The sun., 1919-07-10
,HARBOR COPS HALT
RIVER PIRATE GANG
All Night Vigil Rewarded by
Appearance Of Zinc
Laden Launch.
SHOTS GREET THIEVES
Metal, Taken from Lighter
During Night, Ferried
to Truck.

Cramped and weary after a day and
q half of ceaseless tramping. Sergeant
John Smith and his squad Of discouraged
OOPS lay crouched beneath the support
ing girders Of the pier tuttins into the
Hudson River from tho foot Of West
1Bbth street all Of Tuesday night Md
night came and went, but Smith insisted
that the painful vigil be maintained.
They were on the trail of river pirates
suspected of stealing zinc bars.
Three o'clock came and still the de-
tectives' watch was unrewarded. An
other hour passed and soon afterward
the first streaks of dawn began to show
over the water. A hssty survey Of the
river front and the approach to the pier
revealed nothing more than the de-
serted area which had greeted the
watchers every time they ventured from
their lair.
Two moro hours passed and the
rumble OF trucks in the distance con-
WINGED the exhausted sleuths that their
long wait apparently had been in vain.
since the city was beginning to stir and
move workward.
six O'clock" said Sergeant Smith to
He had barely spoken when there
came humping. rumbling sound on the
pier planks overhead. A lookout whis-
pered II was an automobile van. Ser
geant Smith warned his men to be ready
and moved to point behind one OF the
piles.
Launch Meets Truck.
There were two men on the seat Of the
van. The big machine trundled far out
along the pier. It's siren moaned softly
twice. Then Sergeant Smith, looking
riverward. caught sight of small
launch anchored we'll toward midstream.
AZ he watched. the launch cut away
from Its moorings and began moving in.
shore. It came directly into the pier.
IT. engine mufied.
Sergeant Smiths heart bounded. Three
men in the cockpit of the little craft
swung back a tarpaulir. One of them
picked up a solid black slab and reach
ing up the pier side handed II to one Of
the men at the van, Another slab fol-
lowed. and another. Sergeant Smith
counted until forty slabs had gone over
the side and into the van box. Then he
signalled to his men. The squad popped
from their concealrnent below. kicking
the kinks out of their legs as they
climbed, and presented their guns to the
backs Of the two on the wharf.
The men in the motorboat made a
quick effort to get away. They spun the
motor and the engine backed vlciously.
Sergeant Smith ran to the dock edge
and fred. The bullet clipped their bow
and the fugitives lost courage. They
put back and surrendered.
The party was organized, a patrol
summoned and the police and their cap
tives moved to Police Headquarters.
There the men were examined and later
arraigned in court, where bail was fixed
at $1,000 in each case. The men identi-
fed themselves as George Hall, 81 De
Sales place. Brooklyn; Harry Schwartz.
$50 East 175th street: Thomas Roberts.
1s5th street and Harlem River; Morris
Butler and Felix Schmidt. both of 2s3
East Seventh street. Hall was later
identified by a New York Central agent
as George Rohde, a barge captain en-
ployed by the railroad.
Found River Pirates.
The capture revealed that for more
than two days Sergeant Smith and his
squad. all attached to the Harbor Squad.
had been following the trail of a band
of river pirates who had dropped down
in a small launch beside a lighter at the
foot OF West F'ifty-seventh street, and
zinc from the lighter until the loot
mounted to 5000 pounds worth 81 900,
1t was several hours before the theft
was discovered and then the Eleuths
started their search for the thieves
without the slightest clew. In some way
which they refused to divulse the police
finally got word that the launch would
reappesr at the 155th street pier early
yesterday morning and Smith and his
men secreted themselves early in the
night They already had been chasing
tho thieves for many hours without
sleep or rest OF any kind.
The zinc was consigned to the italian
Ministry of Shipping and, the police
said. originally was sold by the United
Metals Settings Company. az Broadway,
agents for the Anaconda Copper Com
pany