Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-05-20
BEARD AND|DRAlNS'
FO|L mail H0LD-UP
Inspector Grows Bad Mans
"chin Dustsr" and 6arss
New York Plot
|nAs 7 ON EVE or ROBBERY

New York. May c0.--By the round
up Of six former Government employees,
postofice inspectors have. frustrated q
daring plan by which they say the sig
now turned bandits, intended to hold
up today at revolver points the registry
division Of the CITY Hall ponosice. and
: The disclosure of tho -brazen plot
came yesterday after a spectacular
raid resulting from the clever detec.
tive work of an inspector. The In
spector grew bad mans beard.
adopted the guise Of q gunman, worked
himself into the confidence OF the band
planted a dictaphone and obtained evii |.
the prisoners. inpelled them. It 10 said,
to make complete confession.
The six former employees end q
seventh man are charged, besides the
conspiracy to perpetrate the spectacular
raid scheduled for today. with two other
big robberics. one involving the theft
of 81 All. 900 Of Liberty Bonds from
the registry division Of the City Hall
Postofice last July and the other the
theft Of $4,000 In bonds two, weeks
ago. .
Sensational Hold. Up Planned
The facts were released. yesterday by
Postofice Inspector Doran when It be :
came known that Thursday night he
and his squad mnde the seven arrests.
The prisoners are Gustave Feldman,
Morris Steinberg, Edward Fogel, Abra.
ham Goldsmith. Harry Shapiro, Gus
tave Gales and Irving Weinstein.
Inspector Doran said plans had been
laid--and were to havc been carried
out in broad daylight---for the hold up
and robbery of the entire registered
mail section Of the City Hall station,
through which millions in securities
flow daily from the Wall Street fnan.
cial zone. ..
The chief actor in this theft. he said,
was Morris Steinberg. nineteen. year
old clerk In the registry department.
Steinberg. according to tn, inspector:
had some means-as yet undiscovered
of ascertaining when valuable pack.
ages were to come TO the Postofiice from
the Federal Reserve Bank. He knew
in advance Of the big shipment Of LIB
erty bonds which was to be made on
July IS. and laid the pouch aside when
1t was delivered.
Wins Confidence Of Gang
A few minutes later. 1t is alleged.
he took the pouch to 4 small closet
on the thlrd moor where Edwaru toRci,
confederate, had been hiding for
several hours. Tossing the pouch into
the closet. he strolled nonchalantly back
to his post, leaving Fogel to rip 1t open,
extract the package Of bonds and slip
quietly out of the building.
Steinberg was suspected Mt tho time'
but care was taken to make him think
he was not. and short time later oc-
casion was found to drop him from the
service for minor infraction OF the
rules.
The inspectors continued to watch
him. and four months ago the bearded
gent managed to scrape on acquaint.
ance at the confectionery store he and
Fogel had opened.
Taking room in the lower East Side
as his ''hangout," the inspector in .
stalled a dictagraph and invited them
to visit him. It was not long until he
had met the other five men alleged
to be members OF the gang, and was
swapping stories with them about their
mail -robbing exploit, while fellow in.
spectors recorded the conversations In
an adjoining room.