New-York tribune., 1920-02-04
Five Trucks Loaded With
Clothing Seized i'm Raid
on Warehouse in 127th
St.; Suspect Conspiracy
Seven Soldiers, 27
Civilians Are Held
Goods on Way to Camp
Merritt From the Busl,
Terminal i'm BROOKLYN

Attempted theft of five motor trucks
laden with 100000 worth of army cloth
ing was thwartcd last night when detec-
tives of New York Police Department.
members of the Army Intelligence Corps
and soldiers of the Motor TRANSPORT
Corps conducted a raid on the Riverdale
Storage Warehouse, 152 West l27th
Street
They found there the five trucks which
mad been cleared from the army supply
base at the Bush Terminal under forged
orders yesterday afternoon. They also
found seven civilians and seven members
of the Motor Transport Corps, who Were
placed under arrest. One of the trucks
had been almost unloaded when the po-
lice broke in upon the proceedings
The plot, according to Major Joseph
McConville, commandant at the supply
base, had been Matching under the eyes
OF the authorities for the last week.
Several clerks at the base, as we'll as
the uniformed men, were implicated in
it, he said.
Way Made Easy for Plotters
1--WE gave them all the rope they
needed he continued. "We even abol-
lshed some inspections of warehouses
and trucks temporarily so that moth
ing might interfere with their plans.
1t we hadn't beer aware already of
what was going on the fake orders that
they issued to the chauffeurs TODAY
would have tipped us off.
These directed that the goods be
taken to Camp Merritt, near Tenaf1y.
Apparently the conspirators did not
know that Camp Merritt has not been
IN existence for some weeks now. 1t
was abolished the first of the year"
Major McConville stood in the win
dow of his office yesterday and watched
the five trucks trundle away with an
other car containing soldiers and de-
tectives trailing discreetly behind. The
trucks were driven to the West Shore
ferry at the foot of West Forty-second
Street, where it was understood, ac-
cordng to the police, that the con-
splrators were to receive $4,000 for
their loot
Apparently something went wrong.
for the truck waited there an hour and
then went north to the River rdale Ware
house, which has garage on the
ground floor. Detectives John Nc
Gowan, Harry Walsh and Michael Ward,
together with military police and other
soldiers under command of Leutenants
Mosey and Callahan, waited for fifteen
minutes.
Surrendered Without Resistance
linen, summoning to their aid several
uniformed police, they shut off the
block on which the warehouse stands
to all traffic, foot or vehicular. and
burst into the warehouse garage. The
men discovered there surrendered with
out a struggle, were bundled, hand
cuned, into motor cars and taken to
brooklyn The seven civilians were
neld without bail on charges of grand
larceny. They will be arraigned in
the Federal court to-day. The seven
soldiers were turned over to the mill
tary authorities. The prisoners are:
Joseph Sanand, civilian clerk at the
supply base, living at 438 West 164th
Street, Manhattan; Max Ludecke.
proprietor of the warehouse, living at
329 Lcnox Avenue; Michael Fay. civil
lar clerk, 329 Lenox Avenue; Georce
Mooney, Jap West 1O3d Street, fore
man at the supply base; Samuel Small.
civilian clerk, 33 Market Street. Man
haitian; Barney Schustacker, 67 FORSYTH
Street; John Mcmahon, expressman.
50 West l04th Street.
sergeant James S. Kelly, 407th Com
pany, Motor Transport Corps; Ser
geant Fred Cormack, 4O7th Company;
Corporal Edward Blackburn, 657th
Company; Corporal Vetter, 796th Com
pany; Corporal Joseph Ginalle, 657th
Company; Private Strassberger, 4O7th
Company and Private Abe c. Berg
man, 407th Company.
Among the material with which the
trucks were laden we're 10000 shirts.
10000 pairs of gloves, leggings, trou-
sers, underclothes and some shoes
More Arrests Expected
1t is not believed by military or city
police that all the cons spirators have
been arrested. Major McConville hint
ed tnat man higher up" might be
involved. 1t was rumored last night
that the arrest of commissioned Off
Ger might follow shortly.
Mrs. Ludecke said last night that
her husband had nothing whatever to
do with the attempted theft She said
that last Friday Mcmahon called up the
warehouse office and that she answered
the telephone. He asked, she related,
whether Ludecke had any spare space
in his warehouse to house some trucks
that he was unable to take care Of.
Mrs. Ludecke said that she told him
to send the trucks up, but did not
hear from him again until 4:30 yester-
day afternoon, when the trucks ap-
peared.
Immediately after they were driven
into the building, she said, men began
to unload one of them, working ap-
parently in great haste. Neither she
nor her husband. she said, had any
idea that there was anything wrong
until the police and secret service men
burst in