The sun., 1919-10-26
AS
THIEF SLAYERS
Members of Notorious Gang
Rounded Up for Murder of
Wall st. Messenger.
MORE ARRESTS COMING
$4,000 Of $4,000 Stolen
Liberty Bonds Located Az
ter Exciting Hunt.

Five men alleged to be members O,
gang that inspired Benny Binkowitz
Wall Street messenger. to steal Lib
erty bonds OF a face value OF sf7s,o0C
and then murdered him to deprive him
Of his share of the loot are under ar
rest 1t was announced at Police Head
quarters last night. The arrests were
, made in New Haven and Chicago.
The names OF the prisoners were
withheld. 1t was said at Police Head
quarters that detectives who arc fol-
lowing well marked trails in several
cities will make four more arrests to-
day or tomorrow ana complete the
roundup Of as vicious a group of gun
men, ex-convicts and dance hall touts
as has been assembled within a single
jail in a considerable time.
Detective August Mayer, who, with
Detective Grover Brown, is the Police
Departments specialist on Wall Street
crimes, said that bonds worth $4,000
Of the lot stolen by Binkowitz have
been recovered. He said that $4,000
OF these are in the safe Of the prop
erty clerks Office at Police Headquar-
ters. and that another S25, 900 has been
located in the Office of a Wall Street
broker. The latter lot will be claimed
tomorrow.
One Thief Probably Informer.
While Mayer did not say SO, the fact
that $25.o00 Of the stolen bonds reached
Wall street office indicates that at least
that part of the total loot was returned
to circulation by the gang that murdered
binkowitz. 1t also suggests, when joined
with other details of the story of the
crime. which began with the theft and
involved murder. that one OF the five men
under arrest has become an informer.
Binkowitz disappeared on August ~.
He was q years old. He was, In ap-
pearance and characteristics. typical
product of the East Side. He lived at
1S9 Eldridge street, and was born and
grew up In that neighborhood He
stretched his meagre earnings to cover
clothes that ran to the conspicuous In
color and cut rather than quality. lie
made pretence to beng a boxer, and
swasgered among his friends under the
name of Jack johnson. He was fond
of dancing. and In the East Side vernac-
ular was a ''tw wister," or frequenteI Of
dance halls and cabarets.
Binkowitz was employed as a messen-
ger by Richard Whitney & Co., brokers,
IA Wall Street.
He was ono of many youths who In the
days before a series of Liberty bond
thefts induced caution used to transfer
securities in lots OF huge value between
brokerage houses and the banks. The
system OF transfer grew up in the days
when securities OF large face value were
difficult Of negotiation and before the
Liberty loan Issues gave publicity to the
ready negotiability Of many security is
sues.
Never Reached Destination.
Binkowitz was on his way to the offlce
OF Kidder. Peabody q Co. when he dis
appeared. He had been employed by
the Whitney Company for four months
ond earned $15 week. He never ap-
peared at the Office OF Kidder, Peabody
& Co.. and nothing was heard OF him
until his body. stabbed in thirty places
and with the head nearly severed, was
found by an automobile party that sought
a shady spot for luncheon on August 20
In the woods near the turnpike halfway
between New Haven and Milford.
When the body was found Detective
Frank Reynolds of the Connecticut
State Police began an investigation. The
stilleto wounds and the effort to sever
the head caused the detective to look to
an Italian source. He was partly right.
Mayer said last night. but he did not
suspect that the dead youth was Binko-
Continued on Thirteenth Ps0s.