New Britain herald., 1916-11-01
POLICE AND ROBBERS
 IN DESTINN HOME
Pillagers of Residence of Opera
 Singer Finally Captured

I1o4ilSA bo1 s io1 III CIlc udIh ldSI ] night in the big white stone house at | 94 Riverside Drive, which is the 1 home of Emmy Destinn, Metropoli- ! tan soprano, and Is furnished with her art treasures. The muffled re- 1 ports of revolvers from the darkened | house and the shrilling of police 1 whistles drew a crowd which could only imagine the scene inside where 1 fugit:ves and detectives fumbled amid 1 costly draperies and crunched heavy l footed on jewels that strewed the | floor.
 Three men were caught, two of | them with the assistance of Charles | M. Higgins manager of the Standard l Oil company, who lives next door, after they had jumped twenty-five | feet to the roof of an extension of ! Mr. Higgins house. The third man, wounded, was captured in the Destinn l home. With a double handful of 1 jewels, which if they were of the 1 stage variety were realistic enough to l dazzle policemen, the prisoners were l taken to the Fourth Branch Detective l bureau.
 l Police Seek Complainant. Until Mme. Destinn, who is in 1 termed in Austria, can return, it is I the mara uders had already disposed l of some of her treasurers during a 1 visit which neighbors believe lasted l at least twenty four hours. Having 1 captured the burglars, the police are 1 hunting for 8 complainant, as the l house has been vacant for months. 1 The prisoners gave their names as l Walter Page, twenty-five years old, of l 226 West Forty-seventh street John Webb, twenty-one years old, of 1465 | Third avenue and Frank Smith, twen- | ty-ive years old of 218 East 118th 1 street. Webb was hit by a bullet | from a. detectives revolver, which l glanced from his head and lodged in
 his shoulder. He is in Knickerbocker
 hospital, but is not badly hurt.
 Page is known as 'Hoppy,' be- | cause he 1imps. He got out of Sing
 Sing few months ago, after doing three years for burglary. Within a
 short time he was in the lineup at | Headquarters where Inspector Cray
 impressed upon his men the neces-
 sity of keeping tabs on 'FIoppy.''
 Neighbors Give Alarm.
 It was about o'clock when Frank l lin Simon, of 95 Riverside Drive, tele- phoned to Lieutenant Ryan, at the 4th | branch, that there were lights in Emmy Destinn's house. Within minute two other messages to the same effect came in. Ryan started Detectives Naimoli and McGuire for. the place on the run. Then he tele- phoned to the West Sixty eighth street station and got the reserves out.
 Naimo1i and Mcclure had the luck to emerge from the branch detective
 bureau in West 123rd street just as
 an automobile belonging to the fridge department was nassing. They climbed in and raced down the Drive
 at sucha pace that when they
 reachedz@the Destinn house, between Fhghty-first and Eighty-second streets, the clangor of the patrol wagon with the reserves was not yet to be heard.
 The house 1oomed dark and silent.
 After a cursory inspection the detec-
 tives rang MT. Higgins bell and got
 permission to reach the Destinn home
 fl om his roof.
 They found the scuttle had not been tempered with. For several minutes they listened with ears glued to the trap door. They heard nothing but the motors on the Drive AS they listened the patrol wagon from the West Sixty eighth street station drew Up in front.
 Reserves Surround House.
 Leaving Mcclure to guard the roof, | Naimoli descended With Patrol man Neamey of the West Sixty eighth 1 street station, the detective undertook a more careful examination of the 1 house, directing the rest of the re- serves to surround the place.
 Naim oli and Neamey found that the basement door, guarded by an iron grating, had been forced Cautiously they pushed it open and crossed the threshold. The house was silent as 8 tomb and as dark.
 1 While they listened breath1ess1y, the l floor above them creaked to a cau- 1 tous footfall Cropping their way to l a chandelier the two policemen sought to turn on the lights. The lights did not work, and they returned to the wall fumbling for the switch. Tn the course of their search they came to the stairs leading to the | floor above.
 Mounting these, they reached the first floor which seemed lighter to their now accustomed eyes. There l were no blinds, and street lamps and | those of passing motors lighted the l room with dim and fitful gleams. The police could make out vague shapes cf muffled furniture, but saw nothing l human. Breaking Is Heard. | From a room toward the front of 1 the house upon which opened a double doorway there came again the | creaking they had heard in the base | ment as of some one shifting his 1 weight.
 Naimoli, his nerves already or edge from prowling in the darkness, l l ieveed his revolver and shot twice | as fast as he could pull the trigger. While the double explosion was still | ringing shadows in the front room 1