The New York herald., 1922-04-22
Loot Sold for $1,000, Money
Spent on Broadway and
at Shore, Is Charge.
WOMAN BEATEN IN HOME
Boy Fakes Holdup in House on
Gramercy Park After Read
ing Conan Doyle.

1narleS I'laZZa OF blU East FOur-
teenth street. a driver for the whole
sale drug firm of McKesson & Robbins,
told the police last night that earlier
in the day he had been held up in
Broadway, Brooklyn, and robbed of an
automobile truck containing ten cases
OF opium valued at $4,000. Piazza
said that four men committed the rob-
berry. one driving off with the truck
while the others took him in limou-
sine to Elmhurst. where they dropped
him. Piazza was closely questioned
by the police in Brooklyn and later a.
Manhattan headquarters.
Joseph Thomas, 10, of S4 Steuben
street, and Frank Hefferman, 16, of 90
Emerson place. both of Brooklyn, were
arrested by detectives, who said they
told of more than twenty apartment
house robberies in the last seven
months in the Bedford and Clinton
Heights sections of Brooklyn. The two
boys were accused Of selling their loot
for more than $1,000 and spending the
money at Atlantic City and on Broad
way
Burglars entered the home of Irving
Wiener, 61S Avenue n. Brooklyn, on
Thursday afternoon between and 3
o'clock and carried away jewelry. furs,
silverware, linen and clothing valued
at $40 1000, il was learned. Mrs. Wiener
had left the house few minutes be-
fore o'clock and went shopping for
an hour. BY the time she returned the
whole upper part of the house had
been ransacked.
Limousine Across His Path.
In the opium robbery, Piazza was on
his way from the Mckessou & Robbins
warehouse in Washington street. Man.
haitian. to another warehouse in Brook
lyn. A big limousine with five men cut
across in front OF his machine at Berry
street and Broadway. he said, and one
of the men got out OF the car ana asked
him where he was going. Piazza then
said:
"I told him, and he came closer and
stuck something against my ribs. IT
was gun. He told me to get down Off
the truck and into the automobile. and
did that without any debate. | was
seated between two men in the car,
each of whom kept revolver pressed
against my ribs. They told me to make
no outcry.
THE man who had first spoken to me
got aboard my truck and drove off.
Then the car in which ! was seated went
in another direction, through Green
point and into Enlhurst. where they
threw me out and speeded off. We
passed several cops, but was afraid to
do anything to attract their attention"
Piazza said that he wandered about
Elmhurst until he found a mounted
policeman, who sent him to the Bedford
avenue station. The bandits. the driver
asserted, were young men who spoke
good English
Rows Followed six Blocks.
The alleged apartment thieves.
Thomas. who also is known as Bun
Moose. and Hefferman. were arrested
after Detectives Boyer, Mccormick.
harrington and Smyth. in an automo-
bile. had followed them for six blocks.
Thomas had a bundle under MS arm,
which. the police said. contained SUIT
Of clothing stolen from an apartment
in Tompkins avenue. In his pockets
Thomas also had three diamond rings.
four gold watches and twenty-eight
nawn tickets for stuff stolen In Myrtle,
Tompkins and Bedford avenues.
Cant. Carey OF the Gates avenue sta
ton got twenty addresses OF rooberies
from the boys. but the specific charge
against them is robbing the apartment
of Fire Capt. William Ross. 100 Ioinp-
rims avenue. on April II. where cash
and iewelry totaling $i.i0o were stolen.
a Fire Department badge was recov-
cred bv the detectives. The boys en-
tered All the places by means or the
dumb walters, they said.
In the Wiener robbery in Avenue y
Detectives Lavelle and Mccarthy found
that the burglars entered by jinimying
the kitchen door. Wiener IS a lithog-
"a pher at 692 Broadway. 1t was
learned also that on April - daylight
burglars entered the apartment OF Soio-
mon Berman at i2i Parkside avenue,
proo,slyn. and carried away $500 worth
Of jewelry.
Mrs. Anna Price. 5o OF 179 Norfolk
street was called to the door OF her
home Yesterday by two youths, VINO
lrnoci<ed her down and stole from her
, nair of earrings said to be valued at
sio6O. Her cries were heard by Detec-
tiyos Hayes and keane, who arrested
Louis C;oldstein. y. OF - forsytne
street and Samuel Cohen. 81. or l.s Nor
folk street. running from the building.
q. w. Stockton, president OF the Amer
icau Railway Express Company, went
To police Headquarters 70 inspect
nou machine gun which shoots steel
iaclxeted bullets. Mr.. Stockton said the
company is contemplating arminS its
wa cons in carrying valuables.
when Benjamin ouIntman of 5i7 East
,,icventh street, Brooklyn, accused of
being the glass eye furnisned room
thief was. arraigned in Coucy Island
Court twenty-five women were present
10 tal;e tho stand against him. Magis-
tratc Brown held him in a total OF
81 600 bail.
John r,orenzc. 20. of 91l0 Hughes ave-
me The Bronx elevator operator At
Lexington avenue on Grsmercy Park.
alarmed tho tenants by fegninG that
tie he'd been held UP and beaten. He
was found wounded IN the mouth and
a pistol was near by on the floor. l.o-
renzc said two ROBBERS had stolen 500
from him.
At the East Twenty-second street sta
tion after several hours OF questioning
Lorenzo admitted his story was 3 hoax.
Hc said that he had been reading Sir
Arthur Conan Uoyle's sherlock
Holmes" stories ard had conceived the
idea OF staging a holdup to gain the
sympathy of the tenants and probably
largo gum OF money. He was arrested
on charge OF violating the sullivan
law.