The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-03
TWO POLICEMEN m TRAPS.
= VT1S gD ~ sEIIINa PROs
8DfIOV m PRFFENDfNa 70


W. NfFFNFN ~ v NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 'F'""F
t,..t r,iicr Commissioner Msthos
r.r' slrvvea and NJ hat, ran down
uru.r.y s,ter' irrm 10 orpUal,e Head.
,r... Of q o'clorh Yesterday aftefhoun,
r..us .,.p theft NJ the top ~ HE voiee
.,I .nesina n hatirsa polltrman. A..
...t. %Ir4trirt Attorney Murphy AMI two
..,r ,rra men, al tho Pnlic~ Head
..,rr.. reporters but one and iso mlece'.
,..u.. .,,. opa foilnwcd The cIaae ven,
I'd. ,.a nl,.,ker street subway station.
r.r. .nd aidc. down the stairs and
...r,,.I ,n rhe northernmopt corner ~ the
.D,..,r uherr Mr. Mathot caught him.
.,r,rt.nr IN the ~ise ~ the platform and
,.uur 's lump
4 .p.cd him from the third RAFT said
VIZ N,hot
Tho ruIccman was John ! Bryan Of the
charles .,rcct station, with a gold star m
~. .I.c,c ~ token NJ honorable mention.
The reporter who did not chase him was
Charlie. K Price II the Daily News. Both
sro locked M at Police Headquarters on
charge. of attempted bribery and extortion.
The arrests we're engineered by Mr. Mathot
and Mr.. Murphy on information furnished
ny Patrolman James A. Donoghue Of the
West tooth street station.
Commissioner Mathot says for some
time Price has been giving out that he had
private interviews with both Mathot and
commissioner Bingham and that he could
make or break" a cop; further, that Price
has received money more than once from
patrolmen on the understanding that he
would use his influence in their behalf.
II was impossible, however. according to
Mr.. Mathot, to get evidence against Price.
Several days ago Mr.. Mathot says Dom
oghue came to see him. Donoghue said
his CAPTAIN had sent him. Donoghue, who
is on the list for promotion, said Price had
approached him and said that he had in"
fuence with both Mathot and Bingham,
and for 5000 would see that Donoghue was
made a roundsman. Price also said, &C
cording to Donoghue, that IL would be
da ,erous for q reporter to enter into such
atransaction with an officer direct, but that
Donoghue could deliver the money to
Patrolman Bryan and whatever Bryan
agreed to would be all right for him"
Donoghue reported the proposition to his
CAPTAIN and was sent down to Police Head
quarters.
Mr.. Mathot Immediately got into oom-
munication with the District Attorney and
it was arranged that Donoghue should
be used as q stool pigeon. Yesterday FORE
noon Mr.. Mathot drew four f~fty-dollar
bills from his own bank deposit, marked
them in the presence Of Mr.. Murphy and
OF Commissioner Bingham and turned
them over to Donoghue.
The patrolman had arranged with Price
to hand over the money at 8 O'Clock yes
terday afternoon in the cigar store on the
northeast corner Of Houston and Mulberry
streets, two doors from. Police Headquar-
tiers. On account Of the police parade,
Price and Bryan said; there would be no.
body around Headquarters at that time In
the afternoon.
At 8 o'clock Donoghue was at the des-
ignated corner with the money. Mathot
and Murphy were in the room OF Deputy
Commissioner Waldo on the first floor OF
Headquarters looking out of the window.
Bryan came along and Donoghue says he
gave Bryan the $500. Then Bryan crossed
the street to the headquarters Office of the
Daily Neus and disappeared up the stairs.
Mr.. Mathot says he could see the men
through the windows, and saw Bryan reach
into his pocket and hand something to
Price. Without waiting to see more,
Mathot and Murphy, accompanied by In
spector Smith and a couple OF plain clothes
men beat it out of Headquarters and across
the street. Mr.. Mathot was the first to
break into Prices room. AS he went
through the door, he says he saw Price
throw something under a covered table
which stood by a bed. At the same in
slant Bryan bolted out the door and, &C
cording to those who took part in the fray,
didn't touch a step in the fight Of stairs
which leads to the ground floor. Inspector
Smith stayed behind to take care Of Price
and to look under the table, where he found
two Of the marked $50 bills.
Just as Mathot caught Bryan in the
subway station he saw Bryan throw some
thing out onto the track, which proved
later to be another Of the marked $50 bills.
Where the fourth went to, Opponents saw
not. Mr.. Mathot puts it down to profit
and loss. Thinking that the policeman
was going to jump on the track and make
for Aston place a subway porter hurried
over from the ~southbound side and put q
red light on the north local track.
The commissioner and his prisoner made
their way through the crowd and back
to Headquarters, where Inspector Smith
had already arrived with Price.
Price told Mathot, according to the COM
missioner, that he didn't have the money
on him
"No, but 1t was under your bed, and it
was my marked money, too replied the
commissioner. Bryan made q similar pro-
test.
Did either Price or Bryan max any
confessionP' the commissioner was asked
after he and Mr.. Murphy had been closeted
with the prisoners,
Mr.. Mathot put his finger on his lips and
refused to tell. His aim and that Of the
District Attorney is to attempt to find the
man higher up II there is one whose
support has enabled Price to swing his
bluff. He has not been allowed to enter
commissioner Bingham's office since Feb
ruary or Mr.. Mathot's for some time.
Price and Bryan will be arraigned in the
Iombs police court this morning.
MARKED MONEY ON THIS ONE, TOO.