The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-13
CACHE FOR STOLEN
MOTOR CARS FOUND
Police Say Garage at 436 West
18th Street Was Used as
"Factory."
OWNER AND MEN HELD
Automobiles Changed to Pre-
vent Detection and Then
Sold, Charge.

The police found yesterday n garage
nc ass West Eighteenth street, which.
they say. has been factory for repairit-
ing and Disgusting stolen automobiles.
,che nine cars found In process OF altera-
ton were all stolen, they believe. Their
total value is about $4,000. The cnarge
on which Henry Banks. the proprietor,
and his four mechanics were held was
tased on the discovery Of car pur-
chased, new for $4,000 less than month
ago, said to be owned by Alfred Sever, a
silk salesman. Of 1903 Grand Concourse.
The Bronx. Banks admitted buying the
car on Monday for $500. the detectives
said
The existence Of a shop for wholesale
trading in stolen cars was unsupported
by the police until yesterday afternoon,
according to their admission. Detectives
OF the automobile squad operating in
Brooklyn got trace Of a car which. while
II looked different in color and some
other details, they suspected of being the
one stolen from Mr. Sever. They aues-
toned the driver,-who told them In APP
parent good faith that he had bought
the machine from a garage in Eighteenth
street, Manhattan and offered to take
them to the place to verify the sale.
Garage Man Arrested.
The detectives accepted the offer and
descended on the garage. They said they
had little trouble In getting Banks to
make a clean breast of his operations
and to describe the methods resorted TO-
He was charged with grand larceny and
receiving stolen goods and his four me-
chanics with acting in concert.
According to the detective Banks told
them the stolen cars were brought to
the garage and secreted during the day
At night a crew of mechanics and
painters were set at work. Number
mates were changed, bumpers removed
or installed, as required by the equip
ment of the car headlights replaced, the
body repainted, in some cases engine
numbers altered and license plates
changed.
THE mechanics denied any knowledge
Of criminal intent. saying they simpl,
did what Banks ordered them. The
suspicion that the cars might have beer
stolen did not occur to them. They de-
scribed themselves as Garwood Phifer
IS. Al Horatio street; Paul Randall, ~
3ss West Thirty-seventh street: Huge
Hoffman and Charles Kaestner. both OF
New Bergen, N. ].
May BE Vanderbilt Car.
One of the cars. a big Packard. was
believed to have been stolen from mem
Der of the Vanderbilt family several days
ago. There were two Cadillacs, another
Packard, an Auburn. Buick, a Haynes
an Overland and a Studebaker found II
the garage, which were believed to hav'
been tempered with.
While the detectives were questioning
Banks they saw Max Orgel OF le'
Twelfth street, Hoboken, driving past II
a car and halted him. They said Orge
had been indicted earlier In the day FOL
the theft OF a machine in Brooklyn. TIT
car he was operating appeared to b.
owned by him. Detective Andrews ar
rested Sylvan Segal. 81. Of Bayside
charged with grand larceny and receiv
ing stolen goods for the theft of a ca
owned by Samuel Weinberg Of s24 Eas
Eighty-frst street, from in front o
Madison Square Garden.
Sever said his car disappeared from II
front of a restaurant at Eighth avenu
and Twenty-eighth street while he wa
inside. He was taken to the garage las
S night to identify the car.