The New York herald., 1922-01-01
H;477yOOO ROBBERY
REVEALEDIN SEIZURE
OFWOMANAND2M
Cancelled $500 Bond First
Clue to Theft, Of Mail 4
on Train in July.
PRESENTED AT BANK
Police of Bomb Squad and
Federal Agents Watch
72d Street Home.
WOMAN HELD IN $4,000
Sam Gold and Harry Cohen Try
to Fight Detectives-Have
Criminal Records.
WOMAN HELD IN $4,000

Somewhere between New York and
Washington on the night of July Is
q locked and registered pouch Con-
tanning s1,477.000 In Government bonds
was flung out of railway mail car.
The bonds. some of them Cancelled,
We're beirg taken from the Federal
Reserve Bank in this city to the
Treasury Department.
The disappearance was complete.
Apparently the bonds had been buried
or sunk in a river. At least that was
as good guess as any other. Half the
Treasury and Post ONCE detectives
were sent out to learn something
about the mystery. All they could
find was that the bonds were gone.
For some reason not yet made clear
the bomb squad from New York Po-
lice Headquarters was called into the
hunt. The police learned nothing un-
I'll December %, when Jacob Orgel,
who keeps delicatessen shop at TAI
Seventh avenue. went into the Pacific
Bank. Seventh avenue and Forty
ninth street. with $500 Liberty bond
which, he explained. he desired turned
into cash. =
Orgel was quite frank about the
bond The bank people asked a few
perfunctory questions and he said he
had purchased IT from a woman or
had advanced money to her on it.
Paper Lcesss suspicious.
Banks are not in the habit OF care
Iessly disbursfng hundreds of dollars
without being reasonably sure that they
are justified. Naturally Orgel was told
to return later. AS soon as he left the
bond was turned over to a young man
whose business II IL to know all about
such paper. 1t took him only a short
time to realize that some one had been
tinkering with the bond.
The young man looked up the serial
numbers of missing bonds-bonds that
havc been stolen or lost. Sure enough,
this was one Of the bonds that the
Government had been worrying about
for five months. The Secret Service was
notified and Agent weistnan was as
signed to the investigation.
Orgel explained his interest in the
Lond and said 1t had been left with him
by the divorced wife of Abe Attell, one
time featherweight champion pugilist
who was involved In the White Sox
baseball scandal In 1919.
Orgel said he knew Mrs. Atfell only
slightly-had known here better. before
she was married to Abe--and had seen
her seldom. She had left her address
with him when she gave him the bond.
II was 135 West Seventy-second street.
There was no Mrs. Attell at that ad-
dress when the detectives went there. but
there was an Ethel Bruce. Various ten
ants In the house understood that the
! Bruce woman had divorced her husband.
who was n pugilist, In 1916. Detectives
Riley and Brown Of the bomb squads
Nicholas Hoffman. postal inspector,
and Weistman began to watch the
woman.
Three times a young woman I'm ex-
pcnsive looking fur wraps and older
men whose general appearance sug-
gested what the police describe as "the
sporting man. went TO the house. rang
the bell at the Bruce apartment and left
without getting In. The police began
20 think that some one had told the
woman to get out OF town AM that she
had obeyed.
On Friday night they saw light In
the apartment for the first time. They
approached the flat by the stairs and the
fire escape. Uniformed policemen were
stationed In the areaway and street for
safety.
Find Two Men I'm Apartment.
The { electives jammed their way into
tho apartment when the door was opened
slightly and there they found Ethel
Bruce. who admitted that she was Abe
Atteirs divorced wife. and two men. The
men were Sam Gold. rs, OF IS Cannon
|urtreet. and Harry Cohen. 2s. OF 30 st.
ark's place. Both men described them
ives as selcsmen. but they failed 70
ID. M was subsequently learned at Po-
Ne Hendquar rtcrs, that they possessed
vhk distinction OF police records and
several aliases.
lin describing the flat the police say
that "A complete and operating opium
ldyout was one of the conspicuous items
or furniture The two men we're ready
10 fight. the police say. but thought
better OF Il whcn they noticed che guns
the detectives had unlimbered. BY far
the most seif-possessed person In the
place was Mrs. Attell.
The three were arraigned before the
United States Commissioner. Mr. Hitch
cock. yesterday. Mrs. Attell said that
A. was news to her that the bond had
been stolen or tampered with In any
event she was quite innocent of stealing
or tampering. And she was quite sure
that neither Gold nor Cohen knew any
more about the history of the bond than
ahc.
The two men we're nervous and sui
len. Mrs. Attell was raphic. She said
che was 2S years old She Is rather at
tractive and understands the art of
dressing TO advantage. She wore dark
Acloth dress and her hands were well
rovidcd with diamonds.
she went ON to explain that she had
Continued on Page Three.