New-York tribune., 1922-11-20
Civil Service
Fingerp print
Plot Charged
Onsted Board Expert Says
He Is Being sRailroaded'
10 Let Politicians Pack
the Fire and Police Rolls
Denies Burke Connection
Sees Door Opened TO Trick
cry and Craft i'm Slip
ping I'm Unfit Applicants

A charge thag fasrlck Ryan, formerly
Naxerprint expert IN the Civil Service
fctussission's Office, has been railroad
a out Of his job IN order that poll
sisians may have their fling with ap-
ssintuerts TO the police and fire de-
nartmerts was made yesterday by Ryan
srd his attorney, Thomas P. flanagan.
81 81 Chambers Street.
Hyaa's dismissal ION charges is to
Be followed, he alleges, by the elimina-
tson from the Civil Service Bureau of
The hngerprint system of identification.
This. according TO Ryan, will leave The
Aoer wide open for substitution Of pa
ners and impersonation of applicants
jn connection with the medical, phys-
icsl and mental tests which are re-
qaired from patrolmen and flrencn on
their application for appointment.
Sees Chance for Trickery
Abolition of the fingerprint system
viii make it possible to I'LL the noiice
and fire departments with political ia
vorites who do not measure up to the
required standards, Ryan says. The
fngerprint system, ne insists, makes
substitution impossible.
Ryan is nationally known identif-
catlon expert who has made life study
OF finger prints and the Bcrt;llon sys-
tenn. He is chairman of the board of
directors of the International Society
for Personal identification and in
ventor of the Ryan dactylopiane, a
mechanical device for taking and pre-
serving fnger-print impressions. He
was formerly a patrolman and was for
five years chairman of the board OF di-
rectors of the Police Endowment Fund
Association. He was appointed finger
print expeH to the Municipal Civil
Service Commission in 1916.
His dismissal followed the investi-
cation of the charges made by a
patrolman named Twomey. that Michael
j. Burke, former saloonkeeper, had
collected $1,000 each from eighteen pa
trclmen for his good offices in further
ing their promotion to sergeant Burke
is now in the Tombs, held in S2o, 900
bail, under an indictment charging
grand larceny.
'Railroaded,s He Insists
Ryan asserts that he was railroaded
out. lie says that =. there were no
charges against HIM that in any way
Indicated misconduct in connection
with Burke or any one else. The
@eharges" upon which he was dis
missed, he asserts, were that he knew
Burke and that he failed to report TO
lis superior officers Twomey's first dis
closure of Burke's activities. There
was no other charge, he says, and re-
nfding these he has this to say:
aMhen Patroiman Twomey first ap-
reared at the Civil Service Commits
sisn, he was brought to me by Joseph
A. Raddy, physical examiner, who is
PERSONAL friend of Patrolman
Tvensy. Ruddy, Twoney and dis
easssa the question of Burke and the
ssd590 slush fund, and requested
Tvamsy, then and there, to make a
report He refused to do sc, and after
fRoney left the physical examination
tts Civil Service Commission, entered
sN joined in our discussion of
GWomey's complaint.
= IN ade my verbal report to Ruddy
brd Stengie, who were my superiors
ard who took no further action. There
sis no written rules or regulations in
the Civil Service Commission covering
the conduct of employees, and during
my time there | never saw or heard
Of any set of rules or regulations. My
present counsel at the hearings that
are now going on has made formal de-
Inand several times for any set of
rules or regulations covering my al
legged failure to make report" and
it appears in the record that there are
10 such rules or regulations.
Forced Him TO Go to Secretary
sLater, Twomey again appeared, and
on that occasion | forced him to go
with me to the Office of Charles /.
Stengle, the secretary of the commits
sion, where l assisted in questioning
him. also searched him, he permit
ting me to examine everything he car
sled ON his person except one telegram,
which he would not permit me to read
Efforts are now being made by my
counsel to obtain copy of this tele-
gram. was told by patrolman who
was connected with the Investigation
that the message was from one Bill
Brown, cousin of Twomey, and it ad-
vlsed him to go to see Zoe Ruddy abol