New-York tribune., 1912-01-29
WITNESS IN BLACKMAIL
CASE IS SHOT DEAD
Had Tried to Run Down Gang
of Horse PoiSonerS, Who
Retorted with Bomb.
SLAYER QUICKLY ESCAPES
Shoots Man Who Tries to Stop
Him-Crowd Tries to Mob
Stable in Which Horse
shoer Is Slain.

SuOCl 10 AOlulus
The blackmailing methods Of the gang
which began working livery stable keep
ers along the East Side several weeks
ago. one Of whose alleged members
Charles VituSky, has been in the TombS
for the last month, awaiting trial on a
charge Of extortion, shifted suddenly last
night from horse poisoning and bomb
throwing to murder. Louis Blumenthal.
a horseshoer, who had been on the trall
Of the gang since early in December and
who was to appear in General Sessions
to-day to prosecute the case against
Vitusky, was shot and instantly killed
while he was standing in the Office of
the livery stable of H. Whitkin, at Nos.
135 and 1871 Division street, early last
evening
For several days Blumenthal had
known that his life was in danger, al
though he was not looking for the at
tack of the short dark k-compleXioned
man who stuck his head in at the livery
Ctice door last night. Blumenthal had
strolled over to the stable after supper,
where he met four or five men he knew,
and sat down to talk a while before he
went back to his home, at No. 2jO Madi-
son street, to spend the evening with
his wife. The coming trial of Vitusky
to-day was being discussed, and Blumen-
thai was walking around the office talk
ing, when the door behind him flew open,
the head and shoulders of man ap-
peared, and a raised revolver flashed
twice within a foot of Blumenthals s
back. The horseshoer fell Imply to the
floor with two bullets in his right side,
and died instantly
Three of Blumenthals friends who
we're in the office sprang over his body
and dashed out of the door after the
shooter. The man ran across to Lud-
low street, which is opposite, and on the
corner of the street encountered Abra-
ham Rosenzeweig. barber. Without
an instant's hesitation the man raised
his revolver, shattered Rosenzeweig' s
left elbow with one shot. and continued
running down Ludlow street. He dis
appeared before any of his pursuers
could get within a block of him
Patrolman Manning, of the Madison
street station, was about a block away
when the shooting occurred but by tho
time he had reached the corner the gun
man was out Of sight. The quickness
with which the man got away was in
dicated by the fact that when Detective
Farley and Lieutenant Murphy arrived
they found a crowd of excited people
busily engaged in trying to break into
the stable. under the impression that the
murderer had taken refuge inside. They
broke the office windows and had nearly
battered down one Of the stable doors
before the police could control them.
The murder of Blumenthal, the police
said. could be traced directly to the
horse poisoning cases. He was a horse
shoer, with a place Of business at No.
65 Rutgers Slip. Every day he heard
complaints from customers who had had
their horse poisoned by the gang, and
Bumenthal was much excited over the
matter. When the guerrillas set upon
his friend Witkin. the livery stable
hCCDtIt Ic uHlti llilltu " IpuDu up lHt
gang and started out slngle-handed to
bring them to justice.
His activities evidently annoyed the
blackmailers. and they instantly turned
their attention to him. He was ap-
preached by man who demanded $500
from him and who told him to cease
his amateur police work, or he would
regret IT. The horseshoer not only re-
fused to give up any money, but re-
newed his efforts TO get the poisoners
Then the first move was made against
him.
The Bomb Explosion.
On the morning of December 10 a
bomb was exploded in the hallway out
side of Blumenthars fiat, at No. 202
Henry street. No one was hurt, but .hc
escape was so narrow that Blumenthdl
decided not to allow his family to run
any further risks on his account, and
went TO live at No. 284 Madison street
Five hours after the bomb was set off
Detective Philip Murphy arrested a man
who was identified by the horseshoer as
the man who had threatened him and
had attempted TO extort money from him
This man was Vitusky, who was ar
raigned before city magistrate ans
held i'm $4,000 for trial
Since then Blumenthal had never wa
Vered in his determination to bring thi!
one man TO justice. The cautions o.
friends and the threats Of the gangster.
could not deter him from his course
and he was discussing with his friend
to-day's probable outcome in the cour
when death came. The police have prac
tically no clew on which To work, AM
the sole description of the man is tha
OF one of the loungers in the stable of
flee, who said he wore dark clothes an,
q little peak j cap that was pulled wei
down on his nose, so as to cover vi
eyes and the upper part of his face. Th
injured barber was carried home. Ii,
was not dangerously hurt. Blumenthal'
body lay in the morgue last night, an,
to-day an autopsy will be performed
upon it.
-D---