The New York herald., 1922-05-21
CHASE BOND THIEVES
BACK. NAME HIRSCH.
Say Man Out on $4,000 Bail
Agreed to Purchase if They
Stole Libertys.
TWO vARDEMANS CONFESS
Action Will Be Taken to Re-
cover Securities Sold to st.
Augustine Hotel Man.

John w. vardeman and his wife,
Bertha. who. with Arthur F. Chase
former Texas Ranger. are accused o.;
stealing 100000 in Liberty bonds from
the Chase National Bank on April II.
were brought back from Savannah last
night and locked up in Police Head
quarters by Detectives Mayer, Brown,
Fay and Fitzpatrick and Policewoman
Mary Sullivan.
Chase. who for sixteen months worked
rs conscientious and obliging guard az
the Chase National Bank was arrested
here on May 10 and is now in the
Tombs. A few hours after Chase was
taken Warden and his wife We're cap
tured In hotel in Savannah. where they
We're registered as MIR. and Mrs. John
W. Hollis At the same time $4,000
of the stolen bonds were recovered in a
safe deposit box in the First National
Bank of St. Augustine, Fla.
The detectives said last night that Var
deman and his wife had signed written
confessions which they had made with
out threats or offers of reward. In her
confession Mrs. vardeman, known also
as "Ferne Hollis singer, tells the
story of her dealings with Henry Hirsch
of 1910 Broadway, now at liberty on
$4,000 bail on an indictment charging
grand larceny. "
Say He offered to BUY Bonds.
Mrs. Vardeman visited Hirsch before
the robbery according to her statement,
and both she and her husband say that
the robbery never would have taken
place if Hirsch had not assured her that
he would buy the bonds. Hirsch, ac-
cordng to Mrs. Vardeman. told her he
| had friend, a wealthy bootlegger with
a yacht anchored off Baltimore. who
wanted the bonds. The bootlegger. he
said. would take the bonds. sail for
South America and perhaps later for
Europe and dispose of them there.
She said she and Chase on April II, a
few hours before the robbery, visited
Hirschs office. The next day she said,
she took thirty $1,000 bonds to Hirsch's
Office, where, according to a previous
arrangement. she was to receive $4,000.
Hirsch took the bonds, the woman as
serted: went across the street for
few minutes and returned to say that
he could not get the cash for them then.
He asked her to come back that night
She said when she returned later with
the bonds she was met at the entrance
of the building by a tall man. who rep
resented himself as a detective. took
the bonds from her and ran away. She
said she went into Hirsch's office and
upbraided him, reminding him that there
SHOULD be honor among thieves
In his confession Vardeman says he
met Chase at the Chase National Bank,
where they were employed. and that
later Chase came to live with him and
Ih,s wife at 152 West Forty-ninth street.
XAll winter, he said, they talked OF
stealing bonds He corroborated hts
wife's story and said that Hirsch wanted
to give them only $l50.0O0 for the bonds.
IfIe said he agreed to sell the thirty
Isl 900 bonds at half price to get ready
money with which to 20 South On
|April 10, the day after the $4,000 in bonds
HAD been stolen from his vile. he left
for Florida with $4,000 in bonds.
Hotel Proprietor Accused.
vardeman names hotel proprietor OF
Sc Augustine, who. he says, dickered
with him for several days for $4,000 OF
he bonds. Finally he agreed to sell the
ponds for SIS, 1000. but he insists he re-
eived only $5,400 from the hotel man.
md that in small installments. or the
5. 400 he sent s700 to his wife and to
Chase. His wife Joined him later in
Savannah.
Detectives are investigating Varde-
mans story of the hotel man in st.
Augustine. and Il it is borne out suit
viii be started TO recover the $4,000
N bonds.