New-York tribune., 1921-12-19
Bandits FollowW
Into Auditors Office;
Hold Up Employees,Cet
Cash, Flee Over Roof
Theft Takes Place
Near End of Show
FourVictims, OneW oman,
Bound With Wire and
Bundled Into a Closet

Three armed robbers held up officers
OF the Capitol Theatcr, the biggest
moving picture theater in the country,
at Fifty-first Street and Broadway, at
lO:20 o'clock last night, while the audi
ence was watching the screen, and es-
capped over the roof with $4,000 in
currency, the days receipts. The
hold-up took place in the auditors
office on the third floor Of the theater.
J. l.. Falconer, the auditor, had just
entered the Office. With him were
John Matthews, house manager, and
Pearl Courtwright, cashier. They had
with them bag of tan leather contain
ing the days receipts, about $4,000.
They take the receipts to the Office
every night at about the same hour,
preparatory to counting them and
taking them to the Pacific Bank
Ordinarily they are accompanied by
All armed guard. Last night there was
no guard.
They went through the outer Office,
separated from the corridor by a door
of heavy wood, and entered the audi
tors private office. Access to this in
ner Office is gained by fimsy door
with glass panel in it. There also is
small window with a slide, which was
open between the outer and the inner
Offices.
Money in $100 Bills
I've
Falconer having first opened the safe
and taken out $4,000 in packages of
500 each, which he placed on his desk,
the outer door of the Office opened and
Thomas Maher, the night watchman,
entered the outer office.
Before the outer door closed behind
Maher it was showed open again upon
his heels and three men crowded into
the outer office. One of them thrust
a revolver into Maher's back and mo-
toned significantly. The watchman's Is
arms shot obediently toward the CELL
ing.
The three bandits showed Maher
ahead of them until they reached the
door to the private office. One of
them flung this open and another
pushed Maher inside
The occupants of the office looked
up at his stumbling entrance and Mr..
Falconer, who had the money bag in
his hand, automatically threw it into
Something in Maher's expression
warned him.
The next moment, what Maher de-
scrbed later as "the biggest gun |
ever saw" poked it's snout through the
pigeon-hole window between the two
offices. Behind it appeared the clean
shaven face of a young man, who
waved the big revolver across the COM
posite target in front Of him and re-
marked, "Put em up!"
In spite of the impression which the
| .45-caliber revolver had made on
Falconer and the others in the private
office, they found it incredible that
there really was hold-up man at the
auditors pigeon hole. They sat with
jaws agape staring at the young man
with the big pistol.
Threatens to Kill
"If you don't stick 'em up, I'll pop
| you," he assured them
thews, Miss Courtwright and Maher,
although their mouths still stayed open
incredulously.
The three hold-up men then entered
the inner Office, and while two of them
kept the occupants covered with their
weapons, the third drew lengths of
wire and window sash cord from his
pockets and proceeded to tie The wrists
of Falconer and Matthews.
Without waiting to secure Maher and
Miss Courtwright, the robbers showed
their victims into the outer office, one
of them going through Mr.. Falconer's
pockets on the way and extracting his
keys, among which was the key to the
safe.
In the outer Office they opened the
door of a small closet and thrust their
! CONTINUED on page sevsnteen)