Evening star., 1922-11-20
POLICE OPEN PROBE .
OF MISSING CASH
Sweeping Investigation Bent
on Detection of Theft
of Watch.


urated today tho energies Of the po-
lection of the person who robbed
police headquarters of the gold watch
and $6S intrusted to the property
clerk by John Edward Comm OF 47S
Pennsylvania avenue. when arrested
on a charge of handbook making on
September s.
I'VE are doing everything possible
to check up on this proposition. de-
clared Maj. Sullivan today. we are
making every attempt to identity the
thief. The department wants to see
him caught and put behind the bars.
No matter what position he may oc-
cupy in the police department or what
his official standing is. II we can To-
cate him we will do our earnest best
to put him in a penitentiary as quick
ly as we can.
No Desire to "COver Up"
1--WE have no desire whatever to
! cover up on this proposition. much
as we regret the fac; OF sucn an
| unsavory crime at our doors. This.
| l think, 1 can safely say: l regard
! the theft as rejecting not in the
least upon the integrity of the indi-
! vidual members of the police depart.
ment or upon the administratlon OF
I
I Grant. Thousands of dollars have
been kept in that safe and this is the
| first report of a miscarriage of FUNDS
| that l have ever received from tnere
| and probably the first that has oc-
| CURED in the history of the detective
| bureau"
Detectives on the Alert.
! Detectives at headquarters. when
| they are not out on their assignments
| locating criminals about the city, are
| doing their level best to locate the
man who stole the money Entrusted
to the property clerk. The opinion
| exists that the money never saw the
| inside of the safe at the detective bu-
| reau. Hundreds of dollars in cash
and many times that amount in Jew
1 elry are kept in that safe. But that
a theft took place. according to de-
| tectives, there can be no doubt. Ine
! erasure of the figures recording the
! amount turned over to the police by
Comm before starting service of his
| sentence is taken as positive testi-
mony to this effect.
! Inspector Grants statement.
| Inspector Clifford l.. Grant did not
hesitate today to express his opinion
about the matter.
| Il have heard expressions OF con
tempt from virtually every detectise
in this office regarding this act. ne
said.
1T is hard to believe there is a
thief among u.s. but facts are facts,
and we are going to do our utmost 10
recover this money and bring the
| thief to justice. An inves,isa',on IS
now on. We are checking up every
possible angle Possibility that there
| is more money stolen which will not
| be discovered until prisoners have
! put in Il claim for it has been pre-
sented to me- We are also running
| out that line. and at this stage OF
| the investigation we feel Reasonably
safe that this is the only act of its
kind that could have been committed"
Temporary Depositary.
In the detective bureau. besides the
safe. there is personal property
drawer. in which is placed. tempo
| rarily. the goods left by prisoners
en- route to Occoquan. Five persons
have access to this drawer officially.
Three know the safe combination AS
far as tangible clues go. none has as
yet turned up. Pessimism is a ruling
factor in the investigation so far as
the possibilities of Ultimately bring
ing to justice the thief are con-
cerned. for the trail is more than two
| months cold. and there is no indica-
ton as to the person who could have
taken the money.
Commissioner James F. Oyster per-
sonally is supervising the investiga-
ton.
Il have ordered a rigid investiga-
tion." Commissioner Oyster said to-
| day. 81 have already conferred with
Maj. Sullivan and Inspector Grant on
| this case. I was present yesterday
when the preliminary plans for the
investigation were drawn up. Per-
sonally l have no doubt that the dis
appearance of the watch and the
money resulted from a theft and that
it was not mislaid. The erasure of
the property record is convincing
along that line"
Commissioner Oyster announced
that five experts in detective work
along this line have been assigned
by Inspector Grant to this case. If it
| is humanity possible to bring the case
to the door of the thief. he said, it
will be done.
II will have no crookedness in the
police department as long as I have
anything to do with it. This case
must be cleaned up."