock this afternoon, he was identified as Joseph Cimini, 1301 Ellsworth Street, Philadelphia. The identification was made by a brother, William Cimini, a pugilist who has boxed in this city several times under the name of “Billy” Gannon.
Six Others Quizzed
Six other men who were present at the time of the shooting, or when the argument began, were questioned by city and county detectives. They are Newton Blanchard, 30, 923 St. John Street, former Camden boxing referee and declared by some of the witnesses as the man who conducted the crap game at the club; Michael Dandrea, 26, 1067 Norris Street; Russell Sage, 26 years old, of 1102 Marion Street a taxicab driver who is said to have driven Gannon and Flannery to the club in his car; Maurice O’Brien, 27 years old, of 1429 Bradley Avenue, a former New Jersey State Trooper, Harry Waterhouse, 28 years old, whose address was given as the same as Sage’s; and Charles “Chick” Hunt, 27 years old, of 1218 Broadway, a former Camden boxer.
Blanchard and Dandrea were released after questioning and after each had made a statement to Chief of County Detective Lawrence T. Doran. The others were held with Flannery as material witness.
Differences of opinion between county and city detectives investigating the shooting were heightened during the afternoon. The county sleuths insisted upon the theory that the shooting had resulted from a feud between Flannery and Hunt, with Cimini taking the former’s side and Deven the latter and said that the heat of the argument had possibly been heightened by disagreement over a crap game. The city police, on the other hand, declared that the entire affair was the result of an attempt by Flannery to hold up the other men. Deven’s statement to Chief Doran made no mention of a hold-up.
Building up a case against Flannery, the officers this afternoon lodged charges of attempted hold-up, carrying concealed deadly weapons, atrocious assault and battery and assault to kill against him. The two latter charges were made as the result of identification of Flannery as a participant in two recent robbery attempts. J.E. Feinstein, café proprietor of 508 Kaighn Avenue, declared that Flannery, Cimini, and Sage were thereof four men who held him up on New Year’s Day. He defied them and they left when he said, “Go ahead and shoot,” he asserted. Flannery was also identified, according to police, as the man who had beaten and attempted to rob Henry Mehrer, an Audubon policeman, and his two companions outside the Ringside Inn, on the Black Horse Pike, a fortnight ago.
Cimini was shot shortly after 3:00 this morning and died almost instantly. Doctors at Cooper Hospital pronounced him dead on arrival. He had been shot just above the heart by a bullet from Deven’s gun.
Events preceding the shooting remain, to some extent clouded today. Chief Doran said he learned of an enmity existing between Flannery and Hunt. Deven appeared to have attempted to quiet “Mose,” the county detectives said. Cimini struck Deven and Deven fired. Chief John Golden of the Camden city detective bureau stated, on the other hand, that the shooting had apparently followed an attempt to hold up the other men in the room. Golden based his view on the statements of Clarence Arthur, a city sleuth. According to Arthur, when he and Bunker appeared at the door of the room, Flannery and Cimini held revolvers and the other men in the room were standing with their hands upraised.
According to the story pieced together by county detectives from the statements of witnesses, a group of men had apparently gathered at the club for a crap game. Blanchard, it was stated, acts as the “stick man,” the term used in gambling parlance to designate the man who conducts a crap game. City and County agree that Flannery and Cimini arrived together in Sage’s taxicab. Whether there was an argument, the result of an enmity between Flannery and Hunt, or whether the attempted hold-up theory is correct, remains to be learned by additional official investigation.
Two Flee Place
Chief Doran stated the witnesses had told him that words passed between Flannery and Hunt and that the former had gone downstairs. Returning he brandished a revolver. It was at this point that Blanchard and Dandrea left the room and fled down the stairs. On the street, they encountered Detectives Arthur and Bunker, who were patrolling Broadway in a police automobile. In describing the subsequent events today, Arthur declared that Blanchard had informed him that “two Philadelphia gunmen are up in the Sixth Ward Club holding up a bunch of fellows.”
The detectives did not immediately go to the club, but found Patrolman Frank Del Rossi and followed him up the stairs of the building. “There were about fifteen men in the room,” Arthur asserted. “When we got to the door Flannery and Cimini had their guns out and apparently were about to search the others. The other men had their hands in the air. When they saw us Flannery and Cimini threw their guns down and the others lowered their hands. I went up to Flannery and started to frisk him. Bunker went to another man, whom I don’t know, and started to frisk him.” It was then he said that he heard the shot.
Believing that it was Bunker who was shot, he released his hold on Flannery and swung around. As he did Flannery turned and fled downstairs, Arthur declared. Bunker said he believed that it was Arthur who had been shot and he too released his grasp on the man he had been searching. The detectives turned in time to see Cimini fall. “I did it! I shot him!” Deven is declared to have shouted, throwing his revolver on the table.
According to the story told by witnesses to the county detectives, however, Deven had stepped up to Flannery just before the shot was fired and had said “Mose, you can’t get away with this here.” Flannery is said to have had a gun in his hand at the time. As Deven spoke, the witnesses say, Cimini stepped behind him and struck him with the butt of a revolver. Just then detectives entered. Deven whirled and, drawing his gun, fired.
Cimini was placed in a police ambulance and taken to the hospital. After he had been pronounced dead his body was taken to the morgue, where it was awaiting identification today. Neatly dressed, Cimini is of Italian extraction. He has coal-black hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. Coroner Charles T. Murray will perform a post-mortem examination, he said.
Flannery Captured
When he fled from the club, according to Arthur, Flannery jumped on a Public Service bus driven by David Smith, of 423 Haddon Avenue, which was passing at the time. “Faster! Faster!” he is declared to have urged Smith as the latter drove along Broadway in the direction of Federal Street. At Federal Street and Broadway, Arthur and Bunker caught up to the bus and arrested Flannery as he descended from the vehicle. “Why don’t you give me a chance to get to Philadelphia?” Arthur declares Flannery asked him. “I can get bail over there.”
Seek Written Statement
Chief Doran stated this afternoon that he was attempting to obtain a written statement from Flannery and would also seek to have Deven sign a statement regarding the shooting. During the morning, Flannery refused to talk while Deven, although admitting that he fired the shot, declared that he shot in self-defense. He made no reference to the hold-up attempt, according to the county detectives.
Cimini has a Philadelphia police record but, according to his pugilist brother, “was not bad but just wild.” He was recently arrested in Philadelphia after a fight with policemen. “But he never held up or robbed anybody,” his brother declared this afternoon after identifying the body. “He got into a jam now and then. Yes, I know that he knew ‘Mose’ Flannery, but I never mixed with that crowd.”
Flannery for years has figured in police cases and in political warfare in the Eighth Ward, where he was sometimes a lieutenant and sometimes an opponent of “Mikey” Brown, the Republican leader of the ward. Last March he was arrested and indicted on charges of atrocious assault and battery on his wife and her mother. At one time he was held as a suspect in a Philadelphia shooting but later was released.
The accused man, Deven, is a short, slim little man with an air of meek complaisance. He has been a taxicab driver and was last arrested on a charge of drunken driving. In May of 1926 he attempted suicide by shooting himself after he had failed to effect a reconciliation with his estranged wife. At that time, he shot himself but the bullet only grazed his chest.
Joe Deven, long a political power in the Third Ward, first flashed into citywide prominence in 1925, when he was employed by federal authorities as a deputy U.S. Marshal to guard the padlocked Poth brewery at Bulson Street, just off Broadway. At the time Deven was thus maintaining the sanctity of the Eighteenth Amendment, he was also operating a bootlegging establishment downtown and had been arrested once or twice for violating the Volstead Act.
Murder Motive at G.O.P. Club Splits Sleuths
Camden Evening Courier —
County Detectives Contend Philadelphia Gangster Was Slain in Quarrel Over Woman
POLICE CLAIM HOLD-UP ATTEMPT CAUSED FIGHT
Deven Charged With Crime, Flannery and Taxi Driver Held Without Bail
With city and county authorities definitely divided on the motive and circumstance of the Sixth Ward Republican Club slaying, Joseph “Polack Joe” Deven was arraigned in Camden police court today and held without bail on a murder charge. Through County Solicitor Walter Keown, retained as his attorney, Deven waived a police court hearing and was held to await grand jury action in the slaying of Joseph Cimini, Philadelphia gangster, at the political club early Saturday morning.
At the same time County Prosecutor Ethan P. Wescott announced his operatives had abandoned the theory Cimini was killed as the aftermath of an attempted hold-up, and were concentrating their investigation in the case on an effort to “find the woman.” Statements of witnesses to the fatal shooting, the prosecutor added, made no mention of a hold-up, but contained the declaration that Cimini had been shot as a result of a feud with Charles “Chick” Hunt, former South Camden pugilist, concerning the affection of “Chick’s girl.”
Police Claim Holdup
On the other hand, Captain John Golden, chief of the city detective bureau, declared he was unable to recall any mention of a girl in the statements obtained from witnesses, and added emphatically that his department still held the shooting had followed an attempted holdup of the club by Cimini and Joseph ‘Mose’ Flannery. Flannery and Hunt were both witnesses to the shooting by Deven, picturesque figure in Third Ward politics, which occurred at the Sixth Ward Club’s headquarters, 908 Broadway.
After Deven had appeared in Police Court today, Flannery was arraigned as a material witness and as an accessory to the crime, with an additional charge accusing him of carrying concealed deadly weapons. Similar charges were made against Russell Sage, a taxicab driver, who arrived at the club with Flannery and Cimini early Saturday morning. These two were committed to the county jail without any bail by Judge Bernard Bertman. Hunt, however, was released under $1,000 bail as was Martin O’Brien, 27 years old, a former New Jersey State Trooper, and Harry Waterhouse, 28 years old, 1102 Marion street.
Three Others Arrested
During the day the police continued to build up their case against Flannery by arraigning him on the charges made by Milton Feinstein and Henry Mehrer. They also arrested Joseph Genther, 29 years old, 414 Atlantic Avenue; Robert Wolfe, 21 years old, 1106 Mechanic Street, and Eli Conaghy, 27 years old, 814 South 6th Street. Wolfe, who is Flannery’s brother-in-law, and Genther were held “on suspicion” of having been with “Mose” at the time the latter is declared to have attacked and attempted to rob Mehrer, an Audubon policeman, outside the Ringside Inn, on the Black Horse Pike. Conaghy, Flannery and Sage were arraigned and held without bail on charges of threatening to kill Feinstein and of carrying concealed deadly weapons. Feinstein declares these three with Cimini, the slain man, entered his cafe on January 2 and attempted to hold him up, threatening to kill him if he refused to “come across.” When he defied them by telling them to “go ahead and shoot,” Feinstein says, they departed. Wolfe, Genther, and Conaghy were arrested by City Detectives George Ward and Thomas Cheeseman. It was Cheeseman who lodged the formal complaint of murder against Deven.
Two Others Released
Two other men who were questioned in connection with the murder case were in court this morning but neither was held. They are Newton Blanchard, 923 St. John Street, a former boxing referee and alleged “stick man” at the crap game declared to have been in progress at the club before the shooting, and Michael Dandrea, 26 years old, of 1657 Norris Street. Both men had been released after questioning on Saturday. Police say they are the men who told police that trouble was imminent at the club and that “Flannery and another fellow are trying to stick up a bunch of other fellows.”
The city police hold-up theory was further attacked today by Francis J. McCarthy, a Philadelphian, who arrived before noon at the county prosecutor’s office and said he would co-operate with the authorities. He wished to clear the dead man, he said, of the stigma of suspicion that he was slain while engaged in an attempted robbery.
Gamble Over Affections
Prosecutor Wescott declared, however, that no mention of an attempted hold-up was made despite the fact that City Detectives Clarence Arthur and Clarence Bunker — before whose eyes Cimini was shot down — stated Flannery and Cimini were holding the other men at bay when the detectives entered the room. Instead, the statements of the witnesses described the scene as a dramatic gamble, with death as the stake, over the affections of a woman beloved by both Cimini and Hunt. This woman, who is married and estranged from her husband, is being sought today, Prosecutor Wescott said.
According to detectives, Hunt was severely beaten last Wednesday night in a downtown gambling place by members of Cimini’s gang. Cimini, known also as Joseph Gannon, was a brother of William Cimini, a pugilist known in the ring as Billy Gannon.
The stories told by the witnesses place Hunt as one of the players in the crap game which was in progress at the club on Saturday morning. Deven was at the window, looking out, according to the witnesses, when he saw a taxicab draw up in front of the building. Flannery, Cimini and Sage descended and entered the club, it was declared. “Here comes Mose, Chick, with that guy what’s gunnin’ for you” Deven is declared to have shouted. A dozen gamesters fled from the room. “Chick” and a few of his friends held their ground and were waiting when the trio entered.
Cimini, it is stated, walked over to Hunt. “I told you,” he said with a sneer, “to stay away from that dame. She’s my girl. You were warned and now you gotta take your medicine.” Hunt said nothing. Flannery drew from his pockets two automatics and flung them on the green-topped table, the stories go. “C’mon, Chick,” he said. “Don’t be yella. He toldja about the broad and he toldja what he’d do. Take your gun and shoot it out.”
“Chick” demurred. “I don’t want none of that stuff, Mose,” he pleaded. He eyed Cimini carefully as the latter held one hand on the butt of a pistol which protruded from his belt. Hunt made no careless movements toward the pistols on the table. Then Deven is declared to have interfered. “None of that stuff, Mose,” he said warningly. “Who’s this guy to come here making trouble? He’s no member, is he?”
Cimini moved quickly, the witnesses say. With an upward flip of his hand he brought the barrel of the automatic sharply against Deven’s chin. The latter lurched forward snatching one of the pistols from the table. The weapon was discharged, the bullet tearing through Cimini’s heart. He died instantly. The next moment, Arthur and Bunker, district detectives summoned by one of the players who had fled, burst through the door and lined up the men against the wall. A short time later police arrested Blanchard and Dandrea. Blanchard, police say, was the man who gave them warning of the impending battle. Both men were released after questioning.
The detectives found Deven cringing with fear under the table, the weapon still in his hand. Four other pistols were picked up in different parts of the room. Deven was identified as a lovesick husband who appeared in the prosecutor’s office several months ago and asked to be “put away.” His wife had left him, he said, and he was afraid he might harm someone. He was committed to the asylum at Lakeland. Gangdom’s prevailing opinion is that Flannery is “in” for it. Flannery is blamed by the city police for precipitating the battle.
Holdup Victim Held in Speakeasy Raid
Camden Courier-Post —
Man Robbed for ‘Thrill’ Arrested as Proprietor of Illegal Liquor Den
The victim of a “thrill” holdup in Camden last March was arrested yesterday as the proprietor of a “speakeasy.”
He is Jesse Seybold, 44, of 923 St. John Street, who was held in $2000 bail for police court today on charges of possessing untaxed liquor and violation of the city ordinance allowing disorderly persons to congregate.
Seybold was held up March 3 by a youthful “two-gun” bandit and his 16-year-old sweetheart and robbed of $19. They were Harvey Arnold, 22, of 314 Arch street and Edith Gaylord, who roomed at the Arnold home. They were captured after a short chase in which Seybold took part. Arnold was sentenced to Rahway for his part in the crime, while the girl obtained a suspended sentence. At their trial they testified they staged the holdup for a “thrill.”
Seybold was arrested yesterday in a raid staged by police on information obtained when two men and a woman were arrested Monday night after an automobile collision.
The raid was made by Patrolman John V. Wilkie, inspector of rooming houses, together with Sergt. Richard Cornog, Acting Sergt. Edward Leonard and Patrolman Nathan Wine.
A quantity of untaxed liquor was found on the premises, Wilkie said, including two gallons of purported “moonshine.”
According to Wilkie, Seybold has been arrested on seven different occasions between May 29, 1924, and Jan. 17, 1936, and twice has been fined $100 for operating a disorderly house.
Information that led to the raid was obtained, Wilkie said, from William Smith, 34, of 739 Mickle street, who was arraigned in police court yesterday on a charge of possessing unlicensed liquor and fined $100.
Arraigned at the same time was Mrs. Theresa Anderson, 31, of 211 Byron street, and Raymond Doughty, 30, of 329 Richey avenue, Collingswood. Each was fined $25, the woman on a drunk and disorderly charge, and Doughty for driving an automobile without a registration card.
The three were arrested by Wilkie late Monday at Seventh and Federal streets when the car in which they were riding bumped another machine while waiting for a traffic light to change. A half-pint bottle of liquor found in the car, Wilkie said, was claimed by Smith. It bore no tax stamps of any kind, according to the patrolman. After questioning Smith, Wilkie said he bought the liquor at Seybold’s place. After Smith made an affidavit to that effect, Wilkie obtained the warrant that led to the raid and arrest of Seybold.
Seybold Hearing Off Until Friday
Camden Courier-Post —
Charges of Possessing Untaxed Liquor Delayed at Lawyer’s Request
Police court hearing for Jesse Seybold, 44, of 923 St. John Street, on charges of possessing untaxed liquor and violation of the city ordinance allowing disorderly persons to congregate, has been postponed until Friday.
Acting Prosecutor John D. DiMona yesterday informed Police Judge Lewis Liberman he had been requested to delay the hearing by Carlton W. Rowand, Seybold’s attorney, who is out of the city.
Seybold, victim of a “thrill” holdup in Camden last March, was arrested Tuesday in a raid by police on information obtained when two men and a woman were arrested Monday by Patrolman John V. Wilkie after an automobile collision. A quantity of untaxed liquor was found on the premises.
Seybold was robbed March 3 by a young “two-gun” bandit and his 16-year-old sweetheart. They were Harvey Arnold, 22, of 314 Arch street and Edith Gaylord, who roomed at the Arnold home.
Former Cafe Man Pays Fine of $200
Camden Courier-Post —
Untaxed Liquor Seized by Wilkie Leads to Police Court Sentence
Jesse Seybold, 44, of 923 St. John Street, a former South Camden cafe operator, was found guilty in police court yesterday on the charge of violating Section 422 of a city ordinance. He was fined $200 which he paid.
Seybold was arrested last Tuesday by Patrolman John V. Wilkie in his home. On Monday night Wilkie arrested William Smith, 34, of 739 Mickle street; Raymond Doughty, 30, of 329 Richey avenue, West Collingswood, and Mrs. Theresa Anderson, 31, of 211 Byron street, at Seventh and Market streets. Wilkie charged the trio with being disorderly and said he found a small quantity of untaxed liquor in their car. In police court next day Smith was fined $100 and his companions $25.
Wilkie questioned Smith regarding where he had obtained the liquor and a short time later the policeman raided Seybold’s home and seized a small quantity of liquor.
In police court Seybold entered a plea of guilty. Wilkie testified that when he entered Seybold’s home and explained his mission Seybold turned the liquor over to him.
Seybold, following his arrest, was released under $500 cash bail posted by Newton Blanchard, of White Horse pike, Collingswood. Blanchard paid Seybold’s fine.
Life Hereabouts by Charley Humes
Camden Courier-Post —
DOWN MEMORY LANE with that Old Gang of Yours is a few of the guys who’ll tell you Tatum was as good as or the best man in the land … from the time that Taylor and Glimits managed Rocky Robinson, … the days of Johnny Allen … Rocky Eddie Chaney … Shamus Maguire … Pee Wee Ross … Jabbering Jackie Hindle … Watson Finch … lots and lots of fun.
The days when Camden was the Mecca for Philly fight fans getting the paper with Rocky Robinson as challenger, Benny Leonard, Pete Herman … Jimmy Wilde … Gene Tunney … fighting in the Arena on all given Wednesday nights.
HOW MANY will remember when our own Eddie Garrity, who now occupies an important post in the city government, was a boxer … with plenty on the ball … boxing out of a big gym around here … fighting at the Thirteenth Ward Republic Club … trying for fame on Louis Street, Whitman Avenue section.
THEN AND THEY DOWN the memory lane again when a man named Dopey John and a man named Kaplan … a fighter … and there was a guy boxing around here named Mickey Blair … When Sergeant Ray Smith is Robinson … the days of Willie Robinson … the days of Willie Graham, then a wider stationed right here … the days of Young Jordan … Frankie McLaughlin … Neil McLaughlin … and gave us much of this informational … Joe Spearing did.
N. Blanchard, Cafe Owner, Dead at 60
Camden Courier-Post —
Newton E. Blanchard, 60, of 925 D Park View Apartments, Collingswood, proprietor of Marlton Manor, died Tuesday in Cooper Hospital.
The operator of the Delaware Township restaurant was widely known in this area. During War I, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and later as an instructor in the U. S. Army Air Force. He boxed in amateur bouts during his youth and later served as a referee. He gained a reputation as a bridge player, competing with players of national prominence. He was a member of the South Jersey Restaurant Association.
Surviving are his wife, Virginia, and a son, James T., at home.
Private services will be held Friday at 11 a. m. in the Robert J. Blake Funeral Home, 226 Collings ave., Collingswood, where friends and relatives may call Thursday night.