Perth Amboy evening news., 1924-10-08
TRAIN ROBBERY
CHARGE HEARD
Gun Battle at AveneI Station
Reviewed at Trial in the
County Court
Ex-CONDUCTOR Is HEARD
Woodbridge Police Questioned
Defense to Charge
Frame-up, Is Indicated

NEW BRUNSWICK, Oct 81
Considerable interest is manifested
in the trial of three men who were
captured by a brigade of police off,
GERS at Avenel at midnight Of May
13 as alleged freight train bandits
following a spirited gun fight battle.
The trial started before jury and
Judge John p. Kirkpatrick yesterday
and is being continued in the county
court today. The defendants are
John f. Hull, of Teaneck, former
conductor employed by the Pennsyl-
vania railroad, who was shot in the
lung during the battle; Thomas
Price, of Union, who was shot nine
times before surrendering, and
George Rizzo, alias Zampelli, of
Newark. The latter was hiding in
the freight car and escaped unhurt.
The state COL tends that cargo of
merchandise was shipped from Pier
No. 2S. Jersey City, to Philadelphia,
valued at s2,176, and that Hull, as
employe in the railway yards, made
possible the attempted robbery by
falsifying bills of lading and mark
ing the freight car to be dropped off
DIT AWFUL. ~ dOZCA WlliCSoOo w tiO
handled the merchandise have been
called to the stand and explained
how the shipment was originally
billed and despatched.
William Carson, conductor of the
Pennsylvania railroad. ,testifying said
that according to waybiil instruc-
tions in his possession he put off the
train in question at Avenel at Q p.
M. He said that he dropped a bill
| in the door of the station agent after
his mission was completed.
Lieutenant Alexander Mcneil. of
| the Pennsylvania railroad police
force, a resident of Woodbridge, gave
! the court a graphic description of
| the attack and counter attack during
/ midnight at the station. He said
| that he received advice from head
quarters that freight car was to
| be dropped off for the purpose Of
robbing its contents. He was there,
| he said, when the car arrived. He
| then reviewed how five men came to
| the scene with a big truck, how they
unloaded part of the cargo and how
| the officers who were in hiding
trapped the men at work. Tho Off
GERS, he said, told the men that they
were under arrest. The quintet gave
| fire at the policemen and the gun
| battle started. Two men vanished in
the dark of the night as bullets were
| flying over their heads. Hull and
Price were captured after being shot
| several times.
| George Z. Cutley, attorney for the
| defendants, during the cross -exami-
nation of Lieutenant Mcneil ques-
| toned the officer whether he knew
| that the men were framed up and
asked If Hull was sent there pur-
| posely to be caught in the act. The
| attorney said that 1t was "only a
creation of Imagination" on the part
| OF the police. Mr.. Mcneil, however,
denied that he knew Hull and denied
knowing that the robbery was
| staged.
| Captain John NJ. Coakley on the
stand yesterday testified that he sent
the officers to the Avenel station.
Lieutenant John Rothline, of the
( Pennsylvania Railroad police, one
of the group of officers in hiding at
Avenel on the night of the alleged
robbery testified today that he saw
I Zampelli break the seal of the car
at 1850 and also saw him opening
! the door. He said that the first shot
/ w do III GU IL Jill IIi6 Cal
which was parked near the station.
Two of the five men at the spot
managed to get away. Hull told Mr..
| Rothline at the hospital after the
shooting that he came to Avenel to
purchase a house.
James J. Reading, sergeant of the
railroad police, on the witness stand
was unable to point out the man
! who broke the seal of the freight
door, but said that a man of Zam-
pelli's size did 1t.
officer Fred Larson, of the Wood
bridge police corroborated stories
told by the railroad police officers.
| He said that the first shot was fired
by one of the men in the touring
car. Larson cross-exa mined by the
attorney for the derense said that
he did not see just what was on the
truck, except that he noticed some
| objects. Questioned whether the
police placed the goods on the truck
themselves, the officer replied in the
| negative.
officer Daniel Gibson, during the
testimony said he heard one of the
men remark get out the big stuff
first"
Lieutenant Paul Beraldi, of the
railroad police, said that he recogniz-
ed Hull as one of the men pushing a
big case on the truck. He denied
that there were any arrangements
ito get Hull"
The defense insists that the men
were "the victims of the biggest
frame up in the state Of New Jersey"
and that trap for their arrest was
made by the police. zampelli, the
defense attorney said met a Hudson
county beer runner who engaged him
for the work. Two men asked him
to drive them down to Avenel which
he did. Without warning. the defense
says the police fired the shots. As
for Hull. the attorney says, he was
working until nearly midnight when
the yardmaster or his assistant ad-
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