Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1922-01-30
'DN!YER ADMITS
SENDING CALLS
Says He Was Drunk and Did
Not Know What He Was
Doing
SIGNED STATEMENTS
House in Mary Street Burns
Down. Store on Fire
in Early Morning
D STATEMENTS

old, whose home is at 356 Lawrie
street, is to be arraigned before
Recorder Harold Il. Pickersgill in
the police court at o'clock tonight.
No formal charge has been entered
on the police records yet but he is
accused of turning in three false
alarms of fire during the storm Sat
urday night.
In two signed statements Dwyer
has admitted turning in the alarms,
giving as his reason the fact that he
was under the influence of liquor
and did not realize what he was do
ing. Dwyer was taken into custody
and brought to the police station
yesterday morning by his brother,
Officer Patrick Dwyer, after Chief
of Police Niels j. Tonnesen had
warrant made out by Recorder
Pickersgill. Dwyer was later re-
leased in the custody of his broth II.
the policeman, pending tonights
hearing.
The fire and police departments
were thrown into confusion on Sat
urday night when, While the storm
was at its height and the city streets
were almost impossible for motor
vehicles owing to the drifting snow
three alarms of fire we're sounded
close together. The first signal
came in at 1926 o'clock when box
SO, at Cortland and Easton streets,
was pulled. Twenty minutes later
box "a, at Neville and Johnstone
streets, sounded, and at s o'clock
third alarm went in from box "a,
at State street and Buckingham
avenue.
When it was discovered that all
the alarms were false Chief Tonne
sen Immediately ordered every pa
trOlman on duty to aid in tho search
for the offenders. Chief Tonnesen
personally directed the search, for
two hours but no clue to the identity
of the person turning in the alarms
was obtained until Officer James
Egan received information leading
him to believe that Dwyer had pull
ed all three boxes. Although nwyer's
statement fails to implicatc any
other local men. Chief Tonnesen
said this morning he was continuing
his investigation until it became de-
finitely established that no addition
al Perth Amboy men were connect
ed with the affair.
Both signed statements were OBJ
tanned by the police yesterday. One
was given yesterday morning and
the second last night.
Ovor his signature Dwyer says:
Last night / was with some
friends from Newark. They had
an automobile and several bottles
of whiskey with them. | drank quite
some of the whiskey. AS we passed
the fire alarm box some one said,
let's turn in the alarm | got
out of the car and turned in the
alarms at So. Then we went to "a
and from there to 81. They left
me lying in the snow. | vas picked
up and taken to my mothers and
put to bed. | do not remember
anything that happened after that as
was under the influence Of liquor"
Asked If he was accompanied by
any local men, Dwyer said he was
not. The statement was witnessed
by his brother, Officer Patrick
Dwyer. The second statement is
substantially the same. Dwyer said
he drank some of the whiskey,
turned in the alarms at the suggeS
ton of a member of the party. ami
was left lying in the snow after
the third box was pulled, He said
he did not realize what he was do
ing because he was under the
influence of liquor.
Owing to the fact that he discoV-
cred Dwyer had turned in the fire
alarms, Officer Egan will he allowed
to take advantage of Chief Tonne
sens standing order which is to the
effec. that any policeman who de-
tects the instigator of n false alarm
will have three days off with pa".
In this particular instance. IIgan will
get two days off and Officer Patrick
Dwyer will get the third day m
cluded i. the order.
Two Real Fires
At 2:15 o'clock Sunday morninH,
after the three false alarms had been
sounded, fourth call came in from
ST. at Hall and Amboy avenues. The
department responded and il was
found that in this case there was a
real fire. The home of Joseph Fried
burg at III Mary street, was to-
tally destroyed by the flames.
Neither Friedburg nor any of his
family were present at the time, and
according to the report of Sergeant
George Kozusko the whole family
moved away some time ago. None
of the neighbors were able to say
where the family had gone. Fried
burg owned the building. The loss is
said to be in the neighborhood of
$4,000 1t has not been learned
whether the loss is covered by insur-
ance. and no cause for the fire has
been determined.
The fifth alarm OF the week end
went in this morning at $3.50 o'clock
(Confiniipd on mage 21