The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-05-05
COONEYS SAVED
INNOCENT
GIRL
Bobbed Bandit Tells How
They Devised Plan to Help
Helen ouigIey
CONTINUED from First Page)

by the name Of Helen Quigley,
that had never done anything worse
than dance in a burlesque show.
Some dirty wop or Russian by
the name of Kovalesh gave them
| bum steer to square a private
grudge, and the papers printed her
picture and said, Bodied Haired
Bandit Caught AT Last"
Ed and thought that was fine.
for we figured they couldn't con-
Wet her, and while they were find.
ing out she wasn't the right one,
It would keep suspicion off of u.s.
~But 1t didn't break that way.
Next day the cops went and got
this Hogan, who was manager of
the Roulston grocery store, the
showed him Helen Quigley, and he
said, ''Sure, that's the girl thar
robbed me. I'd know her any.
| WHERE And didn't they go ami
get three more of the clerks who
swore the same thing?
| don't think for minute they
were trying to crook her. People
say she does look a little bit ike
me, though / can't see it, and
she is about my size. And / guess
they were so scared at the tine
they couldn't remember very we'll -
so busy maybe looking at the auto.
matte that they didn't pay much
attention to my face.
Descriptions Varied.
Others were the same. One
thing that saved Ed and me so long
was that each person we robbed
gave a different description. They
said I was black haired and brown
haired and chestnut blonde and
even red-headed The only thing
they all got right was the fur coat.
Most every girl wears fur coat
| in cold weather. so that didn't
make much difference.
| Well, anyway, there was Helen
Quisley, in jail, identified as me,
| and sure now to be convicted on
Hogan's word, backed up by the
| others.
1 may be a bandit, but I'm not
the kind Of a girl that would do
dirty thing like seeing somebody
else get sent to the penitentiary
innocent, and me to blame.
All I had to do was to sit tight.
but couldn't do 1t. When / saw
how things was going for Helen
| Quigley, said, ED, we got to do
something to get this girl off," He
said; IT guess you're right. but it's
pretty dangerous for US to mix in
on thing like that"
i said, We'll, we can write
innocent, like they do in detective
Stories"
Write Note To Police.
We talked about it a while, and
he agreed, and I sat down and
wrote a note that said,
ITO the Police: You are wrong on
Helen Quigley. Let her go. She is
not the girl you want. The Bodied
Haired Bandit"
Ed looked at that a while, and
said: Say, / got better idea.
They've been saying we are a
gang-that we are professional
crooks, thugs, underworld stuff, and
all that. Well, let's write a diff.
ferent sort Of note and make 'em
think it's So"
That was one of the SWEETEST
ideas Ed ever had. We doped it out
together, and finally fixed up some
thing different to the police that
ran like this:
|
leave this girl alone and get the
right ones, which is nobody but us,
and we are going to give Mr.. Ho-
gan, the manager of Roulston's, an
other visit, and we got two checks
we couldn't cash, and also ask
Bohack's manager did I ruin his cash
register. Also will visit him
again, as l broke a perfectly good
automatic on it. We defy you fel.
lows to catch us. The Bodied.
Haired Bandit and Her Companion.
That sounded all right, didn't it?
Ed and had made it up that we
would try to get away with another
.hold-up or two. After all, it was
pretty easy money. And we liked
excitement.
Find SIeuths Posted.
But we found out they had been
posting plain clothesmen around
the different grocery stores and
chain stores, so we thought we'd
fool them this time and try some.
thing different.
That was Tuesday night, about
the middle Of January, 1 think
And we rode around quite q while
before we made up orr minds.
There wasn't much choice. Pretty
much everything YVES closed up
except tho dug stores and cigar
stores, and as we were cruising
hundreds, driving slow and looking
through windows, we came to that
| Weinstein drug store that looked
like it was just waiting to be
robbed-not a soul in but couple
OF clerks, and nobody walking in
the whole length of the block.
1t was sort of cold, and Ed didn't
wait outside. We went right in to-
gether. The clerk, Louis Hecht.
was one of these slick little fell
lows, all dolled up like Rudolph
Valentino. Ed had had trouble once
tor twice getting "a cash register
opened. so instead of asking to buy
something, l said: II want to use
the telephone. Could you please
give me the change of quarter"
Ed edged over toward the other
man, that was Leo Greenburg, the
store manager that identified us
after they brought us hack from
Jacksonville, and pretended to be
looking al something in the show
| case.
'PlanISs Down" Quarter.
planked down the quarter with
my left hand, keeping the right in
my coat pocket all ready to pull out
the little automatic, and waited
until Louis Hecht had taken the
quarter and opened the cash reg.
lister. Before he had time to close
it, I said, Say, watt" as II / was
going TO ask him for something
else M. Y,1,vho I,,t1, eoy,oott,irC
He turned a little, but just his