New-York tribune., 1920-11-15
Kidnap Guard,
Loot Cars of
$4,000 Run,
Twenty Raid $25O,OOO
Cargo i'll Newark Freight
Yards of p. r. r.; Fight
Pistol Duel With Police
Six Auto Trucks Used
Two of Motor Vehicles That
Carted Goods Away Be-
Iieved to Have Been Stolen

Narteu OOOOS Away be-
lieved to Have Been Stolen
Whisky and alcohol valued at nearly
$4,000 were stolen between 2 and 4
o'clock yesterday morning from freight
cars In the South Broad Street yards
OF the Pennsylvania Railroad at
Newark The thieves had stripped two
cars of their cargoes and had almost
emptled another car when they were
attacked by Newark police reserves and
forced to flee.
Ihe robbery was carefully planned
Two hours before the thieves had been
put to flight by the reserves, Patrol
man james Gregory. of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad police force, who
guards the South Broad Street yards,
was kidnapped by five men armed with
revolvers. He was carried in an auto
mobl!e to town in Passaic County
and deposited by the roadside at a. nj.
Before the car thieves were routed
they fought pistol duel with the
police, in which thirty shots were fired
The entire lot of whisky and alcohol in
the yards was valued at S25O,0OO.
at least twenty men, the police say
took part in the robbery. None was
| caught. The thieves made their get
away with 58S cases of whisky vailed
at S32300 and forty-four barrels of
alcohol valued at more than s33 900,
SIX trucks were used in HAULING tho
stun away. Two trucks were recov-
cred, one loaded with rwentv-three
barrels OF whisky worth s17,5O0.
Patrolman Is kidnapped
At 2:3o o'clock this morning an au.
tomoblle clattered up to the Pointer
otreet curb, outside the railroad yards
where Patrolman Gregory was stand
One OF them engaged Gregory in con-
versation, asking details about the
route to Atlantic City. The other four
stepped out of sthe machine, drew re-
volvers and poked them in the patrol
mans face. They bundled him into
the car and started off.
The bandits drove at a rapid rate
through Elizabeth, Springfield, Morris
! town and Bernardsville, always keeping
revolver jammed against the ribs Of
the patrolman. At O'Clock, blind
folded and bewildered, Policeman
Gregory was dumped out of the ma
derisive "good-by."
Gregory trudged to a garage and
found that he had been hauled to
Singac, Passaic County. When he
talked a few minutes later over the
telephone to the Jersey City railroad
police he suggested that somebody be
sent on the run to the South Broad
Street yards.
This already had been attended to-
Shortly after Gregory had been
whisked out of Newark and the rail
an engineer in the cab of a switch
engine noticed men about freight
car. Approaching the car he saw they
we're loading a truck in the darkness
Present Engineer With Whisky
One of the men spied the engineer
and lugged a case of whisky to the
locomotive and placed it aboard. "Take
| it home with you," he said. Good
had communicated with the police and
a squad of reserves, with several de-
tectives, WAS dispatched to the scene
The reserves arrived first. They found
at least twenty men bustling around a
freight car with truck almost filled
Realizing they were surrounded, the
thieves began to run, firing at the
policemen as they did SO. The police
it is said, fired at least twenty shots
but because of the darkness it is not
believed any of them were effective
The robbers made their getaway by
dodging through the maze of tracks
hating behind cars as they ran.
The detectives, coming. from head
fled and had to be careful in entering
the yard, because they feared that they
might be mistaken for the car breakers
Liquor Worth $25O,0OO
The freight cars were locked and it is
probable it took the men some time to
break in. The whisky was in crates
and the alcohol in barrels. The barrels
bore the labels of the American Dis
tilling Company, Peklng, III. When the
thieves were routed they had one of
backed against the door of car, need
was ready to depart.
Bills or iading showed that 5SS cases
of whisky had been consigned to
Samuel Gray, warehouseman, of 244
Halsey Street, Newark, and forty-four
barrels of alcohol consigned to Fred
erick Nieberg, wholesale liquor dealer
of lat South Orange Avenue, Newark
Two of the motor trucks used were
stolen. Inspector George Spencer, of
the Central Railroad of New Jersey
said the entire lot of liquor was worth
at least S250,000 and was of the opinion
that seven automobile trucks were
used in hauling it away.
Police reserves remained at the scene
of the fight until after daylight. Near
the rifed cars they found a sheepskin
lined coat, black overcoat, two caps
and two chisels.
Tauan Denies plan tn Eort;fv