The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-04-08
SEnTUPFOR EIGHTEEN MONTHS
Man After He Had Pleaded to Arson
Charge Insists He Was Only Tool in
the Hand of Another Man Who Plan
ned to Burn up Crushing Plant.

Notwithstanding the fact that he left
today to begin the service of year
and half at hard labor in the state
prison following a plea of guilty.
to charges of arson, Sam Czerniak, Ke-
nosha Russian, still sticks to his story
that another man helped him in his eff
fort to burn the plant of the Richard
Jellier Stone Crushing on last Wednes-
day night. Czerniak was brought be-
fore Judge Randall for his final hear
ing late Wednesday afternoon and he
entered plea Of guilty to Information
charging him with arson. He was not
overly talkative, but he insisted vehe-
mently that the story which he had
told at the time he made confession
to the chief Of police and the sheriff
was true and this included the story
OF the "other man.
Czerniak with a great deal of earn
estness protested to the court that he
had not planned the attempt to burn
down the plant, but that he had simply
acted on the orders of the other man
who had carefully worked out the de-
tails. Czerniak detailed conversations
which he had with the alleged second
party in the deal and asserts that these
conversations took place in west side
saloon. He still held that the other
man had given him the money with
which the kerosene was purchased and
that the other man had applied the
match. after he had poured on the oil.
The story of the self confessed fire
bug has been carefully examined by
District Attorney Drury and by the po-
lice officers and the sheriff, but they
have been unable to find any one who
saw any man with Czerniak on the
night that the attempt was made to
burn the building. The self confessed
fire bug seemed to be entirely sane and
was entirely sober when he told his
story to the judge and other court of
fcials on Wednesday
IT believe that this fellow has
fertile imagination, said Judge Ran
dali. He has imagined that the other
man had a part in the crime and he
has worked out the details so perfect
~ in his own mind that he has come to
believe the story. Even after he had
been sentenced to prison he declined to
change the story in even the minutest
detail and insisted to the last that it
was true. =
Sheriff Stah1 thinks that it is inst
possible that there was another man
connected with the plot to burn the
factory, but this idea is not shared
by Richard Jellier, the owner of the
plant. He asserts that he knows of no
one who would have been interested in
the crime. Czerniak had been former
" employed at the plant and had been
discharged for incompetency and ever
since he was discharged he had been
sore at Jellier. He had been seen about
the plant several times but on these
occasions he had made no threats to
burn the plant. Czerniak was taken to
prison today, but the police have not
given up the investigation of his story
and ever possible effort will be made
to find the identity Of the other man.
Czerniak insisted that he had refused
to give his name to the officials for the
simple reason that he did not know it.
He declared that the man had appear
ed to take a friendly interest in him
and that for this reasn he had gone in
to the plot to burn the stone crushing
nlant