The New York herald., 1921-03-28
SLAIN DETECTIVE
TAKEN FOR BANDIT
BY RESERVE COP
Man Who Did the Shooting
Cites Recent Holdup to
Justify His Act.
is HELD FOR MURDER
Prisoner Asserts He Didn't
Know Crap Game Raidfl.s
Were Police Officers.
EIGHT MEN ARE TRAPPED
Sudden Invasion of Apartment
Was Made Through Win
dOws on First Floor.
Is HELD FOR MURDER
EIGHT MEN ARE TRAPPED

The fact that i've robbers descended
upon crap game - ;r59 Fifteenth ave
nue., Brooklyn, on August Z last. and
had taken between $1,000 and $4,000
from the players. was cited yesterday
by Hyman Sylverstein to explain the
shooting and killing OF Detective Joseph
Connolly in the course OF a raid in the
same apartment house early yesterday
morning.
Sylverstein, who Is a member OF the
Police Reserves of the Parkville section
OF Brooklyn, and who admits having
been one of the players In the crap
game which Connolly and three other
detectives Interrupted, declared that he
had no way OF knowing that Connolly
and his companions were policemen, and
that his memory of the robbery of last
summer made him draw the revolver
which he had a permit to carry. and
hre quickly
Throughout long questioning BY
Reuben Wilson. head OF the homicide
bureau of the Kings county District At
torney's Office. Sylversteln stuck to this
story. AS further evlden of the fact
that he thought Connolly to be robber
when he fred the bullet through his
heart, Sylverstein pointed tc the fact
that seven men arrested with him as
participants in the crap game were
merely fined 81 each upon their appear
ance before City Magistrate Steers in
the F1atbush Police Court yesterday, and
he argued that no sane man would
knowingly kill a policeman to escape a
hne of ST.
The arraignment OF Sylverstein before
Magistrate Steers was brief. He was
charged in a. short affidavit with having
murdered the officer in an effort to
escape arrest and was held without
bail for hearing tomorrow morning.
He gave his occupation as tinsmith.
The story OF the shooting given by
the police was that Detectives Connolly.
Mccarthy. De Gherri and Goldman. all
of Inspector Thomas McDonald's staff,
were passing the apartment house short
Is after midnight when they discovered
that eight men were shooting crap In
the dining room of the apartment Of
Bernard Kosner. on the first floor. They
were all In their short sleeves, and the
windows, the sills of which we're on a
level with the shoulders of the detectives,
were wide open.
Connolly went into the hall by way
of the courtyard entrance for the pur-
pose OF thwa .ting escape, while his three
companions vauited over the window
sills into the room. All OF the players.
with the exception of Sylverstein stood
motionless at the sight or the invaders.
SNtNtTSLeifl, liO1eNfT. W cctnpS
by means OF the hall to his own apart
nent on the floor above, and thus en-
countered Connolly. The shooting fol-
lowed. one bullet dropping Connolly at
the foot OF the staircase.
The other men arrested gave their
names as Bernard Rosner. Moe Rosner.
Noe Kapp. Henry Tappler. Max Cohen.
Lyman Fasin and Philip Hogan. All are
resident OF the immediate neighborhood
Connolly. who lived with his mother
and father at 1857 Bedford avenue. had
been on the police force for four years
and bore an excellent record. He will
be buried from the Church OF the Nativ-
ity on Wednesday morning.