The New York herald., 1922-06-13
WARD WONON TIPS,
BILKING' TIPSTERS,
SAYS JOCKEYS WIFE
Mrs. Knapp Tells of Her
Brother and His Friend
Being Deceived.
BROTHER TO TESTIFY
Subp9naed by Grand Jury
as Case Turns to Race
Track Tales.
SEVEN OTHERS CALLED
Will Be Examined on Letters
Which One Investigator
Calls PLANTS
SEVEN OTHERS CALLED

While the authorities Of Westches-
ter county were preparing yesterday
to send more witnesses before the
Grand Jury at White Plains to-day
they were also following a new lead
in the direction of the race track ac-
tivities of Walter s. Ward. 1t was az
the race track, according to the Ward
attorneys, that the blackmailing
scheme. the secret of which has no.
been disclosed. had it's beginning.
Mrs. William Knapp. wife of a well
known jockey. said last night at her
home in Hollis. Queens borough, that
her brother. Alfred J. Blute, and his
race track pal. Bill Heffner, gave WAL
ter Ward. in February or March last, a
tip on horse named Assume that was
running at Mobile.
"Heffner," Mrs Knapp said, 'had
the tip and said it was going over. He
told my brother about it and they
passed the tip to Walter S. Ward.
Ward promised to declare them in.
The horse won. but my brother never
received a cent from Mr.. Ward or
anybody else in connection with that
race. I do not believe Bill Heffner
ever received a cent either"
Witnesses Called.
The Grand Jury expects to hear from
Blute. 1t looked yesterday as il the
turn given to the inquiry by the Ward
Blute letter might result in flood
OF more or less accurate race track gos-
SIP. but nothing brought to light thus
far gives promise of solving the black
mail mystery
Blute was subpoenaed last night at
his home in Hollis and will be one OF
the eight witnesses before the Grand
Jury at White Plains to-day. The others
are Mime. Ziegler, formerly governess in
the Ward home Ellwood Heffner, in
whose pockets letter from Ward was
found: George w. Sutton, a neighbor of
the Wards, who attended card party
at their home on the night of May Is :
Foreman Adams of the Ardson farm
near which the body of Peters was found
on May 16: Sheriff George J. Werner
and Ray Hill, the county finger print
expert, and Walter Wards brother
Ralph D. Ward. II George S. Ward does
not appear to-day District Attorney
Weeks Is likely TO ask the Grand Jury
to hold itself in readiness for another
session and to ask the Ward attorneys
to produce him.
The lead toward the race track was
furnished by the letter which, as told
in THE NEW York HERALD yesterday.
was found on Heffner when arrested in
New Rochelle on Saturday and charged
with passing a worthless $50 check.
Heffner was described by the police as
go-between for Ward and Blute, to
whom the letter was addressed.
Wrote on Day of Murder.
The letter was written on May Is, the
day that Ward killed Clarence Peters,
and 1t asked for a better address than
general delivery, Louisville, for II r.
Byrnes. to whom Ward had written, but
the letter had been returned.
According to Mrs. Knapp. Ward had
frequent dealings with Blute and Heff-
ner, the latter having been race track
tipsters. She also said that she knew
OF a Howard Byrne. known to the tracks
as a plunger. HE placed all or most
of Wards bets" she said, "and he and
Ward were seen much together about
tho tracks. My brother. Arthur Blute.
and Bill Heffner also knew Byrne."
Billy Knapp, the Jockey. agreed with
his wife that Byrne was known at the
track as the man who placed most OF
Wards bets and that Blute and Heffner
knew Byrne.,
The alleged failure OF Ward to split
with the tipsters who say they gave
him the information about the horse
Assume will be taken up by the West
chester authorities However. one OF
the principal Investigators engaged in
the Ward case gave last night his
opinion that the whole thing was a
plant" He felt sure that somebody
had arranged to have Heffner picked up
In New Rochelle with the race track
letter In his pocket In order to give
color to the assertion Of the Ward at
torneys that the blackmailng episode
started at the track. This inve stigator
believes that the blackmail secret has
nothing to do with the horses. He also
Continued on Page Two.