New-York tribune., 1918-03-06
2 Detectives
Plotted Thefts,
Says Swami
Second Branch Men Impli.
Gated in Silk Burglaries,
He Charges

District Attorney Swami said last
pight that he had evidence that two
detectives OF the Second Branch Bu-
rcau arranged burglaries in big silk
lofts last month and helped dispose of
the booty 10 receivers and then coll
lec;ed commissions from both burglars
and receivers. After getting confess
sions TO this effect yesterday afternoon
from one of the burglars, a go-be-
tween and one Of the receivers, the
District Attorney announced that he
had ample confederation and would
day.
Three thousand or more of these
silk loft burglaries occurred in six
months beginning January l, 1917"
said Mr.. Swami last night. This enor-
nous increase in this class OF thefts
mystitied Police Commissioner Woods
He did his best to put stop to the
crime, and was mortified and humiliat-
cd because he didn't succeed do not
infer that the Police Department was
implicated IN these thefts, but here
come receivers and burglars who admit
to us that at least two detectives were
in on the hurglaries. I suspected this
when the thefts were at their maxi
mum
Confession Names Detectives
The job in which the two detectives
are alleged to have been implicated
was theft Of silks worth $1,000 from
J. H. FIthian & Co., 1O4 East Twenty
i,th street, on February i6, last.
Detectives Mccoy, DAILY and Whitney.
Of the "iof1 squad located some of
the booty in the warerooms of Fleisch-
man L Yelln. 346 Sixth avenue. Thev
arrested Herman Fleischman, OF 2s7
East Seventh street, and Harry Yellir,
Of 1860 Grand avenue. the Bronx
They implicated Abraham Schoenfeld
of 20 Clinton street. elevator boy en-
ployed IN the Fithian firm. and Schoen-
field implicated Isidore Pindek, of 10
East Ninety-seventh street. All four
will be arraigned to-day charged with
burglary and receiving stolen goods.
After a grilling at the hands of AS
sistant District Attorneys Markewici1
and Eder. Pindek, who had been ar
lalgned for burglary last June and dis
charged by Magistrate Krotel, ad-
mitted that he knew one of the de-
tectives.
He picked ne up on Fifth avenue.
near Fortleth street. on June %, 1911
and charged me with burglary" said
Pindek. A day or two after was
ri...r
called him up at his office. After tat
] used to meet him at restaurants in
West Forty y-second street and East
Fourteenth street. We talked about
getting me to burglarize loft buildings.
Whenever | discovered that a burglary
was 20 be pulled off I would tell him
about it. giving him the location Of the
loft and the time it was to be robbed.
II It looked all righ. TO him he would
say. 'All right; go TO it,
Detective Postponed Burglary
Il also met fellow at these restau-
rants by the name of Jack. met the
detective in this way the day that the
Fithian place was robbed. .ck was
there This JOB was 10 have been
nulled off week before. but the de-
-eccive was busy that day, and the
burglary had to be postponed on that
account
W hen .he job was being done was
waiting two blocks away, on West
Twenty-third Street. He was waiting
a Sixth Avenue and Twenty-third
Street. was watching him all the
time. told him to meet me at Eighth
Avenue and West Nineteenth Street
and | would notify him when the job
vas done
"A gray automobile truck, owned by
concern on Fifth Street, between Ave
nues 9 and D. took the silks away and
n2chet them Up al Fleischman's place.
The detective stood outside on the
street "a we took tho goods upstairs
lie told Us to get some money that
night Fleischman handed me only S75.
took a few dollars myself and gave
si5 10 the detective.
We pulled off another burglary
about two weeks before that in Twenty
third Street, between Fifth and Sixth
Avenues. The other detective of the
Second Branch was in on that job
lie got four shares of 1898 each. He
sad he mad TO give three shares to
three other detectives. My share was
597 and gave one or the detectives