The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-10-07
Nathan Gruber, Wealthy
Grocer, Must Give Bail
for Examination.
HIS ARREST SEQUEL TO
THE SAM HARRIS CASE
Charged With Conspiring to Kill
Horses Belonging to His
BrOther-in=Law.

AS the astounding sequel to the arrest
of Sam Harris, alias John Miller, alias
SLEEPY John" self-confessed yeggman
and escaped convict, on the charge of
poisoning six horses belonging to Ma
SO Vincent street. Nathan Gruber, of 116
Chapel street, Zemels brother-in-law
and bitter business rival, was held in
$4,000 bail in the Third Precinct Court
today for examination next Wednesday.
Gruber is charged with conspiring to
poison Zemers horses, and, according
to the detectives who have had the case
in charge, the net of circunstantial evi-
dence which has been woven about
Harris enmeshes with bonds equally
strong the wealthy grocer and charcoal
dealer. 1t is said Gruber is worth $780,
900. He was arrested last night by
Plainclothesmen Brex and Adubato, Of
the Third Precinct station. He fur
nished the $4,000 bail required of him
today.
The feud between the families Of
Zen1elsa and Gruber began two years ago,
u,ben flr,,har aIready, ,ve.lt,y antarad
INC charcoal dlstrihution field in which
zemel had for MANY wears exercised
nracticallv mononolv II has been
tanned h, rourt actions recriminations
and private quarrels.
II will be remembered that Sam Har-
ris who was wanted for a long time w
the police of Manhattan after he had
escaned from n New York prison. was
arrested by Brex and Adubato the day
after six of Zemel's horses dropped
dead in yarious parts of the city.
Veterinarians found that the horses
died of arsenic poisoning. Harris was
identified by n Ferry street druggist as
the man who two days before the
horses were poisoned bought a pound
of arsenic. According to this druggist,
Harris said he wanted the poison to
kill rats about Grubers stable A ply
sican who happened to be in the drug
store at the time also identified Harris
after his arrest as the man who bought
the arsenic and corroborated the testi-
mony of the druggist concerning the
use of Gruber's name.
Harris was also identified as the man
who asked for employment at Zemers
house the day before the horses died.
He gave at that time the name Harry
Derkman and the address So Boyd
street. Singularly enough, Zemel, after
his horses We're dead. needing extra
men to tell his customers of his plight,
sent to Boyd street for "Derkman."
The man was not known at that adj
dress. Zemel saw Harris again for the
first time after his arrest.
When Brex and Adubato found Har-
ris after a search for him, he was, they
declare, at a table in saloon in Chapel
street with Nathan Gruber. and the
latter's nephew. Solomon Gruber. The
detectives have witnesses, they say,
who will testify that before the detec-
tives entered the saloon, Gruber Offered
Harris three $40 bills with the remark:
Here's $50 for six" and that Harris re-
piled. II don't want that, I want the
$50" 1t Is said that Gruber replied,
i've been to school, can count. You
didn't finish the job"
Harris, since his arrest, has stoutly
maintained his innocence so far as tha
noisoning of the horses is concerned,
insisting he was not that sort of q
crook. He said he came to Newark to
rob Zemels safe and that a mental dias
gram of the Zemel house had been fur
nished him by an accomplice He gave
the nolice this diagram from memory,
but refused 10 make known the mama
M the accomnlice Now by a strange
coinciaence according to the police.
C,rIber called up the Third Precinct
no,ice station two weeks before the
H.. tIa ,,os told Prey was on his