The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-08-01
Prominent Employees Of North
western Road Arrested on q
Charge of Robberies
JIMMY RIFT ADMITS CRIME
Widely Known Conductor Alleged to
Have Been One of the Leaders of
Gang Which Had Been
Robbings the Company

Police force and Detectives II. S.
Greene, A. Goodman and w. ].
Stewart of.the Chicago and North
western Railway detective force, made
a great round up of railway thieves in
Kenosha early this morning and as
result several men who have been
widely known as employees of the
Railway Company are under arrest
charged with grand larceny. The
men under arrest include:
Charles RIFT, 20 9th. street, Nil
waukee, a conductor in the employ of
| the company for more than fifteen
years and widely known among rail-
way men as 'Jimmy Ritz.
Walter Lyons, brakeman, 341 Bar
clay street, Milwaukee, an employ Of
the company for ten years.
Adolph Moe, brakeman, 364H
Florida street, Milwaukee, also long
time employe of the road
! Peter Bub, brakeman, Milwaukee,
declined to give his address.
| Warrants have been issued for three
other men who are members of
| freight crews on the road and before
the police and detectives complete
| their work it is expected that no less
than fifteen of the best known en-
| ployes of the company will be in the
Kenosha county jail.
It is the most sensational round up
of car thieves made in this neighbor-
hood IN score of years, and by the
arrests today the detectives of the
company declare that they have
broken up gang of thieves that have
robbed the company and shippers of
thousands of dollars worth of mer-
chandise during the past year and a
half.
| Emmett 0. Reed, saloonkeeper at
Bassett's Station, was brought to the
city to give evidence against the men,
as he had purchased a portion of the
stolen property. He will not, how
ever, be arrested. A student brake
man who was on the train when the
me mbers of the crew were arrested
was taken into custody, but he was
discharged this afternoon. Detectives
| have been sent in all directions from
kenosha, some as far west as Omaha,
and it is expected that half dozen
arrests will be made between now and
tomorrow night.
| For months the Northwestern de-
tectlves have been baf1led by the rob-
| berries of the merchandise cars be-
tween Milwaukee and Harvard, ILL.,
The trains have been. watched at
varions places, but no trace of the
| robbers was secured In the city of
Milwaukee it is claimed that thous-
ands of dollars worth of goods disap-
peared, but Ritt and the members of
his crew had been IL the EN- p1oy of
the company for SO many years that
they were not suspected.
On July 20, a barrel Of whiskey dis
appeared from the way freight and
District Attorney Baker, who was
asked to take up the matter, discov-
cred that the whiskey had been sold
at Bassetts Station and with this clue
from the district attorney the detec-
tives started work anew. Detectives
Green, Stewart and Goodman came to
kenosha on Monday and Tuesday
night warrants were issued for Ritz
and the members of his crew.
Ritz and the crew came in from
Rockford last night and it is alleged
that the men had no warning of their
impending arrest. 1t is claimed that
they had stolen three bags Of sugar
from the cars at Belvidere, but had
not disposed of it and had it hidden
| until the return trip. When the train
reached Kenosha it was boarded by
Chief O'Hare, Assistant Newhouse
and the detectives. Ritz and Moe
were taken into custody and a wire
was sent to Milwaukee to arrest Lyons
who was at his home there. Lyons
was brought to Kenosha this morning.
The men were not booked at the police
oft1ce but were taken to the office Of
the district attorney where they were
questioned in regard to the case.
Both Ritz and Moe made statements
practically admitting their guilt and
these statements were reduced to
writing. None of the men was taken
to Jail until after the preliminary
hearing this afternoon.
The men had unique way of work
ing. It is claimed that most of the
merchandise stolen by them was dis
posed Of to customers in the smaller
towns along the right Of way. They
managed to steal everything possible
from pairs of shoes to whiskey and
groceries. Their mode of working
was simple. When the train stopped
at place for water the members of
the crew would unsea1 merchandise
cars and take out such articles as /
they had market for in the town,
and they would be delivered to pur-
chasers while the engineer and fire.
man we're busy taking water. It is
possible that the purchasers did not
know that the stuff was stolen, bur
the District Attorney has been given
long list of names of men in Mil
waukee and smaller cities who Dur. |