Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1922-06-03
DON'T PAY TO
Be CROOKED"
Lifetime Criminal, Out of Large
Experience, So Tells Court
at His Trial
POSED AS IMAM OF MYSTERY"
Man Sent UP for Life Has Only Been
Out of Prison SO Months in Last
Is Years-Acts as Own At
torney in Omaha Court.

Omaha Neb.-With only thirty-three
months of freedom to his credit in the
lats twenty-five years, and even those
months spent as a fugitive from JUS
tice, Otto Cole, burglar, ICON" man,
booze runner and murderer has just
been sent to prison for the balance
of his life by an Omaha court. Cole
is forty-two years old now. He be-
came criminal at the age Of seven
teen years.
But crookedness don't pay. 1t don't
pay" Cole told the Omaha court when
he was sent up for life.
Cole has seen the inside of many
iails and penitentiaries. He has
served time in Minnesota, Maryland,
Ohio. Illinois and elsewhere. He es-
capped from the Baltimore City Jail,
from the Joliet penitentiary and from
ether prisons. He has been paroled,
pardoned and released on good. time"
in addition to serving out his SEN
fences. But he never kept out Of
trouble and no sooner was he released
from a prison than he Immediately
went back into crime.
"But crookedness don't pay" he told
the court. II ought to know"
Cole had appeared before so many
different courts that he has picked up
quite smattering of legal terms and
methods. When arrested in Omaha and
charged with the murder of Harry
Hahn, pawnbrOker, he refused the
assistance of the public defender and
asked permission of the court to con-
duct his own defense. This was
granted and throughout the trial Cole
.arried on his end of the case like q
reter.n attorney.
Cole posed as MAN of Mystery"
until the Bertfllon experts got on his
trail. He was a man of good fam
lily" gone temporarily wrong and was
shielding his family.
He was Just seventeen years of age
when he broke into the criminal lime
light in Columbus, O., where. under
the name of Richard Proctor, he was
sent to prison for three years for bur
| glary. He served his time and was
| released June %. 1898.
| 1t took Cole just eight days to get
! in trouble again. On July 6. 1898. he
| was arrested in Baltimore-was
| caught red-handed. while committing
burglary. A month later before he
could be tried. he escaped.
! This time Cole stayed out of trouble
for two months. At least, he was not
arrested again until October 8. 1898.
! On that date. in Chicago. he was SEN
fenced to Joliet prison for burglary.
| In ten days he was in trouble again,
this time at Red Wing, Mimi. for
! burglary. He was known as "E. r.
English" in that trial. He served out
his time in the Minnesota state pris-
on. and at the expiration Of his term
was taken back to Joliet. to serve the
remainder of his sentence in the I'LL
nois prison. From Joliet he was pa
rolled in January, 1910.
Couldn't Keep Straight.
But he couldn't keep straight. In
month or so he was back in the
Joliet prison, where he was sent from
Chicago on robbery charge. He was
discharged in September, 1916. This
time he was using the name of Edwin
English" But in October, 1917, as ED
English" he was sent back to Joliet
as confidence man" from Chicago.
He escaped from Joliet in 1920.
Under the name of "Otta Cole" he
came to Omaha two months ago and,
according to numerous identificati0ns
at the police station, he committed a
series Of hold-ups and robberies OF
various kinds. Then, three weeks ago,
1t is charged, he entered Harry Hahn's
pawnsh0p, and while attempting to
rob the place. shot and killed the
proprietor. He was caught red-handed
after attempting to shoot officers who
captured him.
Following his sentence to life I'M
prisonment, Cole announced he in
tended devOting himself while in
prison to the study of mechanical en-
cheering, in which he claims to al
ready be pretty well educated