The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1924-07-17
POSTAL CLERK
OPENED LETTERS
Officials Tell Of G. D. Mel
sens Alleged Confessions
to Mail Robbing.
HAD MAIL IN COAT
Mail Clerk Used His Locker at
Postoffice for Concealing
Letters Stolen.

George D. Nielsen, postoffice mail
clerk charged with robbery OF United
States mail, has confessed to federal
inspectors and the police, it is alleged
his method in pilfering money from
unregistered letters that passed thru
his hands.
Nielsen said, according to the state
ment of whose who listened to his
story. that he would take bunch o.
letters. open them when he had the
opportunity to see if there was money
inside. and then destroy the letters.
How long the clerk has been pllfer-
ing greenbacks from the mails is un-
certain. From his own statement his
period of delinquency covers two
months but the postofice officials are
inclined to suspect that he has been
operating for a longer period OF time
than that, possibly for year.
Burned Letters in Furnace.
Not all the letters that were open
ed contained money. The greedy nm
GERS which caressed the envelopes in
the hope that there would be a little
loose cash for the employee who was
risking liberty, happiness and his good
name in his operations, had to walt
impatiently for ripe moment when
the letters could be opened secretly.
Nielsen said that q burned let
tiers d envg pes Coz ~ .r@-
the postoffice while that was in OPP
Grafton, but that when summer came
he took lunches Of the mail home.
None of the mail that Nielsen OPEN
ed, so far as the inspectors have been
able to check, is registered mail. The
letters he opened were most of them
home letters from the folks to Jenny
or Tom to his parents enclosing ut
tie bill for a present or for a small
purchase.
Nielsen said, according to his &C
cusers, that he secured only a little
money in this way, sometimes one
dollar bill, sometimes two, sometimes
a fve-dollar bill He was conservative
in his estimate of the total amount he
had stolen, placing it at $25 or $50.
Again the inspectors believe that the
whole truth has not been told.
Caught in Trap.
When the postal inspectors set their
decoy the other night they placed
marked bills together with letters In
two envelopes. Nielsen when arrested
had the checked bills on his person.
When his locker was searched at the
postoffice a bunch of letters, about IA,
were found in his coat. It is believed
that he used the locker, to which he
only had the key, consistently as
place where he could open the mail
and conceal the opened letters until
he had an opportunity to destroy
them.
A box was found in the locker con-
tanning $21.81. This was in the form
of change mostly, 10 half-dollars, s
quarters, SO dimes and % nickels be-
side some one-doIlar bills and one five
dollar bill. Nielsen insisted that this
was not stolen money and the postal
inspectors finally ordered that it should
be turned over to his wife:
1t was found that Nielsen rented a
locker in the First National bank but
when Lieutenant Rock searched this
locker it was found to contain only
one paper dollar.
Rehearse the Chase.
Meanwhile Police officer Maurer who
caught Nielsen as he turned Fugitive
Tuesday noon received creditable men
ton today from Assistant Chief Cyzak
for the good police work shown by
him.
Nielsen had been taken in tow just
before noon Tuesday by the two federal
men, Bates and Talcott, who laid the
trap which caught the unwilling vic
tim. He was walking between the two
of them. One of the men thanking Nell
sen told him that they were going with
him to the postmaster's office for a
little conference.
"Who are you?" asked the mail
clerk.
"Postoffice inspectors" one of the
pair replied.
The three were walking along the al
ley that leads at the rear to Mr.. Cor
mans Office when, just as they reached
the window, Nielsen bolted. He jump
ed to the ground and made dash for
Park street. The inspectors followed
as fast as they could go. One of the
inspectors is good-natured man and
therefor short and fat, and he fell
to the ground.
The noon whistle had just blown
when officer Maurer, his attention at
tracted by the sight of the running
1 man and hearing cries that seemed to
focus upon the runner, halted Nielsen
at the corner of Park and Congress
lstreets.
Nielsen who is 26 years old, lives at
hS03 Pomeroy street at present and not
kt the address on Charles street.