New-York tribune., 1912-02-06
MAY GET GANGS CHIEF
Head of Horse PoiSoners Killed
/. BIumenthaI, Police Say.
HIS ARREST is EXPECTED
supt. Freel, of Animal Society,
Tells How East Side Black
mailing Originated.

The police expect to arrest soon the slay-
ors of Louis Blumenthal. a horseshoer,
hot and killed Sunday week in Harris
yitkin's livery stable, Nos. 1876 and 1S7
division street.
The man who actually did the shoting
according TO the police, is the head of the
horse poisoners of the East Side, whose
onmity Blumenthal had incurred, He has
a criminal record. having served time for
horse stealing. His accomplice. who stood
nv 10 be ready to give what assistance
might be necessary, fed with the murderer
,o the tenement house at No. IL Ludlow
street. There all trace of the pair was
lost.
AT a public meeting Of protest, held in
Clinton Hall Sunday night under the aus
plces of the Mineral Workers Union,
Local No. 12,674, Samuel Libowitz and other
speakers openly charged the horse poison
ers with the murder of Blumenthal. Libo-
witz declared that his own life had been
threatened by the gang, and that price
of 500 had been set upon his head.
He said the gang had a graduated scale
OF prices. at which they hired out their SER
vices. AS he gave them, they were: Steal
ing a horse and rig, $25: poisoning horse,
SIS; poisoning team of horses, $50; beat
ing a man so as to send him to ahospital.
$50: shooting a man, $780, and $500 for TAX
ing q life.
The figures referring to horse stealing
horse poisoning and assaults were correct
according to the reports on file at the
offices of the American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
More than two thousand work horses
are poisoned annually in this city by this
gang" said Agent Misick. of the society.
THE poison used is arsenic, which the
gang purchases at two drug stores. The
price for the arsenic is 81 a pound. and
they can buy an unlimited supply of it,
Work horses at the present time are
worth from 500 to S50Y0 each. This would
bring the total money loss caused by the
gang in horses alone each year to between
$4,000 and s1,0OO.OoO.
I'VE began an active campaign against
these horse poisoners In l90S' said Super
intendent Thomas F. Freel, of the Ameri-
can Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
TO Animals, last night. and in, the last two
years have brought about seventeen ar
rests in Manhattan alone. OF this number
seven were convicted and sentenced to
prison.
These horse poisoners have been black.
mailing and extorting money from East
Side horse owners since the early sos.
These crimes originated in business rival
ry ut the blackmailers have ramiticatiOns
in every part Of the city.
In time band of professional horse
poisoners came into existence, with a regu-
lar market price for their services.
"The business people fell prey TO these
criminals, and soon the gang branched out
in the field of blackmail and extortion on
their own account.
THE gang generally signs blackmailing
letters: Arsenic Club of America and the
usual demand is from S400 10 81, 900. They
generally compromise for $3.50 to 500,
which the victims pay over willingly TO
member Of the gang direct or to a go-be-
tween.
When the victims refuse to pay the
blackmail their horses are poisoned. One
Of the men arrested in 1910, George
Foersch, alias George the First, King of
the Horse Poisoners, recently jumped his
bail for $4,000.
while another horse poisoner was in
Raymond street Jail, in Brooklyn. awaiting
trial, the gang got up a benefit for him.
They told the East Side business men the
money was to be used to get him out. He
is now out. I"
Mr.. Freel then showed an anonymous
letter sent by the gang to witnesses for
the prosecution in horse poisoning case
after they had first assaulted one witness
with brass knuckles:
II you care for your lives you must drop
the cases against us. You are fools, and
you ought to know you can't beat us. II
you don't drop this case we will stretch
you out. You have got to come to our
side.
-Four weeks ago the trucking firm of
Cohan, Rich & Cohen, Nos. IL and 16 Ham
ilton Place, received letter demanding
500 When it wasn't paid, seven horses, at
a total value of $500, were poisoned. De-
tectives De Cantillon, Landers and DaWlor
arrested a man who said he was David
Cohen, who is now awaiting trial on a
charge Of having poisoned one OF the