Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-09-23
REVEAL LOSS
OF HUGE sum
In CURRENCY
Police Luck" Leads to
Arrest Of Thieves,
Who Confess.

Chicago, Sept. 23.-Three
men, one of them, John Weida,
clerk in the Chicago pOstOffice,
who is said to have planned the
robbery, were arrested here
early today charged with steal
- ing S24O,OOO of a shipment of
Ns415,OOO last Thursday from the
Federal Reserve bank here to
the Standard Oil company of
Indiana at Whiting. Ind. OF the
stolen funds, S93,62O was recO7-
cred. The remainder, according
to an alleged confession of two
of the men, was abandoned at
the outskirts of Chicago, when
the automobile in which they
were returning from Whiting
broke down.
"A piece of police luck" is point
ed to as responsible for the arrest
of the men. Chicago city detectives
unearthed the postal robbery when
two of the men, Leo and Walter
I
old respectively, were arrested in
connection with the robbery of a
saloon in which approximately $500
was obtained.
Prior to the arrests no announce
ment of the hue holdup had been
made.
Had $4,000 in Pocket.
Information by a stool pigeon"
that the Phillips brothers were in
volved in the saloon robbery, which
occurred later in the day of the
holdup at Whiting, the officers at
first thought they had stumbled on
a big payroll or bank robbery when
one found $4,000 in the elder
Philips pocket.
Questioning them developed, ac-
%ording to the officers, details of
the entire program.
a fourth man, said to be the own
er of a small farm near Chicago
was being sought early today. The
police say they believe most of the
missing money was buried on his
property. He is said to have been at
Whiting with the Phillips brothers.
Clerk in POstOffice.
Wejda is a clerk in the registry
division. Some months ago he
noticed that every Thursday a reg
istered package consigned to the
bank of Whiting from the federal
reserve bank here went through
the Chicago postofice, according to
a confession officers say they OBJ
tanned from him.
One day, the ALLEGED confession
continued, Wejda observed that a
torn package contained money, and
taking the Phillips brothers into
his confidence, planned the ROB
berry.
The Phillips brothers, according
to statements police say they made,
took third man and stole an auto
mobile and went to Whiting.
Used Dummy Package.
- 1t is evident that a dummy pack
age similar to one of two contain
ing the money had been prepared
by Wejda. This was taken to Whit
ing and after the currency had been
delivered at the railroad station to
he sent to the bank was substituted
and the money obtained.
r. B. Mendelle and J. Z. Sullivan,
postal inspectors in charge of the
federal eStigatiOn. said they be-
lieved "a sent a fake" bag
similar puearance to the money
bags in the assignment to Whiting
A man named Joe Schwarz. en-
ployed at the station. was to take
the bags on hand car to the
postofice," the inspectors said.
Returns; Money Gone.
HE got the wrong bag and took
it to the postoff1ce. from where it
was to be taken to the bank of
Whiting and from there to the
Standard Oil company of Indiana.
when he returned to the station
the bag containing the money was
gone"
The inspectors said Schwarz did
not know the bags contents. They
believe Wejda so marked the bag
the robbers could not mistake it.
The Phillips brothers are also
known as Leo and Walter Pill
kowski.