Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-02-28
DICTAGRAPH VOICE
BARES APLOT TO
SWINDLE RAILWAY
Public Service Secures
Indictment of
Six Men.
AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT
FRAME-UP IS CHARGE
Motorman, One of Accused,
Ran Car Full Tilt Into
Stalled Vehicle.

Orders for the arrest on grand jury
capiases of six men are in the hands
of the county prosecutors detectives,
and it is expected that all will be
behind the bars tonight The men
are Hugh. William and John Len
non, brothers, and Clinton Todd.
David ". Davis and Alfred Sutcliffe,
present or former employees of the
Public Service Railway Company.
Back of the Indictment. in which
the Public Service Railway Company
is the complainant, lies a tale of con-
spiracy that dates back TO the sum-
mer of 1911, and in 1t figures an au-
tomobile accident, followed by con-
ferences between the conspirators
afterward, in which several conver-
sations between them were recorded
by dictagraphs, and tale of de-
tective work done by the company
covering a period of eighteen months.
The amount of money the men
under Indictment expected to receive
is not large, probably not one-tenth
of the amount the railway company
spent to trap them; but so thoroughly
convinced was the company that
SNinute was D6l0S dlltl1pleu tHdl
money was no object.
The alleged conspiracy is said to
have started in the summer of 1911.
At that time Hugh and John Lennon
were the joint owners of an auto
mobile, and were on friendly terms
with the other men mentioned, meet
ing them frequently in saloon in
Passaic street. On the occasion, in
the summer of 1911, it is alleged,
William Lennon took party of
friends to Jersey City. On the return
trip there was some trouble with the
steering gear of the car, and it went
off the road into the meadows
Alleged Plot Takes shape.
Then and there, it is recorded, ac-
cording to converse tiohs erheaA I by
dictagraph later, a suggestion was
made that sometime the auto be
placed on the street car track and
wrecked and damages collected Later
the suggestion was frequently talked
over at the different meeting places
of the men, it is alleged, and a
"frame-up" was finally arranged.
Clinton Todd is motorman and at
that time was employed by the COM
pany on the Paterson line. Davis was
conductor and Sutcliffe had for
merly been one on the same line.
October I. 1911, was picked as the time
for the accident"
on that night Hugh and John Len
non took Davis and Suteliffe in the
car and drove to saloon on the Pat
erson line. There Davis and Sutclitfe
left the automobile, which went on to
q point on Franklin avenue, between
Yantacaw and Kingsland avenues.
Nutley, where it was stalled on the
tracks Just before the car on which
Todd was motorman was due to pass
the spot, which is very dark.
Davis and Sutcliffe had in the mean
time boarded Todd's car, in order to
be witnesses of the accident. and
after 1t happened gave their names to
the conductor, who was not party
to the frame up The spot selected
was near the Congregational Church
in Nutley and about 200 feet from the
spot Todd is alleged to have put full
speed on the trolley car and let 1t
drive full tilt into the stalled automo-
bile.
Didn't See Auto Until Too Late.
Todd. in his report of the accident
to the company, said the automobile
was diagonally across the track and
that he could not see 1t until just be-
fore the crash. After the crash John
Lennon was picked up from the
ground apparently injured and was
taken home where he remained six
weeks. He put in a bill of damages
amounting to $500 to the company,
but on the report of the companys
physician that he was not injured the
company refused to settle.
Then John Lennon brought suit
against the company for $1,000 and
this suit was settled by the company
in January. 1872 for S240, which it is
alleged was divided between the con
spirators.
shortly after this settlement the al
bged conspirators, it is said. became
bold enough to talk about how they
had framed up the railway com
panv and were going to do 1t again
on damage suit for the automobile
loss.
Detectives We're put on the tran OF
the suspected men by the company
They became acquainted with them
by frequenting the haunts of the men
and eventually succeeded in Installing
dctasraphs in three different places
The entire plot, it is said, was barred
and the company about ready to act
when one of the men suspected, who
had been suspended on another
charge, sought reinstatement. He was
told that before he could be REIN
stated the claim department desired
to see him, and when taken to that
office was confronted with the testi-
mony gathered against him and his
fellow conspirators by the detectives
and overheard dictagraph conversa-
tions,
This man then confessed and told
the whole tale before the grand jury,
who handed in true bill last Thurs
day afternoon against the men.
In the meantime Leonard Kalisch,
counsel for William Lennon, in whose
name the suit for damages for the
loss of the automobile had been
brought. had been pressing for an
early trial of the case all unknow-
ing that his client as well as his wit
nesses were under the fire of the
grand jury and in grave danger of
Indictment