The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-25
NEW R0BBERIES
IN CRIME WAVE
SWEEPING CITY
Police Suppress Informa-
tion as Burglars and Foot
pads Work at Will.
ONE THEFT OF $120,000
Three Burglaries in Week
Committed Below the
Dead Line.
$40, 900 TAKEN FROM SAFE
Citizens Union AsSails 'Paral-
ysis' Of the Police De-
partment.
ONE THEFT OF $12O,0OO
$4,000 TAKEN FROM SAFE


The full scope of the operations of
the bands of footpads. burglars, gun
men and safe blowers who have
worked almost at will In New York
city for the last several months be-
came clearer than ever yesterday
when numerous holdups and rob-
berries, information about which had
been withheld by the police, were re-
vealed through private investigation.
Within a week three big burglaries
have been committed below the dead
line, which Inspector Byrnes once
stretched across Manhattan at Fulton
street, one of them involving the theft
of 100000 In bonds and securities;
thefts of thousands of dollars worth
of clothing and jewelry became
known, and in one theft in Brooklyn
during the last twenty-four hours
burglars blew a safe and escaped with
$4,000 in cash.
"PuraIysis of Police"
Working under what Leonard M.
Wa'lstein, counsel to the CitizenB' Union.
termed the paralysis Of the Police De-
partrnent." the bands of criminals ap-
pear able to commit any sort Of crime
and go unpublished. More than half or
the forty-one murders committed In the
greater city since October ! remain un-
solved, and the blotters at the police
stations and at headquarters are hlled
to overfiowing with reports of holdups
and robber,es. Very few of those which
have become known, in spite of the at
temps of the police to suppress news vl
them. have been solved and few ever
will be.
There vas no arrest yesterday for the
murder of Frank Barbor Tuesday eve
ming lust inside the West Seven.y-second
street gate of Central Park. The au-
topsy showed Barbor's skull had been
fractured in Ave places and bullet had
entered his spine. At the Fourth Branch
Detective Bureau inquiry elected the IN
formation that "a man was out on the
case
Big Safe Looted.
yeggmen. evidently old hands and
daring ones, worked for hours early yes
terday morning on a large burglar PROOF
safe on the third floor of the Crystai
Palace Building at Broadway ana
Flushing avenue. the busiest corner in
the williamsburg section OF Brooklyn.
They blew the door and escaped with
$4,000 In loose diamonds and Jeweiry'
property of Joseph Lubitz. manufactur-
ing jeweller of 81 McKibben street.
When Mr.. Lubitz arrived at his oftlce
at 0 o'clock the room was full of smoke
and the safe still hot. indicating the job
had Just been completed.
Cant. Daniel ]. Carey and detectives
from the Sixteenth Inspection District
were assigned to the case. Although no
arrests have been reported, the yegg-
men left a number OF clews, including a
set of burglars drills. n ''can opener,
an electric drill and an acetylene tank
thr ae feet high. Experts from the
flngerprint squad discovered ringer
marks on an electric light bulb which
was removed from its socket for the
electric drill
Thief. Of nearly 100000 United States
and French Government bonds several
weeks ago was disclosed yesterday by an
advertisement announcing several broker
age firms had been victimized. 1t was
said in Wall Street that the police were
being "prodded."
A representative of THE NEW YORK
HERALD inquired last night at the First
Branch Detective Bureau. Old slip. about
this below the dead line robbery.
You must mean n s3.100 messenger
boy theft that was reported last Thurs
day." said the officer at the desk. Il
see memo on my desk here about that
but / don't know anything about the
other case"
Another Madison Ave. burglary.
Upper Madison avenue. which has beer
having an epidemic of burglarles re-
Gently. reported another loss yesterday
Miss Rose Cumming, SCI Madison ave
nue.. al interior decorator, was the VIC
tim OF a 5000 burglary of Oriental
rugs. antique damasks. bric-a-brac
lamps and other art objects. Detectives
OF the East F'ifty-first street station are
at work on the case. Miss Cumming was
I
not insured.
A $4,000 robbery which cleaned out
the clothing establishment of Michael s.
Yurcio. 2769 Atlantic avenue. Brooklyn,
two weeks ago became known when fur-
clio offered his business for sale. He
said the burglars had entered a rear
window and escaped the same way. He
reported the loss TO the police. but the
police suppressed the news.
Four other Brooklyn robDeries, news
Of which had been withheld by cdict OF
Commissioner Enright, occurred sun
day. They were oil on the two blocks
in Third avenue between Forty-fifth and
Forty-saventh streets. Losses In each
case were comparatively small.
Five armed and masked men raided
yesterday the Madison Republican Club
25 West 115th street. and held up seven
members who we're playing cards. They
got three gold watches. n Bcarfpin and
ses in cash. and escaped In an auto
mobile. The police are investigating.
Maxwell Freeman. owner OF the Long.
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