New-York tribune., 1922-02-21
Lone Bandit Boards Auto
on Seventh Avenue and
Robs One Guard While
Other Remains Unaware
W oman Thought
Was Picture Stunt
Driver Is Held as Accom-
p''cc; Detectives Also
Get Another Chauffeur

\ motor truck carrying two negro
bank messengers and $4,000 i'm cash
was held UP at If oclock vest rdav
morning between Nineteenth and Twon
ticth streets, ON Seventh Avenue. and
robbed of $4,000 One bandit did the
job. He escaped I'M an AUTOMOBILES
with two others, who were waiting for
him
The money belonged to the branch
Office of the Greenwich Rank. which is
at SiNth Avenue and Thlrty-Gfth Street.
Ihc $4,000 was in the caro- Of William
Russell, thirty-six years Old, Of 2S Ma
pic Avenue, Montclair, n. j. He sat
on tho front seat with the driver aud
the money lay between his rccs
The other messenger, Clarence
Brown, Of Is East l30th Street, WAS in
tho back of tho truck, screened from
view by tho covering. He had immc-
diatc charge Of ninety bags of silver
coins comprising $4,000 He did not
know that his companion had been
robbed until it was over. Mother Of
the messengers was armed
Thought 1t Film Stunt
The whole affair, according to the
police, was ono OF the most casual hold
ups they have ever encountered. There
was no excitement, though Seventh
Avenue was crowded. No ono pursued
the thieves. Only ono person q wom-
an-saw the actual robbery. She
thought it was a motion picture stunt
and looked around for the camera.
Detectives Of the West Thirticth
police station grilled Russell and the
driver for moro than five hours ycster-
day. Tho driver is Michael Mario,
thirty years old, of 10 Spencer Court,
Brooklyn. According to the police he
is number 3S,1S6 in the Rogues' Gal
lery, and was arrested in 1911 ON d
charge of grand larceny in connec-
ton with the theft Of packages from
the American Express Company. At
the conclusion of the examination
Mario was locked up charged with
acting in concert with the robbers.
Detectives of the headquarters di-
vision who were assigned to the case
last night arrested at 7Sl Second Ave
nue. chauffeur who gave his name as
Frank Flanagan, twenty-five years old
and his address as 312 West Forty
eighth Street He was taken to Police
Headquarters, where he was locked up
on charge of acting in concert. He
will be arraignod to-day
Mario is employed by t. s. Banta. Of
50 z Greenwich Avenue. who supplies
the bank with motor trucks for the
transportation of its money. Banta
said he did not know that Mario had a
police record. He SAID that the driver
had been in his employ for SIX months
and had been used occasionally TO
drive the banks messengers and it's
funds.
Details Not Clear
The truck left the Thirty-ffth Street
branch of the Greenwich Bank about
1890 Yesterday morning to take the
money to the Federal Reserve Bank at
Wall and Nassau streets 1t went south
on Seventh Avenue until 1T reached a
point between Nineteenth and Twen-
tieth streets. Exactly how the robbery
was effected is not clear. There are
discrepancies in the stories told by the
police and attributed to Mario and Rus
sell.
One version is that tho truck slowed
down and that the bandit Jumped on
the running board, placed revolver
against Russells ribs snatched the
pouch with the money in it and ran.
He ran to Twentieth Street, where an
automobile was waiting for him. The
machine went west on Twentieth Street
and there were two other men in it be
side the actual highwayman
The other version is that somewhere
between Nineteenth and Twentieth
streets Russell felt the need of cigar
and told Mario to stop in front of a
cigar store. Mario did so. Russell got
out, told Mario to watch the money
and went to buy a smoke
He had come out of the cigar store
and had just taken his seat when the
bandit stepped on the running board
and told Mario to drive and to keep on
driving. At the corner of Nineteenth
Street the bandit hoped of the truck
and into touring car which was trail
ing.
After the hold-up had been com
fC1ntinupd an mana three.