The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-11-25
MAKE THOUSANDS
.L00TINC SHOP OF
CRAPHOPH0NE co.
Police Declare Organized
Thieves Band Has Divid-
ed $4,000.
TWO UNDER ARREST.
AS GANG MEMBERS
Records, Graphophones, Mo-
tors and Other Material
Missing.

GO1S d1lu OGllcI U1dt01 ld1
Missing.
| An organized gang Of thieves work
ing as employees of the American
Graphophone Co., for the last six
months, consistently have looted the
factory Of the concern, Of costly cleo
trio motors, records and various talk
ing machine parts, stealing in all
goods with a market value exceeding
$4,000
| Two men are under arrest charged
with conspiracy to steal, and the ap-
prehension of four or five Others who,
the police assert are implicated, is i'm
minent The arrested men are: Tim
othy Sullivan, 25 years of age, Of so
Bostwick avenue, and Royal Sapp,
alias Cisnaros, "a years, of SO Butler
avenue. Sullivan admits his guilt, ac-
cording to the police.
| For six months the officials Of the
company have been baffled by the
continued wholesale theft of goods.
| Three and four days week, great
quantities Of electric motors, nickel
plated discs, machine needles, records
and the many varied pieces of mech
anism, used in assembling high priced
| Photographs, dictaphones, dictagraphs
and other machines, were missed.
| About month ago the police as
signed Detective Thomas T. Malone to
the case. After a week Of investiga-
tion his suspicious fell upon Sullivan,
who worked each night as quasi
watchman and shipper until o'clock
Malone found he was friendly with
Sapp, who had not worked for more
hO o1x
supplied with money, and left this city
weekly with dress suit cases of large
size, for New York.
+ Sullivan, according to the police,
| was trusted by the officials Of the fac
| tory and never was suspected of any
| part in the robberies. He would as
| semble the goods in the shipping
room, wait until the other watchman
had passed through the department,
when he would open the window and
pile the motors and other goods on
| the ground outside the factory His
accomp1ices would pack it into dress
suit cases and cart it away
Sapp, accorfng to the police, was
| the disposer of the goods. When a
| load had been stolen it would be car
| ried to his home, packed into other
| cases and he would go to New York
and dispose Of it. Three weeks ago a.
| pile of records, the whole value Of
which totalled $4O0, was found by
| the regular watchman, lying on the
+ sidewalk.
| Malone waited for the accom- plices
to carry it away but they evidently
had been scared off. During Sapps
absence from his room the next day
| Malone searched the apartment and
found in an overcoat a note which
read, 'ePut out the records tonight"
| He neglected arrestfng Sapp until
| more conclusive evidence could be
| obtained.
He found that Sapp few days
| before the finding of the note, had
been to New York and left here with
three dress suit cases, one being
| filled with goods SO heavy that the
handle was ripped off.
| Last Wednesday another load of
goods was missed. Yesterday morn
ing Malone went directly to Sapp's
| room. The place resembled ma
| chine shop. Tons of arm attach
ments, motors with nickel plated
disks attached, electric units, gold
plated graphonola, valued at $125,
43 boxes of needles worth wholesale
1929, and other goods recovered, to-
| falling in value $667, the latter price
being the cost only Of manufacture.
Sapp was arrested in bed and taken
to police headquarters. Malone then
went Immediately to the factory and
arrested Sullivan at 10 o'clock in the
morning. The police searched Sui
livan's home and found 80 records and
a valuable talking machine in the |
house. He claims he bought these.
The police found also that he had |
cut the seam in the bottom of his |
overcoet pocket, evidently for the pur
pose of carrying out records and small |
parts Of the machines, thrusting his |
hand clear through the pocket and |
hiding the goods under his coat. Sui |
livan admitted that he had taken the |
goods to Sapp's rooms, but refused |
to tell the names of other men impli- |
Gated.
Sapp denied that he had ever be- |
fore received any stolen goods and |
disclained knowing any reason for |
Sullivan placing them in his room. |
Sullivan's young wife at polio" head
quarters, soon to become a. mother, |
and who was married about a. year |
ago in this city, grew hysterical when |
told her husband had admitted steal
ing the goods She was heartbroken
and said she could not understand her
husbands conduct
The value of the theft of one nighfs
robbery, 1857, is merely the factory
cost. An approximate of the total
value of the goods stolen may be gain
ed from the fact that the company
recently in court admitted that they
sold some records that cost seven and |
some 13 cents to manufacture. Tile
goods representing one nights rob-
berry could be retailed for nearly ST.,
900. It is claimed by the police that
loads of stuff were taken from the
factory three and four days each
week for at least six months.
Effort is being made to find out
where Sapp disposed Of the stolen
property in New York. Thus far he
denies having sold any of the stolen
Goods although the police say they !
have knowledge that he went to New |
York every week to sell goods.
Both young men have been in this |
city about one year, and came here
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