New-York tribune., 1903-03-24
QUICK WORK By BURNS.
Raids Stedeker's Poolroon1 TTenty
Minutes after Getting Warrants.
BELL GIVES WARNING TOO LATE.

Captain Joseph Burns and his men OF the
Church-st police station made a sensational
raid yesterday afternoon the poolroom OF
Leon, Henry and Samuel Stedeker on an upper
floor Of the building at Nc. III Broadway. The
three Stedekers and three other prisoners were
captured in the raid, and the police carried away
three wagonloads of furniture such as is to be
found in a well regulated poolroom. The pris-
oners had 81, $40 in cash.
Leon Stedeker with Ridge" Levine in
the poolroom at No. 20 Dey-st in February,
1901. when that place visited by Jerome
and Lewis Nixon, Of the Tammany Committee Of
Five and Maurice F. Holahan Mayor Van
Wyck's President of the Board of Public I'm
provements found in the place looking for
a wayward SON" Captain Burns says that the
Stedekers have been moving their poolroom from
place to place recently to avoid raids, and that
they moved it to No. III Broadway only three
days ago. He has had policemen I'm plain clothes
trying for several days to get evidence against
the booksellers. With PatroIman staff and
Tesiny, who succeeded in getting the evidence
before the pOoroom WAS moved from a place in
Liberty-st. Captain Burns went to the Tombs
court yesterday and got a warrant from Magis-
trate Pool He hurried back to the police sta
tion. called on several other in plain clothes
to follow him, and ran around to the building
in Broadway. One Of the men carried an axe.
Captain Burns had heard that the elevator
man in the building knew how to push button
and the booksellers Of the approach Of the
police and going up in the elevator he kept close
watch The elevator man appeared to be ner-
vous. Just as Burns and his men reached the
door of the poolroom there was loud ringing
of electric hell. Leon Stedeker stepped out
and the door closed with snap behind him.
Il see you got the signal all right Burns
said
What do you want?" asked Stedeker-
Burns said he had warrants to serve and de-
manded admttance. Stedeker refused to open
the door. The axe was brought into play. and
the door was broken open in jiffy. There was
much cOmmotion among nearly one hundred
men in the pooirOom until the men for whom
warrants had been obtained were arrested. The
three Stedpkers were arrested as the prOprietOrs
Of the poolroom. George Murray as the IAN
nounCer," John F. Morris the telephone Op-
orator and Alexander Birdsall as the receiver
of bets. When the prisoners were being taken
to the police station and the Pooroom parapher-
MALTA was being moved to the same place,
large crowd collected and cheered the police.
Captain Burns said later that he found the
electric bell in the poolroom and traced wire
from it to the elevator shaft. but his men. who
made a search, could not find the push button
at the other end of the wire.
Before the prisoners had been in the police
station ten minutes Magistrate Pool appeared
there in company with lawyers who had been
summoned by telephone. Magistrate POOL
opened court in the police station, and released
the prisoners in $1,000 bail each, Peter J. Grell
a saloonkeeper, being the bondsman.
While waiting for the bail bonds to he MADE
out Benjamin Steinhardt. one Of the lawyers
asked Magistrate Pool if it was remarkaD Dle 1or
warrants to be issued twenty minutes before
were served.
Yes it is rather unusual" replied the mag1s-
trate but then you can't tell what these young
fellows like Captain Burns are up to. LOOKS
as if he didn't waste much time serving theH'
but then 1 guess the captain had his own rea-
sons for that" ,
Levine strolled into the station after the raid
and attempted to be satricaL Captain burnS
told his men If Levine went into MS oIhce .. 10
lock him up Levine did not linger long after
that