The Washington times., 1920-08-08
"CRANK"' SILENT ON
PALS IN KIDNAPPING
Fear Grows CoughIin Baby Is
Dead; Pasquale Fails In
X Threat to Squeak
tcontinued from First Page.)


Pasquale gave OF the man he accuses
OF the abduction. had carefully |
clipped accounts OF the THE Crank ..
threat from every available news
paper and was devouring them in
tently.
Rich related his suspicious TO the |
chief conductor OF the trarn--and or
dered him TO arrest the man as he |
alighted at the station In Camden. |
The man. perceiying that he was be-
ing watched. shifted his seat and |
later. unnoticed, jumped from the |
train as IL was entering the sheds
at the Camden terminal.
The authorities In charge OF the
investigation are slowly swinging |
around TO the dread belief that |
Blskely, CoughTin is dead. The per-
sistent lies OF THE Crank" and his |
fervid assurances that the baby is
alive and well are taken as evidence |
that he Is attempting to save his own
hide by 'beclouding the entire AFFAIR.
SO far the man has given absolutely !
no voluntary information which |
might lead to the recovery OF the
child. Every question relative to the
condition OF the baby has brought out
frantic protests on mis- part that
Blakeley is alive.
Grilling OF Pasqquale was taken
over personally by Director Cortel-
you. OF the depart OF public safety,
yesterday. The director had the
French Italian to his office, where
the trained skill of the executive was
devoted TO wringing further informa-
tion from the prisoner.
PAsQUALE GETS COUNSEL.
At the same time Benjamin Good
man. a lawyer well known about the
he ha
appeared in various criminal cases.
was announced as Pasquale's counsel.
Goodman Immediately issued a
statement calculated TO put differ
ent aspect on the part played by
"The Crank" from that made by the
police authorities.
According to this statement, Pas
quale is a much-reviled man. who
had no share whatever in the kid
naping. He is simply harmless in
dividual. who, because he can read
and write. was employed by the ac-
tual kidnapers to gouge the parents
for money.
The actual kidnapers, whose names
are not revealed. were. according to
Goodman. a man and woman. They
succeeded in taking the child from
its crib, getting 1t away from all
pursuers in an almost unrivaled piece
of daring and cunning. But when
they had their quarry safely tucked
away they couldn't find any means
to profit by their centure,
CHOSE "GENTLE- PAsQUALE.
Casting about for some one who
could perform the additional feats of
cunning, without which they were
helpless TO profit by their crime, ac-
cording to Goodman, they chose the
gentle" Pasquale. Pasquale, accord
ing to Goodman. is a man OF in
genunity and intelligence Withal he
is accomplished He can read and
write. 1t might have been beyond his
power to climb into a second-story
window and run away with a child,
leaving his finger prints on a win
dow sill. but one thing he could do,
he could ask for money. something
the actual kidnapers found beyond
their power or invention. The reason
for this was that they cannot read
or write.
1t is probable that they never would
have known that the kidnapping was
discovered or that a countrywide
search was being made for them II
they hadn't found some one who could
remedy their illiteracy by reading the
accounts of it to them from the news
papers. 1t may be, though Goodman
doesn't say so. that Pasquale was first
chosen to read the couple the news
paper accounts of the chase, and from
that matters progressed to the point
at which he was asked to write black
mailing letters for them.
PASQUALE SOUGHT BRIDE.
That the illiterates priced Pas
quale's handwriting highly is shown,
however, according to this viewpoint
by the fact that very soon after he
went into service as a stenographer
he began to buy farms and to make
large deposits at the bank. He even
contracted for wife-an amenity in
life which, until he became an amanu-
ensis at high wages, he had consider
ed il wise or economical to do with
out.
The bride incident was related yes
terday by Joseph Guido, a barber at
s11 Vine street, at whose shop in his
time of residence in North Seventh
street Pasquale had his beard shaved
three or four times a week.
One day in the course of barber
shop gossip Pasquale heaved sigh
and told the barber that he wished he
had a wife.
"Why don't you get one?" Guido
aueried 81 know where there is one
who would just suit you. SShe's in
Italy now"
Pasquale declared that no bride
would seem quite so bridish to him
as one from Italy, and asked for de-
tails Guido told him that the girl
was a sister of his wife, who would
be only too glad to come to America
~ the dowery were sufficient and her
passage were paid. He produced. a
picture OF the maiden.
Pasquale Immediately declared him
self favorably inclined, and produced
$500 for dowery with n promise to
pay the passage money. He made but
one stipulation: That he must see the
girl in person. as well as In photo
graph. before he made the contract
final by leading her to the altar. IT
she did not suit him, he would pay her
passage back to Italy.
The bargain was struck, and the
sister-in-law. Adelina Ruggino, eight
cen years old, OF Naples, Italy, was
written to to come along to the Mnd
OF the free.
But that was before Pasquale was
arrested The latest communique
from the barber shop IL that Adelina