Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-08-01
FIRST PLAN TO
KILL A FAILURE
RosenthaI Was to be Slain
Dining With Wife.

Lieutenant Charles Becker ordered bis
graft collector, Jack Rose, to go and
get Rosenthal, he's lived too long" he
should have added, according to the
confession Of Rose, the words gust ter
days too long," for Rose and Br1dg1e
Weber, continuing their disclosures te
District Attorney Whitman, swore thai
an unsuccessful effort to murder Ro
seminal had been made ten days before
the crime actually WAS committed.
The informers agreed that there was
no way to figure just how much Beck
er and others obtained annually IN
their general blackmailing operations
Rose said that the cash that went to
Becker was only a part Of the police
rakeof and that Becker distributed
between $4,000, 600 and 100000 a
year among his particular hackers
two inspectors and a minor official not
in uniform.
district attorney that the total profits
of the graft game In the whole city
would astonish anybody If the figures
could be obtained. He insisted that
most of the money that Becker raked
in came from above Fourteenth
street In Manhattan alone, and that
the cleanup from all the boroughs
would u into many millions.
Convinced that all hope of assistance
from policemen or politicians had van
ished, the three whose confessions
brought about the Indictment and I'M
prisonment Of Lieutenant Becker for
murder told the district attorney that
the lieutenant not only drove them to
the crime, but that he forced Bridgie
Weber to pay for 1t. A few minutes
after Rosenthal was killed Weber,
threatened by Becker, gave Rose
$1,000 In large bills. Rose turned the
blood money over to Sam Schepps.
And schepps handed 1t to "Gyp the
Blood" and Lefty Louis OF the Sew
enth avenue side of the Times build
ing on the Tuesday afternoon after
the killing.
First PiaK. Of Murder Fails.
They revealed also a story which
had never been limited at. Ten days
before the murder an attempt vas
made to kill Herman Rosenthal while
he sat at dinner with his wife In the
Garden restaurant at Seventh avenue
and Fiftieth street. But they lost
their nerve because one of the thugs
with them said he had seen a Burns
mar following them. So they sneaked
back to Becker and told him that the
job had failed. Becker, says Rose
and Weber, damned them for cow
ardly rats and said he would have to
do the job alone.
The district attorney has obtained a
partial confederation of the confess
sions that trapped Becker. He has
found two witnesses who saw Becker
talking to Rose and Weber outside of
the Murray Hill baths shortly after
Rosenthal was shot down. Mr.. Whit
man has found other witnesses whom
he will use to strengthen the stories
told by the three accomplices.
Perhaps the most distinct advance
that was made was Sam Schepps' Of
fer to surrender to the district attorney
and to tell the truth about the murder.
Mr.. Whitman expects Schepp late to-
day. He made no bargain with Schepps'
lawyer. He said merely that he was
buying nothing in advance and that
Schepps would have to take his chance
with the rest Of them. II his story
rings true and Is Of material advan-
tage Mr.. Whitman will do what he car
for him. The value of Schepps will be
IN corroborating the accusations against
Lieutenant Becker.
The long interview that Mr.. Whit
mar had with Rose, Weber and Val
Ion in the west side court prison intro
duced significantly the name Of Jack
Sullivan, the former newsboy, who is
Il of those now held for murder. Mr.,
Whitman learned that Sullivan had
been going about uptown and down
telling gamblers and policemen that
the district attorney was In on the
graft" The informers still further in
volved Sullivan In the new details
they furnished as to the arrangements
for killing Rosenthal.
Whitman Meets Prisoners.
MI. Whitman went to the west side
court prison and sat down for a long
chat with the three prisoners for the
particular purpose Of getting more evil
dence about the murder plot and it.
contamination. Most Of the questions
he put to Rose, Vallon and Weber
concerned their conferences with Lieu
tenant Becker. The district attorney
wanted first to get all Of the murder
evidence possible before going into The
involved matter Of police graft. HI
found the three cheerful and willing t
talk. Rose furnished most Of the in
formation. Mr.. Whitman was sur
prised at the apparently farreachini
and accurate memory of Rose. TIL,
bald man was seldom at a loss To-
figures and dates and times. Occasion
ally he got into 4 sQuabble with Bridge
Weber over some detail or other, ant
the pair argued 1t out while Mr.. Whit
man watched them interestedly. Inva
riably Rose convinced Weber that tn
latter was mistaken. The days tnfor
nation was brought out slowly an{
oF+or nor~i-fout ond 70 roful Ol1oAt1OD