The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-04-04
STOLEN SCENTS RECOVERED
SfJ.OOO WORTH RETURNED To
PARK & TIIFORD.
Custom House Tackled the Thefts on q
Theory That some ono Was SNUG.
Cling and Found the Goods In . Ware.
house AUCTION Room Gave First clue.

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The rooms at the Custom House Of
Surveyor Henry and his assistant. Special
Deputy Surveyor George j. Smyth were
redolent last evening of perfumes that are
seldom inhaled on the waterfront. Ex-
perts Of Park 4 Tilford were putting back
into barrels and boxes and trunks about
SIS, 900 wort h of imported scents on which
Park 4 Tilford had paid duty and which
really did not legitimately belong in the
Custom House, hut had been stolen from
, the firm and recovered. A few little
bottles had been opened and they were
enough to scent the Custom House from
basement to attic and make the scrub
women feel as il they were working for
one OF those multimillionaires. as in fact
they are.
Before the four barrels. six boxes and
two trunks full OF bottles of perfumes
were removed on a wagon from the
Custom House at O'Clock last evening
NJ. II. Aschner. special detective for Park
4 Tilford. told how with the assistance OF
the customs men he had corralled the
stolen goods. He was made special
agent by Surveyor Henry to act with
Customs Inspectors W. p. Murphy and }.
| W. Roberts. assigned from the stan OF
Deputv Surveyor Raczkiewicz.
The first impression of the Surveyors
Office and of Park 4 Tilford when the firm
, discovered that perfumes for which it
had the sole selling rights were being
! sold by others was that somebody
was smuggling the perfumes. Later they
| found that they had been stolen from
Park i Tilford week after week in large
and small quantities since last August.
Aschner and the customs men traced
some of the perfumery 10 an auction
house in Williamsburg BY buying SOS
worth Of jewelry from the auctloneer
Aschner got into his good graces and
learned that he had bought the per-
fumery from boy who worked at Il
soda fountain in Broad street The
boy said he had got it from curbstone
broker. Jesse Ulnick. and pointed him
out to Aschner. The broker had gone TO
a firm on the seventh floor Of rs Broad
street and deposited thirty small bottles
with them, receiving as loan on the
goods $50.
The broker was taken before Surveyor
Henry. Mr. Smyth and MIR Raczkiewicz.
He said he had bought the stun from
his uncle. Joseph Matlasly Of East
liAth street MatlAsky said he had
obtained the perfumery from pedler
on the East Side He seemed willing
a, first 10 tell what he knew, but finally
declared that he would say nothing until
he had consulted a lawyer
Meanwhile Aschner and the customs
men had pumped Matlasky's wife, who
implicated Percy ". Shields of 223 West
Eighteenth street Shields was arrested
He confessed on Saturday that he had
taken from Park 4 Tilford's for Adolph
Prickens. formerly an assistant manager
there, who had the keys TO the deposit
tory for the perfumeries. large guam
titles of bottles in grips, and that his
average was between SIS and 500 worth
day. Much OF the perfumery found
it's way into drug stores on the East Side
Some went to the house OF woman
friend Of Prickens, The customs men
seized at this house large quantity
including one little bottle valued at S2l.75
The gripfuls came SO swiftly from
Park 4 Tiiford's that .he thieves could
not dispose Of them fast enough and they
were pack ed in trunks and barrels and
slowed away in the Virginia warehouse
in Seventh avenue. That is where the
customs folk got them. TAX ing them
down to the Custom House. The find
was so rich and the costly little bottles
40 portable that it was deemed necessary
to eep them under constant surveillance
and they were put in the private room OF
the Surveyor. When the United States
Attorney and the Surveyor had talk ed
over the subject they decided that the
Government had no claim on the per-
fumery Wherefore all the experts OF
Park & Tilford were down in the Custom
House yesterday identifying by smell
and label and otherwise the particular
goods Of the Arm.
1t was said that the lot was about only
half what had been stolen. Six dealers
in perfumery will be subp9naed to-day
to tell why they bought the Park Tilford
brand Of goods. Prick ems sailed for
Europe on March 10 by the Hamburg
American liner kaiserin Auguste Victoria
Sleuths are on his trail.