The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-24
STOLE HIGGINSON JEWELS.
BOSTON CONVICT CONFESSES AND
CLEARS TUTOR PARK.
Thief Now in Prison and Accomplice Is I'm
der Arrest Here-YounE Syrian Got
Into the House with = skeleton Key
Hid in Closet for Over Three Hours.


and John Kadra. young Syrian, who Is
now serving a term in the Massachusetts,
State Reformatory. have confessed TO the
robbery Of James j. Higginson's house on
July / last, when 5000 worth OF jewels
we're stolen. Their confession exonerates
Dr. Edward Park, the Higginson family
tutor, who was arrested July at Christian
sand Norway. when he stepped of the
steamship United States with his mother
and sister.
Immediately after Mrs. Hgginson dis
covered that a desk is her dressing room
had been forced and her jewels stolen she
put the case in the hands Of the Tenderloin
police. Tive detectives who were assigned
to the case said nothing about 1t to Police
Headquarters for two days. That is one
Of the reasons they are fighting mosquitoes
on Staten Island.
Then Detective Sergeant McCaferty went
TO work. Mrs. Higginson had called in the
pinkertons also, and McCafferty and Supt.
Doueherty of the Pinkertons joined forces.
Meanwhile Park had sailed for Norway
with the full confidence of the Higgnsons.
This is the police explanation Of why Park
was suspected.
At the Higginson house McCafferty and
Dougherty got group photograph contain
Ing the faces Of fifteen or more persons
They made the round Of pawnshops and
finally hit upon pawnbroker who pointed
out to them Parks photograph as that OF
the man who had pawned jewelry with him.
Another pawnbroker quickly indicated the
same face in the group picture. From
the pawnbrokers the detectives recovered
necklace Of eighty-one pearls, gold cross
set with eleven pearls and two cigarette
cases studded with diamonds A request
was sent to the police at Christiansand
for Dr. Parks arrest He was taken into
custody, protesting his innocence. Then
Assistant District Attorney Perkins went
over the evidence and decided that there
was mighty little on which to hold Park,
as the pawnbrokers described man much
taller than Park. Extradition papers had
been prepared, but Mr.. Perkins cabled
the Christiansand police to let DR.. Park
20, and the case was dropped.
Three weeks ago Mrs. Higginson received
an anonymous letter. 1t said that If she
would insert q personal in the Herald
agreeing to carry on correspondence
with the writer she would learn some
thing to her advantage. The writer was
very sorry, said the letter, that Mr.. Park
had been caused so much trouble, for he
was innocent and the writer could proveit.
Mrs. Higginson went straight to Police
Headquarters and gave the letter to
McCaherty. Using Mrs. Higginson's name.
the detectives conc octed an alluring
personal. Four personals passed before
the end OF the game. Finally Mrs. Higgin-
son received letter signed Ralph
Warner" 1t was mailed at Station D
in this city. Station d is in Third avenue
near Eighth street.
The detectives were informed by clerk
there that Mr.. Warner had asked that his
mail be sent to store in Union Square
and that boy had been carrying his letters
from the station. The detectives wrote
again to Warner. They cav boy take
the letter from the substation and followed
him to house in Fourteenth street near
First avenue. They waited around,
man came out and they nabbed him. 1t
vas Warner That was on last Saturday
At Police Headquarters they put him
on the griddle. He said he hadn't stolen
the jewelry, but that he had pawned the
loot for John Kadra, nineteen-year-old
Syrian whom he had met in prison. Warner
had just finished serving term OF six yeas
for burglary, having been released from
the Deer Island Prison In Boston Harbor
on Nov. 81, 1904, on parole.
While there he said, he became ac-
quaiated with Kadra and they got chummy.
kadra was being transferred from the
Deer Island prison to the Massachusetts,
State Reformatory when he escaped from
his guards, jumped train going thirty
miles an hour. got of without a scratch
and came to this city.
When Warner was released he came
here and met Kadra once more, and when
Kadra burglarzed the Higginson house
he agreed to dispose Of the stun. Kadra
left town on July Is, after the robbery,
and went back to Boston. He hadn't been
there long when he was arrested with
burglars tools in his possession, was recog-
nized as an escaped convict and sent to
the Massachusetts, State Reformatory at
Concord to serve out his term.
On Monday MoCaferty and Dougherty
went to Concord and talked to the Syrian
in prison. He weakened and told this
story to the detectives:
1t was about 10 o'clock on the morning
Of July that went to the Higginson
house picking 1t out as a likely place for
good job. opened the front door with
a skeleton key, slipped through the hall
and up to the second floor without raising
a soul. hid in clothes closet in the hall
just outside Mrs .Higginson's dressing room.
She was in the room then, and 1t wasn't
long before the closet door opened and
somebody fumbled for a dress, the hand
brushing my collar, but it was dark as pitch
and she couldn't see. I stuck 1.-the closet
three hours, and three times while was
there Mrs. Higginson or her maid opened
the closet door and took things of hooks
that wece not a foot from my head.
was behind a dressing gown Of some kind.
Along about 1 O'Clock the house was
quiet as tomb everybody was Of luncheon
downstairs ! hurried into the dressing
room, broke open a small desk in a corner,
found big bunch Of jewelry Of all sorts,
jammed 1t into my pockets and then ran out
of that house like the devil was after me.
Nobody saw me 60, though, and the job was
dead easy"
kadra will serve out his six months
term in the reformatory and will be re-