The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1921-06-21
DARING
DEED EASY
FOR HOLDUPS
Hammond DistiIIey Product
Is Stolen Early Yesterday
Morning.

A daring band OF hard-boi1ed rum
thieves visited the Hammond Distiling
%. warehouse in the Nowak Milling
CO. plant early yesterday morning.
.lrrred a watchman and government
r.n abducted them and got away
u-ith 2.ooo gallons Of whiskey, worth
~ the prevailing boot-legging price
anywhere from seventy TO eighty
thousand dollars.
PUT LID ON NEWS.
In the hope OF running down clues
the authorities withheld details OF tae
robbery yesterday. though II was gen
orally known by federal agents IN chi
cago and Gary.
Information furnished by the vatcn-
man at the crossing at 150th street and
Calumet avenue and by a Hammond
man who saw the heavily loaded truck
on Calumet avenue, proved that the
stolen uquor was taken 70 South chi
oago.
LAUGHLIN TELLS STORY
?. Laughlin. government agent
IN the warehouse, cana TO the Ham
rnond police station early IN the morn
Ing and made a statement he sala
that 4 men broke into the distAlery
At one o'clock in the morning and Gov
cred him with guns. They made MIN
lay down on the hoor and brought the
uatchnan from the Nowak Milling
Co Joseph Zyzanski, and laid him
face down beside him. After long
wait during which the men we're
watched BY a solitary guard, they
we're taken out, thrown into o touFi4s
car and blind folded.
DROVE TO HAIlBoR
The bandits drove them to Indiana
Harbor and laid them down BY wire
fence. which they later found vas
around tha Mark plant. They u4fe
,.ld TO lay stin or The rum thieves
would kill them.
L.auEhlin laid still for moment tlll
H. was sure the men had gone and
then they rose and found the road
Haiiing a passing bakery wagon, they
got their bearings and rode with me
driver 10 the Hammond police station
where they made q statement
HOW 1T WAS EXECU-ED.
Both had been slugged and beaten.
From clues found a the plant, such
as marks OF automobile tires, and
from the statements of the two
v-atchrnen, the police and government
agents have evolved a fairly accurate
tale OF how the robbery was executed
The locks on the main gate and on
several doors had been sheared OF
with a pair OF huge clippers.
on CALUMET AVENUE
The Nowak plant includes IN its In
closure the warehouses Of the Ham
mond DlstilIing Co. The plant is 10
Gated on the corner OF 15oth street and
Calumet avenue. with the main en-
trance on Calumet The main gate is
ct the head OF a roadway which leads
hack to the warehouse from which the
liauor was taken. This warehouse Is.
Ct the corner formed by the Calumet
river and Calumet avenue. The road
PASSES to the rear OF the Nowak Co
buildings and cannot be seen from the
outside.
HAD BIG TRUCK.
AS near as can be figured. the
thieves entered by cutting the lock
from the main gate. entered quietly
end overpowered the watchmen. and
then drove In two touring cars and
big truck One car was left near the
gate and the other was driven around
- the warehouse where the truck was
loaded.
The captured watchmen we're laid
face down on the floor IN the shed
used by the government men, and were
left under the care OF one man They
estimate that they were in this posi-
ton for nearly two hours. In the
meantime the others loaded the truck
at the rear of the rack room, using a
skid and board which they had
brought with them. These things are
held as clues.
TOURING CAR ESCORT
When the truck was loaded with the
80 barrels of liquor. the crew drove it
away under the escort Of one of the
to transport the blind folded watch
men to the lonely spot near the Mark
plant where they were left.
AS near as can be estimated. there
were about seven men in the sang
The police are certain that they went
10 South Chicago with the stolen rum
and are working on that lead
Bootleg whiskey al present prices is
estimated to be worth close to $4,000
barrel. which would make the value Of
the load about $4,000.
AUTO Is SEEN.
An autnobile was seen parked near
the SIFo Products company on 150th
street for two hours before the rob-
berry, but no one knew what the make
was. nor could they give an accurate
description
Last November $50 gallons OF whis-
key were stolen from the warehouse.
There are about thousand barreIs n
storage on warehouse certificates in
the plant and the government refuses
to put armed guards