New-York tribune., 1912-04-02
Brooklyn Produce Merchant VIC
tim of Mysterious HoId.Up
in Broad Daylight in
Busy Section.
THIEVES MAKE $1,000 HAUL
Victim Was on His Way to Bank
When Two Men Attacked
Him-Tells of Trip in
Wagon and Fall
Through Space.

hours-this was the experience n Brook
lyn man had yesterday The robbery
occurred In the district rear the Bush
Terminal in broad daylGt-in fact, at
the noon hour, when tn. streets were
crowded with people anC wagons. hur-
rying to complete their t.sks before tho
noon whistle blew. Whee the man was
taken befors he was dDpped into the
ravine he does not know for the entire
affair is closely wrapped n mystery.
He is Robert H. Cooper. thirty-two
years old, a Wholesale Jroduce dealer.
with a place of business at the Bush
docks. at 41th street. South BROOKLYN.
He lives with his wife and child At No.
566 Decatur street. Mr.. Cooper is
successful business man. and 1t is evil
dent that the bandits who attacked him
knew of his prosperity.
He received telephone message
shortly before noon yesterday purpqt-
ing to be from one of his customers on
Second avenue.
III you'll drop in while you are on
your way to the bank I'll pay you that
bill. and it will save me the trouble OF
coming around there" the message ran
Mr.. Cooper was on his way To tie
Flatbush Branch of the Corn Exchange
Bank, with $1,000 in bills and checks m
his inside pocket. and thought he might
as we'll stop for the payment and deposit
II with the other money
He wound his way in and out among
the wagons and people. his thoughts bent
on his business. At the corner Of 4ith
street and Second avenue he looked up
sharply, for two men were right in front
of him. Before he could say anything
one of them struck him in the chest. he
thinks with n piece OF lead pipe. for he
lapsed into Inconsistencies
When he recovered consciousness he
found himself fat on his back. trussed
and gagged There was "A cloth over his
face that half shaded his eyes He heard
a number OF voices, and then he heard
a man say:
Il don't think he'll come to soon"
NO. hit him an awful wallop." said
another voice.
Carried Away in Wagon.
Mr.. Cooper kept his eyes closed Fcar-
ing the worst, he still feigncd uncon-
sciousness The conversation continued
a few minutes. and then a cloth was
bound tightly over his eyes. He f"lt
nd
tance and then laid down again. He
could tell by the creak Of wheels and
the stamp OF horses feet that he was
I'm wagon. The men mounted the sea-.
One threw heavy blanket over the re-
cumbent form on the floor OF the wagon.
Mr.. Cooper was almost stihel. All his
FONTS were stiff and sore and the gag
in his mouth pained him fearfully. on
the wagon ratified and every time the
wheels struck an obstruction the man
was jolted and bruised against the
hard boards.
At last the vehicle stopped. Mr.
Cooper felt himself lifted out again. One
man took his feet. the other his head.
suddenly, with shock Of horror. he felt
himself falling.
Il fell and fell, and fell. thought
I would never stop falling. Oh. God, 1t
was terriblc." he said to the detectives at
the Fort Hamilton station last night.
1t was after p. m. when Dennis Ma
honey. of No. 366 69th street. was cross
ing the bridge over the Long Island Rail-
roads 40 foot cut at Fifth avenue and
s7th street. He heard a man moaning.
stopped to listen, and then climbed down
the steep sides At the bottom he found
Mr.. Cooper, still bound and gagged.
Fortunately the only trains that pass
along are freights, and there are few or
these. The victim was found about one
hundred feet west of the bridge and IT
is thought he must have rolled this dis
tance in his struggles.
Mahoney got two other men and they
helped Mr.. Cooper out OF the cut He
WAS in "A pitiable condition when the
patrol wagon came and took him TO the
Fort Hamilton station, where DR.. Car
ter. of the Norwegian Hospital, patched
no his bruises and cuts. AS soon as he
had revived sufficiently Detective Lieu
tenant Thomas Fay and squad Of
men began to question him. His brother,
Hedley Cooper, who is studying for the
ministry and Is In charge OF church
at Greenwood Lake. Long Island, ar
rived and helped to care for the Injured
man.