South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-05-20
PLOT UNCOVERED
BY CLEVER WORK
OF IT, AGENT
Poses as Member Of Gang and
Learns of Robbery SEIZED
uled for Today.
SEVEN MEN ARRESTED
Believe Thefts. Involving Mil
lions. Will BE Cleared Up
by Capture.

NEW YORK. May ia
gigantic post Office holdup. sur
passing in spectacularity and
daring any of the recent regis
tered mail thefts of the million
dollar-and-uP class. would have
been perpetrated at the city hall
post Office Saturday but for the
keen work of a post Office in
spector who grew a bad man $
beard, consorted with the plot
tiers and uncovered their scheme.
This was the statement Friday
of Post Office Inspector Doran
in making public the details of
the arrest of seven men-six of
them present or past post Office
employees. He asserted that
their capture would clear up the
registered mail theft Of July l6.
when S1.477.000 in Liberty
bonds bound for Washington
were stolen from the mails;
would aid in solving a hereto
fore undisclosed theft of S40,-
600 in securities addressed to
Watertown. y Y. and might GO far
toward clearing up the $4,000. 100
mail truck holdup in Lower Broad
way last October
Planned Daylight job.
Plans had been laid and were TO
have been carried out In broad day
light for the holdur and robbery
OF the entire registered mail sec
ton of the city hall station through
which millions in securities flow
daily from the Wall 81. financial
/ zone. Inspector Doran said. orders
had been issued 10 shoot any EN-.
iploye who resisted
The plotters had visited the CITY
hall station several times made a
careful survey OF the Layout" and
planned their raid in great detail.
Indeed. Inspector Doran said. thev
had gone 20 the station several
weeks ago ready 70 pull" tho
holdup but had been deferred hv
the accidental presence 0f several
Inspector. which had led them 20
fear their plot had been discovered.
Il was the immlnence ~ the new
date set for the hoIdur rhar sent
police and pOstoffice Inspectors on
"A roundup campaign last night The
name OF the Inspector. who uncov-
cred the plot with his had man
beard and his plausible manner. was
withheld The bearded man. y
was said. succeeded in getting him
self counted i'm ON the proposed
city hall station holdur. and talked
il over i'm detail with the others En-
his supposed eden" which he had
wired with telephone devices.
Several Confessed. Report.
The seven captives taken last
night were confronted with tram
scripts % the telephone record to-
day in the presence OF the bearded
Inspector and some OF them are al
legged 20 have confessed So COM
pletely were the mail robbers taken
i'm 10y their new found raj shat In
spectOr Doran said TODAY be could
recount every step taken In the
July IS Liberty bond theft
The chief actor In this theft. ne
said was Morris Steinberg. 1q-
year-old clerk In the registry de-
partment Steinherg was suspected
AT the time bur care was taken 20
make him think he Was not. and
a short tine later occasion was
found 70 drop him from the service
for minor infraction ~ the rules
The inspectors continued % watch
him, and four months ago The
bearded gent" managed 20 scraps
an Acquaintance az the confectlon-
cry store ne and Edward Fogel. a
confederate. had opened
Swoppcd Burglar Stories.
Taking room Zoo The lower East
Side as his "hanRout. The INSPECTOR
installed . speech recording instru-
ment and invited them 20 visit him
II was not long until he had met
the other five men alleged 70 be
members % the gang and was
swapping stories with Chem about
their mail rohbing expl o,r while