The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-08-01
PLANNED TO KILL
ROSENTHAL ON
JULY SIX
Gangmen Hired to Shoot Gamb-
Ter at Garden Restaurant
THUGS LOST THEIR NERVE
Police Lieutenant Becker Further
Implicated BY Confessions OF
Weber and Rose.
THUGS LOST THEIR NERVE

Charles Becker, head OF the strong
arm" squad of gambling raiders, who
is charged with instigating the muir
der of Hermon Rosenthal, was last
night further implicated in the plot
to get rid of the gamblers when Bald
Jack" Rose and Bridge" Weber ad-
ded another chapter to their already
amazing allegations. They told Dis
trict Attorney Whitman that Rosen-
than was to have been killed at the
instigation of Becker 10 days before
he actually met his fate, and that the
plot failed because the underworld
thugs selected to do the murder lost
their nerve at the last moment.
The pilot hiatt failed" was to have
been brought to its climax at the
Garden restaurant on Fiftieth street
on Saturday night, July 6. when Ros-
enthal and his wife were dining
according to the account given by
Rose as spokesman for the two gamb-
lers Rose himself engineered the
lob" and brought to the restaurant
"a fleet of thugs who were TO do the
actual shooting, according to Rose.
Two of the hired assassins were
"Gyp the Blood" and Lefty Louis,
who are wanted by the police as two
of the men who actually shot Rosen-
than 10 days later in front of the
Hotel Metropole. Becker at that
time was down town, Rose said wait
ing for the murder plot to be consum-
mated
Becker had talked with me every
day" Rose said He kept saying to
me, Why don't you kill this fellow
OFF, Rosenthal would have been
killed off that night if the bunch.
hadn't lost their nerve. They got the
notion after they reached the restau-
rant that detective was on to them.
After giving up the assassination we
went to Bridge Webber's place and
there we met Becker. He denounced
us all up and down. You are all
lot of towards, he said. III have TO
do il myself
Although Becker, still in the
Tombs, has thus far refused to make
any statement other than that he is
innocent and that his plight is the
result of a "frame-up' on the part of
his enemies in the gambling fraterni-
ty, Rose predicted to the district at
torney yesterday that the police lieu
tenant would eventually break down
and tell all he knew,
The district attorney expressed con
fldence last night that if Becker
would talk frankly his evidence
would open the door to the larger
phase oft he Rosenthal case, namely,
the general extent of the police graft
system, in which Rose has declared
several high police officials are in
volved
Bridge" Weber told the district
attorney yesterday that his own pay.
ment to Becker for police protection
of his gambling house was 5000 a
month. but that this rate was small
compared with the sums levied on
larger establishments He and Rose
both said that in Manhattan alone
there were probably 100 gambling
houses, paying tribute TO the police,
and that the sum total of $2.4O0,000
paid annually was conservative
figure Weber incidentally said yes
terday that Becker was present when
the money was produced which went
to the thugs hired to kill Rosenthal.
Soon after the murder, he said, Beck
er met Rose and Webber in front of
the Murray Hill baths and said
Now Bridge, you will have to give
those boys some money to get out of
town. I'll fix it up with you later.
Weber said that he then handed
$1,000 in large bills to Rose. who later
transferred it to Sam Schepps, and
on that afternoon Schepps gave il to
"Gyp the Blood" and Lefty Louise in
front of the Times building. In cor
roboration of this statement by Web
Der, the district attorney has the
names of two Witnesses. one a wo-
man, who. he said. would testify that
they saw Weber and Rose talking to
Becker in front of the Murray Hill
baths soon after the murder.
big Jack Zelig. to whom Rose
says he sent word to get the men to
STAY Rosenthal, will appear when
wanted. His counesl has told the
public prosecutor that Zelig would
tell everything he knew of the case.
Zelig is now out on $4,000 bail for
carrying concealed weapons. The
alleged actual assassins of Rosenthal
Harry Horowitz, OF "Gyp the Blood, "
Lefty Louis" and Witty" Louis, are
still at large. "Dago Frank" Cirofci