The sun., 1918-02-06
RINTELEN GANG
GETS MAXIMUM
UNDER THE LAW
Eighteen Months Each Will
Be Served in Prison by
Bomb PlOtterS.
COURT SCORES ALIENS
Men Who Proposed to Blow Up
Ships Not Subject to
Long Terms.

Franz E!n.c,en aud ten Of lis aides
were coHvictei late yesterday afternoon
IN the Fedc"a. C'ur; ~ consp!racies q
place bombs un coed ships leaving this
port Cor France and England. No
ooGe- had the verdi,t been announc iced
than Judge Harlan Il. Howe called the
defendants before the bench. one at a
. time. and imposed upon cac.I the MAXI
mum penalty II the Law. which is eight
cen months :mpv.sonmen. and $4,000
fine.
In passing sentence upon Rintelen,
who was charged with having been the
fnancier OF the conspiracy, Judge Howe
expressed deep regret at his inability
, to deal moro severely with him. "He
came here. Inc said % the millionaire
naval Office. FOR the express purpose
Of committing crimes. II he we're scn-
fenced to Imprisonment for life. or even
to forfeit dis lie. /. would not be too
severe"
The t,!a, jury. which had listened to
testimony and argument for two weeks.
took but tw" and ii half hours TO agree
upon verdict. James W. Osborne, AS
sistan. United states Attorney. had
urged the conviction Of the band at the
morning session. referring to them as
I ''murderers al heart. whose. crimes
compassed the massacre OF the inno-
GENT upon tho seas" He a.sailed Rim
telen "a an ASSASSIN, coward and vil-
lain
Judge Howe took but twenty minutes
to deliver his charge. explaining TO the
jury tha. tho complaint against the
band hung upon one specific crime mem
toned in the indictment. the placing of
incendiary bombs upon the British
steamship kirkoswald In May. 1915. He
Instructed them that illusions made in
the testimony to secrct!ng of b mbs on
the Lusitsnia and the fre on the Tou-
raine were merely evidence in SO far as
they indicated a scheme to destroy
ships, bu; were not issues in the case.
DoOra Locked ana Guarded.
The verdict was reported at 4:55 p.
NJ. and members OF Police Inspector
Thomas Tunney's bomb squad and OF
the army intelligence police we're scat
tered about In the large audience watch
Ing Tor any suspicioua sign among the
spectators. The doors were locked and
guarded heavily.
}sI,intelen was the Rsss , defendant
tention before Judge Howe, receiving
his due with the stern demeanor OF the
trained naval officer.
Mr.. osborne explained to the court
that this defendant already hAs two
other prison terms hanging over his
head, one for conspiracies 10 cause
strikes in munition plants, Of which he
was convicted last spring the other for
falsely representing himself to be an
American citizen for the purpose OF OBJ
tanning a passport. These two sentences
| stx- Al..
Judge Howe gave him another year and
a half, and Rin;clen bowed and sat
down.
lotto Woipert.' called Clerk William
! Thayer. and there stepped to tine bar one
Of the Germans who was interned within
two hours after this nations entrance
into the war, and who has been confined
to the military pr.son camp at Fort
Oglethorpe,
woipert Was pier super rrintenden. for
the Atlas Line. subsidiary of the Ham
burg American. lie WAS one OF the
directors of the bomb plots. and Quanti-
ties OF Internal machines were delivered
10 him for distribution among vessels
doomed by the plotters. Again Judge
Howe Expressed regret at the made.
quacy Of the old statutes In crimes OF
the kind charged.
Becker Gets Sentence.
Ernst Becker, electrician OF the North
German Lloyd vessel Friederch der
Crosse who carried bundles Of bombs to
Wolpcrt from the IIoboken laboratory of
Dr. Walter T. Schaele. now a fugitive
from Justice. then faced the court. His
attorney told Judge Howo that Becker
had served prison sentence OF six
months, imposed for a prior bomb plot
conviction.
six months may have been thought
adequate in that case" said the jurist |:
but don't think II is In this one
Friedrich Wilhelm karbade. Wilhelm
Parades and George Praedel, assistant
engineers of tho Friedrich der Crosse.
lswho manufa ctured hundreds Of bomb
shells on the deck Of that vessel while
II was interned al Hoboken. were sem
fenced In order. Parades's attorney
pleaded on behalf OF his wife and child.
but Judge Howe made II plain that
wives and children could not save bomb
plotters from punishment
Charles Won Kleist. elderly ex-sea cap
tain and American citizen by naturaliza-
ton. was sentenced while his daughter,
young woman born in this country.
broke into hysterical sobbing. Won
Eleist was Scheele's partner and was
charged with having aided him in the
| manufacture Of bombs. He also has an
other prison sentence charged against
him for similar plots. That sentence Is
for two years.
Eugene Relster. proprietor Of the Turn
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