The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-08
REVEL BY BURGLARS
! NETS THEM $27,275
Sixteen Places Are Rifled,
Il Chiefly by Band Of
! SafeblOwers.
POLICE HAVEN'T A CLUE
Robberies Also Frequent, With
1 Physicians Lured by Calls
( as the Victims.

u
As far as could be learned through
official channels yesterday, burglars did
got break into Police Headquarters over
sunday and blow the official safe. Bur-
glars did, however. break into sixteen
other places--offices. lofts and an apart
fnent houses in Manhattan-in the COM
merciaf luli between Saturday afternoon
ana Monday morning. and In six of these
fplaces they did crack safes, and in a
Seventh they rlfied strong box. In the
mine other places no safes were blown
for the reason that the victims had
failed to provide safes for this purpose.
A partial list OF the losses sustained
by the victims indicates that s27.S75
in cash, Liberty bonds. jewelry and other
easily moved property was garnered 10y
the burglars. The score on the other
SIDE OF the ledger-the police side--ts
one prisoner who said he was Abe Ep-
stein, 80 years old. OF ~ East 117th
: street. Abe Is not burglar on the
police blotter. for the charge aSainst
Z him is suspicion OF robbery very
different thing. Abe was told yesterday
I was arraigned. that he might 60 home
! TO East 117th street II he would shuck
1000 off his roll and leave 1t with the
court so he would not forget to come
back and be examined on the charge
to-day. He received the information
coldly
In the midst of the general excitement
among the newspaper men who cover
Police NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. who actu-
. ally had any business In Police Head
quarters was in the least bit perturbed-
Or. Edward l.. Splitter. chairman Of the
law committee OF the Physicians Pro-
tsctive League OF New York. announced
that the league has issued a warning
to its members to leave their money
and jewelry at home when answering
sick calls at night. Robbers recently
/. have acquired the habit OF Turing physi-
, clans to tenements, knocking them I'M
conscious and riding them of their
valuables.
DR.. Moskowitx Blnckjseked.
The police 30 far have not done much
to break up the habit. DR.. Splitter said
that the most recent case was last Mon
day. when DR. II. Louis Moskowitg was
called to 3l9 East 10Sth street and ad-
mitted TO an empty apartment contain
ing only a folding bed on which lay a
man. When he bent over the alleged
patient he was blackjacked from be-
hind When he awoke 1851 in cash,
diamond pin. ring and fob we're
missing. as was the patient. The mat
ter was reported TO Police Headquarters
but so far DR.. Moskowitz has not even
received a report.
Reporters who tiptoed into Police
Headquarters and up stairs-the eleva-
tors were running but nobody seemed to
have nerve enough 10 use them-ran
into Lieut.. William Buckley in the outer
once of Commissioner Enright. This
was not unusual. for tho inner Office of
the Police Commissioner is much. much
more inner than in the days OF Arthur
Woods. To Lieut. Buckley they whis-
pered that they would like to ask the
boss about burglars. robbers and such.
Lieut.. Buckley tiptoed into the sane
tum while the reporters nursed their
hats. He came out again shortly and
brusquely.
"See Commissioner Lahey" he said.
william ]. I.ahey, Second Deputy
Commissioner, Is in general charge OF
the detective division of the Police De-
partment. Giving the Police Commits
sioner proper up as a bad job, speaking.
OF course. in a journalistic sense, the re-
porters hunted up Mr.. Lahey. To him
they preached the subject OF burglary.
Passed On to Inspector Cray.
"See Inspector Cray" Second Deputy
Commissioner William J. Lahey. In gen.
eral charge OF the detective division OF
the Police Department, said, and they
went away from there.
And Inspector Cray didn't talk much
but he did say that detectives were work.
ing on the burglarles a thing which the
reporters. knowing lads all. had sus-
pected right from the start.
To the achievement OF the police in
pinchng the suspicious Abe Epstein
should be added credit for having found
and restored 10 Mrs Sarah Grossman OF
263 West 1l2th street the 500 pound safe
which burglars carried away from her
home on Sunday night The safe was
badly broken up, the door had been
ripped off. and there was no trace of the
$4,000 worth of Jewels the $500 in cash
or the Sl,450 in Liberty bonds with
which it had been lined but nevertheless
Mrs Grossman got her safe back.
Some time on Sunday night while
Mrs. Grossman was at the movies
the burglars-there must have been
more than one to handle the safe-broke
open the front door of Mrs. Grossman's
apartment on the third floor. They left
a Jimmy behind, but carried the safe
uOWn StdlTS ana IL INTO an auto
Inobile-at least so the polise In recon-
structing the crime, say. They then
motored to Central Park, stopped on the
West Drive. lifted out the safe. put 1t
right on the grass In utter contempt of
police regulations and despite the numer-
Gus signs, and leisurely opened 1t up.
Is Wife of Broker.
The loss was discovered when Mrs.
Grossman, whose husband, Alexander, is
q broker at Pine street, returned alone
to her apartment. Mr.. Grossman Is at
present in Virginia. She found that her
door had been Jimmied and rushed into
the bedroom In which the safe had stood.
Two diamond lavallieres. a pear
shaped diamond ring, several pearl
rings and four diamond studded brace
let's were included In the loot. Three
years ago burglars murdered Mrs.
Cheeseman's mother. Mrs. Eliza Kantro-
witz, of West 135th street. and es-
capped with S2,001.
The week end raiders also had fair
success in the grocery store of Baldwin
Bros, at 1852 Third avenue. A safe,
which stood in the front OF the store,
where the night wandering policeman
might look at II every once and a while
IL there was nothing else worth looking
at in sight, had been rolled TO the back
of the store and ripped open. The loot
taken was $500 in cash. $500 in LIB
erty bonds and 500 worth Of rare coins.
The burglars entered through a rear
window. after forcing open an iron shut
ter and twisting strong bars out OF