The New York herald., 1922-01-14
SUSPEND POLICEMEN
IN CONVICTS' ESCAPE
Three Who Were Guarding
Bellevue Prison Ward
Bewildered.

Patrolmen Reed, O'Brien and Janson
of the East Thirty-ffth street station
tried yesterday to figure out how three
supposedly sick inmates of Bellevue
Hospital prison ward, clad in pajamas,
managed to escape Thursday night
through a barred window, down the
fire escape and through the morgue
into Twenty-ninth street. although the
officers were on duty in the ward nj
the time.
They couldn't explain it and Chief
Inspector Lahey suspended them indefi-
nitely notwithstanding the facts tina;
all have good records and have served
twenty-eight. twenty and nine wears,
respectively, on the force. Not one OF
the twenty-five remaining prisoner pa
tents nor the half dozen doctors and
nurses heard a sound. Reed. O'Brinn
and Janson were locked in with the
prisoners.
Even more puzzled and disgusted than
the policemen was an ex-convict named
Morrison, who is awaiting trial for as
sarlt and robbery. He occupied the
cot next the window and didn't wake UP.
Inspectors Lahey and Coughlin found
that two bars had been sawed off from
outside. job which would take about
ten minutes. There was a rusted cut 10
another bar.
Inspector Coughlin said last night
that he expected the three fugitives
would be rounded up. for detectives who
know them well have been assigned to
the case. All three are listed In the
biographical department of the Rogues
Gallery. They are: John Little, 80. 20s
East Forty-fourth street, alias John
Burke: under the alias was arrested in
1913 charged with larceny and unlawful
entry and sent 10 the reformatory; In
1916. arrested on disorderly conduct
charge and discharged in 1915 ar
rested. charged with robbery and pos
session of a re yolver; sent to Sing
Sing for from five to ten years. In
1920. arrested. charged with grand lar
ceny and discharged: In August. 1921,
rested, charged with robbery, and after
being sentenced to five years in Sing
Sing obtained a writ of reasonable doubt
and was released on bail.
While out on bail. as a result of the
writ, Little was again arrested, charged
with being one of five men who held up
and robbed the Phipps real estate office,
243' West Sixty-third street on Decem-
ber 20. Little wac shot through the
Jaw by a policeman, and 1t was on ac-
count OF this wound that he was in
Bellevue Hospital.
John Hickey. Is. alias Michael Burke.
alias Michael Hanley. of 100 East Ninth
street, was arrested in 1918 on a charge
of petty larceny and sent to the reform
atory. In 1913 arrested, charged with
assault and robbery and discharged.
In 1914. arrested on a charge of burg
larry and sent to the Elmira Reforma-
tory. In 1916. arrested. charged with
grand larceny and sent to the peniten-
tiary. In 1917. arrested on charge of
grand larceny and sentenced to Sing
Sing for from two and a half to five
years. In 1920. arrested on a drug
charge. sent to the workhouse for six
months. In 1920. arrested. charged with
grand larceny and discharged. In 1921,
under the name of Michael Burke, ar
rested, charge with stealing packages
from a wagon. While in the Tombs he
contracted pneumonia, for which he
was being treated at the time of his
escape from the hospital.
Arthur Priser. alias Arthur Pressed.
no ags or address given. was fined 500
on charge OF grand larceny In 1912, Il,
1913. and three times in 1915 he was
arrested on a charge Of possessing
drugs. but no disposition was made In
any OF the cases. In 1917. on a similar
charge. he was sentenced to the peni-
tentiary. In 1918 arrested on a charge
of larceny and sent TO the penitentiary.
In 1919. arrested on a larceny charge
and sent to the penltentiary: and in
1920, arrested in Mount Vernon on q.
charge OF petty larceny and sent to the
Westchester penitentiary for six
months.
DR.. George w. O'Hanlon, medical su-
perintendent of Bellevue and Allied
Hospitals. issued the following state
ment last night after consultation with
DR.. John w. Brannan. president of the
board OF trustees of the hospital:
while the hospital authorities feel a
certain amount of moral responsibility
rests with us for the protection of the
patients and other inmates of the in
stitution. we wish to make It clear that
actual responsibility for the inmates of
the prison ward lies in the hands of the