New-York tribune., 1919-12-19
Prosecutor Has Mrs. Kane,
of Good Brooklyn Fam
ily, Held as Material Wit
ness in Alleged Plot
More Arrests Due Soon
Two Policemen Under $50
600 Bail and Several
Others Arc Indicted

Indictments by the Kings County
grand jury against the policemen and
others charged with the recent series
Of burglaries in Brooklyn and Man
haitian resulted yesterday In the ar
raignment Of six of their number and
their detention under heavy bail.
The two policemen 30 far involved,
Herman Crause and Peter Rueger, of
the Atlantic Avenue police station,
were each placed under $4,000 bail
Edward Werle, Of 1903 Charles Street,
Manhattan, was held in the same
amount. Philip Brown. of 455 Clin-
ton Street, Brooklyn, was held under
$4,000; Samuel Singer. of 107 Ellery
Street, $4,000, and Edward Cannon, of
914 Dean Street, $4,000 All of these
were charged with burglary and lar
ceny, except Singer, who was accused
Of criminally receiving stolen goods.
Two More Arrests Near
The Indictment names at least two
other persons, for whom District At
torney Harry Lewis is now looking.
Mr.. Lewis said they we're not police
men. Their arrest is expected at anv
moment
During the arraignment before
County Judge J. Grattan Mac Mahon.
a woman was for the first time brought
into the case. She is Mrs. Hattie
Kane, thirtythree years old, who was
held under $4,000 bail as material
Witness She is said by the District
Attorney to have been graduated from
the Manual Training High School, and
to come from a good Brooklyn family.
According to statements made by Mr..
Lewis in court, she resided in the
Wcrle home at the Charles Street adj
dress and the prosecutor charges she
witnessed the division of the spols of
many Jobs in her apartments.
In asking for the unusually heavy
bail for the policemen, District Attor-
ney Lewis characterized Crause as the
arch consplrator of the gang that for
the last six months has stolen hun
drcds of thousands Of dollars worth
Of furs and clothing"
Con the day OF the robbery of the
fur establishment Of Starobin & Dublin,
at 7l0 Herkimer Street, Crause was
policeman sworn to protect the in
tercsts Of the community" he said II
have proof that he not only planned
this particular robbery with Werlc.
but that he actually went with the
thieves to the place whore the bur
glary. took place. and went into the
building and helped to carry out the
stolen 1urs and put them on truck
that carried them away
Six Months Plot Charged
His acts are far more heinous than
those Of the striking Boston police
men. They simply refused to work
lie perverted his sworn duty to harm
those 1t was his duty to protect. He
is an active, energetic burglar"
The District Attorney then disclosed
that colluslon between policemen and
band of crooks had been going on
for at least six months, and that he
had known Of it for three weeks, hav-
ing been appriscd of it by a letter
from a person whose identity he re-
fuses to disclose
In some way, he said, Crause had OBJ
tained the key TO a barber shop near
the Starobin & Dublin plant, and that
1t was his practice 10 meet with the
crooks here late at night and plan all
their rohberies in the shop. Evidence
has been found, he said, showing that
the Dublin robbery had been planned
five weeks ago, and that they had tried
TO pull the job" three or four times
before