The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-07-16

Five Of the forty-fve prisoners re-
leased from the Eastern penitentiary
Saturday, under the operations of the
new communication law, passed by the
last legislature, were Lackawanna
convicts.
one Of them was Peter Hombach,
who was serving ten years for twice
setting fire to Elm Park church. HON.
bach was employed as a watchman
at the church and. IL appears, became
seized with the hallucination that the
ground on which the church was built
belonged to him through bequest of
an uncle who had lived in Cleveland.
In 1892, when the church was just
completed and arrangements were un-
der way for its formal opening, it was
burned to the ground by an early
morning fire. How the flames origi-
mated was mystery, but no one had
more than a passing suspicion that
they were of incendary origin.
The church was rebuilt at once and
was again almost ready for occupancy
when, on a December night in 1898, il
was again almost completely destroyed
by fire of mysterious origin.
Suspicious circumstances pointed to
incendiarism, and the services of Bar
ring d McSweeney's detective agency
were engaged to get at the bottom of
the mystery. 1t was not long before
Hombach was under arrest and so
convincing were the proofs of his guilt
as presented by the detectives that his
counsel We're driven to the extremity of
pleading insanity for their client. They
failed to establish this contention to
the satisfaction of the court and jurors
and on October II, 1893. Judge l.. L.
Smith sentenced him to ten years in
the Eastern penitentiary After his
Incarceration, Hombach evidenced
strong signs of insanity and spent a
considerable portion of his time in the
NorristoNn Insane asylum as re-
suit.
Another of the released quintette is
Joseph Wisniski, who was convicted
in October, 1926, of murder in the sec
ond degree for killing Felix Dairdzak
with a knife, in February, 1925, on
South Washington avenue. Judge +.
w. Gunster sentenced him to seven
years.
John McGowan, another of the five,
was convicted before Judge II. NJ. Ed
wards, in December. 1898, of breaking
into and robbing the house of Mrs.
Bridget Kane, of CUbondale. He had
just returned from four-ycar term
for a similar offense, and Judge Ed
wards sent him back for six years.
LOUGHLIN AND MOON.
The other two were James Loughlin
who was sent down in December, 1895.
by Judge Edwards, for three years and
six months, for robbing +. +. King,
and Charles II. Moon, who was sem
fenced in October, 1899, to two and a
half years for a similar offense.
Yesterdays Philadelphia Ledger had
this to say of the general Jail delivery
effected by the new law:
Saturdays record Of discharges from the East.
ern penitentiary under the new Communication law
enacted by the last legislature was record
breaker.
Warden aissngcr, as he surveyed the line Of
iorty.fve released criminals passing the portals
OF the prison, going outward, remarked that never
before in his twenty.tour years connection with
| the penitentiary had he seen such wholesale
discharge in one day. The highest plumber he re.
| mcmbcred was fifteen. Each man, as he passed
out, was told that under the law il he was again
| sentenced to the pcnitCntiary within year he
would be required to serve out the commutai
| sentence we'll. He believed this might make
| many of the hardened criminals lsw.abdng cti.
| zenS but his experience has been that after ten
or twelve months they always had ten or fifteen
| old offenders back again
Over one.half of those released on Saturday
were from Eastern pcnitcntiary counties. Three
had served ten years for msnslaughtcr, and three
| were burglars and horse thieves from up the