The New York herald., 1922-06-30
Libertys That Vanished in
Los Angeles Mail Robbery
Turn Up Here.
BANKS PROPERTY FOUND
Nassau Street Jeweler Gives
Ring for 81, 900 Piece Of
Paper Plunder.

Five men said to be members of a
nationwide combine to dispose of loot
from bond and mail robberies are un
der arrest after having been trailed
in stolen Liberty bonds has been re-
covered through the secret service
operating under Capt. John S. Tucker.
The arrests took place yesterday.
identified as being a part of the rob-
berry of a mail truck in Los Angeles
March 8.
The men under arrest are William
j. Pierce, who has offices at 140 West
Forty-second street: Thomas F. La
mon, who said he was connected with
the Trans-Coast Finance Corporation
of $50 Madison avenue; Albert Fftz-
roy of $50 East Twenty-fifth street,
Brooklyn: Abraham Rosenthal, 973
Tiffany street, The Bronx. and said to
be the brother OF former Judge Sidney
Rosenthal. and Robert Burns, who
gave his address as 144 West Seventy
sixth street.
A sixth man. Max Sonand. is under
the attempted negotiation of nearly
$4,000 worth Of stolen bonds which
were found in his possession, and
which. according to the Government
agents, he confessed to having re-
ceived from Pierce.
Pierce Under Suspicion.
Pierce, according to Capt Tucker. Is
believed by the secret service to be the
head of bond and mail robbery gang
operating throughout the country and
which has disposed Of millions In stolen
Liberty bonds and other securities.
Last April word was received at the
secret service offices from one of the
large downtown brokerage houses to the
effect that $4,000 worth OF Liberty
bonds, representing what is known as a
transfer in blank. were being presented
there for sale. According to the authori-
ties the bonds were part of the Los
Angeles loot. Sonand was the messen-
ger who presented the bonds. He Is said
to have told the authorities that he got
the bonds from Pierce. The Los Angeles
loot amounted to more than 100000
taken from twenty sacks of registered
mail The authorities called on Pierce
at 14O West Forty-second street.
why that's funny Pierce said
laughing easily. II hope that the others
/ sold to Mr.. McGregor weren't the
same Kind I!
No charge was made against Pierce
then. But when 1t was discovered that
Sc 900 worth of bonds had gone through
the hands of New York brokers and
Pierce had been one Of those brokers'
and the bonds were also part OF the Los
Angeles loot, the agents decided on ac-
tion. On May 3 Pierce was arrested and
held in $4,000 bail by United States
Commissioner Samuel Hitchcock. Yes
terday $4,000 more was added to that
bail.
Sonand confessed, according to Capt.
Tucker that he had had $4,000 worth
of Liberty bonds which had been stolen
and $4,000 of them in his possession
when arrested. The $4,000 bonds which
he had were part of the loot from the
robbery of the National Bank of Andes.
N. Y. Sonand admitted to the police
that he had passed $1,000 stolen bond
on a Nassau street Jeweler here in pay
ment Tor Soou uidrnoHo Tlnb'
On June 1 one of the. secret service
men got into conversation with a chance
acquaintance who did not know that
the former was in the Government SER
vice and broached the subject of bonds.
The acquaintance offered to sell bonds
TO the agent and the latter led him on.
Planted in Brokerage House.
To carry out the plan, the agent was
planted" in one OF the big downtown
brokerage houses, and was TO receive the
stolen registered bonds and exchange"
them for more easily negotiable bonds
at the expense Of the firm with which
te was supposed to be working. To
carry out the rest Of the plan the ac-
ouaintance introduced the agent to
Continued on Page -Four.