New-York tribune., 1922-01-05
Polish Noble
Held for $4,000
Bond Larceny
Local Colony Shocked by
Arrest of Its Hero on
Charges by Company in
Which He Had Held Post
Bandits Steal Silk Truck
Man, Hunted as Fifth Ave.
Burglar, Caugh, After 3
Years: Loot Is Uncovered

A MAJ who described himself as
Count Jean Strelecki, Polish noble
man, tn. rty-scvcn years Old Of GO West
Sixty eighth Street. was arrested yes
tcrday on charge OF robbing tho
Polls, Navigation Company, 1919
Broadway. of which he was former
official.
Count Strclccki's arrest was shock
upon him as hero. He had been active
m war-fund campaigns and other
Polish patriotic and phiianthropic
movements Immediately following his
arrest, at meeting OF the bondhold-
crs Of the navigation company. he was
arraigned before Magistrate Rcnaud
N West Side Court and held in $4,000
bail. on a charge of grand lsrcorv.
The complainant is Winccnty Brom
kowsk. of s5 Grecnpoint Avenue,
Brooklyn, who is treasurer Of the nav-
cation company. He charged that
Coun. Streleck, who is dappcr young
beau in the best Polish circles had
taken from the treasury of the COM
pany Polish Liberty bonds valued at
$4,000 at the present rate of exchange.
The arrest of the count was made by
Detective Joseph Lawlcss, Of the West
Sixty-eght Street station. who attend
cd the bondholdcrs' meeting for the
purpose.
1t was said yesterday that the count
asserts he represents cotcrie Of bond
holders in the company, ,'and that there
may be interesting Developments in the
case.
At the Cambridge apartment hotel,
60 West Sixty-eight Street. the regis
ter showed last night an entry. Mrs
Dc Strelecki." The clerk said the WON
ans husband lived there, too. though
neither was at home
Held for Fifth Avenue Thcfts
Adolph Gisterer. alleged confessed
perpetrator Of twenty-five burglaries
of homes along Fifth Avenue and other
fashionable thoroughfares. was arrest
ed yeste erday, after being sought by the
police for three years. His work was
marked by the fact that ne never stole
any large article. but confined his theft
to small and valuable plundcr. His
discrimination in this respect was ex-
eellent.
The arrest was made al Avenue A
and Seventy eighth Street by Lieuten-
ant John Mcmahon and Detectives
Smith and Scully, who later obtained
the alleged confession. Gistercr is said
TO have admitted taking valuables
amounting to $50 900 and gave the po-
they could recover large part. Up
to late last night about half of the
stolen goods had been recovered, and
made big pile of jewelry and small
solid silverware in the police property
room Among the homes Gisterer is
said to admit robbing are
Hulberton Sails, 106 East Seventy
third Street; Edward ". Harris, 13
East Sixty-third Street: Herman A.
Schalk, % East Ninety y-second street;
George Chatillon. " East Niuety-scc-
ond Street; Calman Haas. East Sixty
ninth Street, A. II. Cohn, 50 East
Sixty-fifth Street, and James Fosborg.
IA East Eightieth Street.
Gisterer's record shows him TO have
Served several terms in penitcntiaries.
Bandits Steal Silk Truck
Several bandits yesterday held up
three men on truck Of the Silk Fin
tshers of America, of 400 East 1891
Street. the Bronx. The truck, which
carried 900 in silks, was stopped at
103d Street and First Avenue. On the
truck were Charles Fritz. Of 514 West
1s5th Steet, chauffeur. and two helpers,
John Buhler, of A39 East 14lst Street.
and Walter Morris, of 1850 Jefferson
Place, the Bronx.
At the points of revolvers the ban
dts made the three men leave the
truck and enter a taxicab in which they
were driven to the Dyckman section Of
Manhattan. In the mean time others Of
the bandits had taken possession of the
truck and the silk and made away.
Later in the day. while the police
were combng the city for the missing
truck, they arrested Charles Arnold,
owner of a garage at l9S " est 12@th
street. where they found a loaded
truck had been placed in dead storage.
I he police found the truck ful! of silk.
They Immediately had it driven to it's
proper destination.
Commissioner John F. Gilchrist. Of
the Department of Licenses, took cx-
n ception Yesterday to the statement of
Judge Mcintyre Of the Court of Gen
= erai Sessions, in his charge to the Jan
rsry grand jurics that the licensing OF
taxicab drivers should be vested III the
Police Department instead of the De
partment of Licenses. Judge Mcintyre
pointed out that many OF the bandits
now infesting the city employed taxi
cabs TO get away. and that under exist
ing conditions "a hardened criminal
may get a taxicab license without hay
ing his past investigator
Commissioner Gilchrist declared that
such statement could hardly be made
by any one in possess ion of the facts
or any one generally familiar with the
present system of licensing the $4,000
cab drivers of the city. The Commits
sioner said the misapprehension in re-
gard to the licensing of the drivers an
parently was based on certain preiudi-
cIai statements before the Never com
mittec, which were not based on the
facts.