The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-11-04
SPIRIT RAP USED AS
AID BY FLAT THIEF
Owners of Fashionable Apart.
ment Lured. to DOOr-Steal-
ings Total $4,000.

New York's best detectives sat yes
terday afternoon before a man who
called himself Joseph Sands and Won
dered whether he had a strange knack
of ventriloquism that enabled him to
initiate n knock on a door or whether
he possessed confederate who had as
sisted him in a dozen thefts or bur-
glaries
There were with the detectives a dozen
women of means who identified the man
as the same person who had been in their
homes just before they missed money
and jewels. Each OF them told the same
story OF a rap that led her to TIE dool
to find nothing except a vacant hall.
Sands, who said ne lived at 1G3 West
Forty-eixth street. answered an adver-
tisement yesterday at the Hotel Man
haitian. The detectives had planned The
alluring advertisement announcing that
| n high class apartment was 10 let. He
| was a tall. handsome person, suavc and
graceful of manner, and his comely per-
son supplied the background for many
| gems which ecntillated beneath the
! lights of the room that Detectives Ed
ward Fitzgerald, John Morrell and
| Thomas Conkiing had engaged as a
| trap.
Lace Handkerchief the signal.
| The detectives knew that some dash
| ing man had gathered to himself be-
tween $4,000 and $4,000 In cash and
jewelry by applying for fashionable
| apartments which We're advertised for
rent and then by a simple ruse stealing
| from the apartment owners All OF
which accounted for the fact that they
rented the hotel apartment, inserted the
| come on" advertisement and sat down
! 10 wait
! In the corridor OF the hotel was Mrs.
: Charlotte jacob. wife of a former Wall
| Street man. who lives AZ 25s Riverside
Drive. on the same floor where the late
Mayor Mitchell made his home. As Sands
! passed her In the corridor Mrs. jacob
dropped a lace trimmed handkerchief
and upon this signal the detectives took
| their man II was the woman's identi-
| ficat!on Of the man who had taken $3.50
! In cash and a number Of Jewels from
her home last month.
| Mrs. Jacob! said she had advertised
her apartment for sub-leasing. The
man she identified came lin response 10
| the advertisement. He admired the
place and its fittings. ] intact, ! was just
exactly what his wife would like TO have
and he would bring her TO view II. After
he had been in the house n few minutes
the spirit knock came AT the door Mrs
jacob went to the door. No one was
there. She looked out into the hall. Not
a soul was In sight. When she came
back her polite visitor bowed himself
out OF the place, with a promise to come
back next day. Then she found that hel
money and jewels had also departed.
Has Served Two Terms.
Mrs. Clara Siegel. wife of manu-
facturer at SIS West End avenue, had Z
like story She lost $1,000 in cash ant
iewelry October %. Mrs. u. A. McCil
OF PA West Nihety-second street los
$500 worth of diamonds. Ten otheI
women identified the man, and adde,
recitals 10 the jacob and Siegel com
plants that were identical in characte,
and in result,
Did you have a confederate asltet
the detectives.
Sands smiled.
81 wonder II you may not hr n Ven
triloquist?" asked Detective Fitzgerald
Again Sands smiled.
The man declined to talk to the de
tectlves. He said that they must Sc.
his lawyer. When the women identifle,
him he remarked dryly:
Maybe II you get about twenty NOR
you may be able TO convict me-"
Sands served term in Sing Sing an,
one at the Elmira Reformatory He 4
under $2,500 bail to appear In the King
Supreme Court next week to answer
charge of burglary. The detective
locked him up at the West Tooth stree
station on the charge OF burglary am
then went In search OF his elusive con
federate, all the time IN doubt rs (
whether he actually had an aide or pos
I sessed the gift OF making his voice imi
tate n distant knock.