New Britain herald., 1922-09-08
THEATER MAN HELD
 FOR RIALTO FIRE
Alfred s. Black Arrested in BOS-
 ton,.Fights EXtradition

New Haven, Sept. s,-Alfred S, Black, of Rock Island. Me, presi- dent and treasurer of the Connecticut Theaters corporation, owner of the Rialto theater here which was burn Il or Sunday night, Nov 27, with the loss of 10 lives, was arrested Tn Bos- ton yesterday noon on fugitive war rant charging him with manslaushter in connection with the fire, He 1as released in s2,o00 bail until Septem- Der 2l to await eXtradition proceed ings,
 Blacks arrest was the result Of ac- ton started by City Attorney Sher- tdan T. Whitaker of New Haven who sent Detective Sergt William R. Cur ran to Boston to find the theater owner.
 At the time of the inquiry into the Rialto fire. when Coroner Eli Mix in a finding held Black, Law renee w. Carro, manager of Ae theater and Joseph E. Austin, local building inspector, to be criminally responsible, efforts were made to have Black appear here, but he re- fused. although he previously had sent word that he would come if wanted as witness. Since his testi- nony was considered very important, Coroner Mix and Assistant State At torney Walter s. Pickett, went to Boston and questioned Black.
 Tried to Nab Him Here.
 After the city court had found Austin not guilty and the superior court had sentenced Carroll to a year in jail, the appeal from which is now awaiting decision by the state supreme court, the case against Black alone remained. City Attorney Whitaker waited awhile in the hope that Black would venture into this state where he could be arrested but the theater owner apparently sensed danger and kept away
 Thereupon Mir. Whitaker set about preparation of extradtion papers. This was a burdensome task as the papers must be without flaw Mir Whitakers other extensive duties kept him from progressing but slow ly in the Black case.
 Black Quickly Found
 But last Wednesday the papers were complete and Mir. Whitake sent Detective Curran 10 get Gov. Lakes approval and then to find Black. It took Curran only a few hours to find Black in his office in Boston, and he and Boston officers took the theater man into custody.
 At present Black is being held as a fugitive from justice. If Gov. Cox of Massachusetts grants the applica- tion for extradition. Black is to be re-arrested on charge of man. slaughter and tried in the criminal superior court here.
 City Attorney Whitaker will have to go to Boston September 21 and prosecute his application for bring ing Black to New Haven.
 Will Fight Extradition.
 City Attorney Whitaker when seen last night, said: "Sergt Curran has informed me that Black will fight the extradition application. This means that I must prepare the necessary pa pers and attend the hearing. The task of preparing the extradition pa pers in this case has been under way for a long time and could not be speeded up any faster because of the vast amount of other work which I must perform in the office. Another reason for going slow was the hope that some day Mir. Black might ven- ture into Connecticut on a business trip. I had arranged to keep an eye on him in Boston and elsewhere and felt pretty sure that if he did come into this state l would have received the tip in time to cause his arrest. In such event, extradition would have been unnecessary"