The sun., 1919-03-08
BOY THIEF HITS
MESSENGER AND
STEALS S55,SOO
Daring Holdup Near Bro
ker's Office in Heart of
Financial District.
VICTIM LURED TO STAIRS
Good Description of RObber
Given-TwO Youths, Broth
ers, Are Arrested.

Another daylight holdup took place
yesterday afternoon below the dead line
IN lower Broadway. A brokers' mes
scnger. a boy going on II, small for his
age and not at all robust. was blud-
geoned in a busy office building and
robbed of his leather bag. Tho bag
contained $4,000 in Liberty bonds. a
$500 check and $1,000 industrial
lend. As Is so frequently the case the
bag was not fastened to the boy by n
strap or a chain and the thief found It
the easiest stunt In the world to grab
1t and escape after dazing the helpless
ycungster.
Lieut. Mckay OF the Brooklyn detec-
tive bureau arrested last night Gustave
Mignonc, 20 years old. 40 Flatbush
avenue. Brooklyn, and locked him in
Brooklyn Police Headquarters on
charge Of having been implicated IN the
robbery. According to Lieut. Mckay
the hoy has confessed to having taken
part in the holdup.
Youth Is Arrested in He'd.
Lieut.. Mckay and four other detcc-
tives drove up to the Mignone home just
In bed, but compelled him to get up and
dress. after which he was taken to head
quarters. There he denied for more
than half an hour that he knew anything
about the robbery. but finally, under
persistent questioning, according to the
police. admitted a share in 1t. Young
Mignone Is employed in tire office of
Stewart & Co, 81 Broadway. which has
offices on the same floor on which the
hnt rrytNt he
and robbed. The police say that Mig
none went out to lunch yesterday at
12:4h o'clock, and returned at / rs.
The boys father is a barber with a ehop
NJ SAsep and Flatbush avenues, Brook
Ign. ..s..
AT l 80 o'clock this morning Detcc-
tives Mayer. Brown and Hyams of the
Second Deputy Commissioners staff ar
rested Anthony Mignone. one of Gus
tave's brothers, at Flatbush avenue and
Church avenue, Brooklyn. The boy was
locked up at Police Headquarters
charged with acting in concert with his
brother to perpetrate the robbery. He
gave his age as Is and his occupation
a. n clerk.
The financial district got tremendously
excited when the robbery became known.
Men in the brokerage and banking bust
ness declared that 1t was time to do
thefts and to promote crusade for
greater care in the protection Of nego-
table securities carried back and forth
through the streets.
1t Is estimated that fully 100000. 900
worth of negotiable securities Is toted
back and forth through the financial
district by messengers during the bank
ing ard Stock Exchange hours of a sin
gle day. Many of the runners and mes
seigers are armed and guarded Others
Ike the victim OF the latest holdup. are
permitted to handle valuable securities
with no more care and consideration
than IL they were carrying punches Of
early editions or bundles of soiled collars
ard shirts.
So perturbed are men in the financial
district over the frequency of robberies
end the careless manner in which much
OF the messenger work is being carried
ON that the suggestion has been made
that clearing house he esta blished for
the handling of negotiable securities by
means of non-negotiable receipts.
Victim Is Seriously Wounded.
The boy who figured In Yesterdays
stirring holdup was Milton Strohm of
lS2 stage street, Brooklyn, who is en-
pioyed ty l.. NJ Prince, a broker. with
offices ON the NTH floor of 20 Broad
Street Hospital. suffering from a bad
scalp wound and slight fracture of
the skull. inflicted by the robber
The attack took place on a stairway in
the Adams Building. 81 Broadway, and
the messengers assailant, according to
Strohm. was youth of apparently II,
who had been tagging him around for
some time Milton was unable to tell the
police the boys name, but he gave a GOOD
dissertation dot Col,
confident he would be caught, together
with his swag. in the very near future
According to Millions younger brother
Monroe. as they lay in bed on THURSDAY
night Milton told him this young fell
ler" had been trying to make pals
with him for some time and had per-
sisted in following him around while he
was on duty.
He told my brother he had a gang in
The Bronx" Monroe said but my
brother tried his best to shake him, be-
cause he didn't want anything to do with
strange guy"
Milton was so disturbed about the
friendship that was being forced upon
him against hts will that he confided to
lsidore Horowitz. head runner for Mr.
Prince, that he had been followed for
several days by the unidentified youth
and he didn't like it,
Milton left his office EG'h his bag
early in the afternoon. In the bag were
$4,000 worth of tas Liberty bonds,
intended for deposit with the Guaranty
Trust Company some New York Cen
trail shares OF stock for Joseph Walker
Sons, brokers. 81 Broadway, and a
81 900 Virginia Carolina Chemical bond,
which he had been instructed to deliver
to Toole. Henry Co, brokers' 100
Broadway.
Check for 80, $500 In HIS Bag.
The boy apparently went straight to
the office of Joseph Walker Sons on
the sixth floor OF the Adams building,
rear, made his delivery and received a
check for $500, which went into the
little bag
Some time later-it wasn't very many
minutes--a porter on the third floor
heard cries OF distress just inside a
closed door leading to the stairway near
the Broadway side OF the building. He
opened the door and found the messen-
ger dazed and crumpled at the foot OF
the stairs The youth was bleeding
from a wound on the head. The porter
led him to the ''slop sink" used by jan
itors only. and started to wash him up.
A boy employed in the building Joined
In the FIRST aid treatment and then
Young Strohm revived sufficiently 10
say he had been bumped on the head
BY some one and robbed
II first he said he had been attacked
lust as he pressed the button for a
local elevator on the sixth floor. For
a time $his statement soreT puzzled
John Cain, detective for the Adams
IL. oil fAf