Evening star., 1927-12-04
BURGLAR ELIGIBLE
TO 9(YEAR TERM
Man Who Drew 40 Years for
Crimes Was Lucky.
: Observers Claim.

when Chief Justice Walter I. Nc
Coy, presiding over Criminal Division
of the District Supreme Court, sen
fenced Edward +. Tate, 3S.year-ol6
New Yorker, to 40 years in the peni
tentiary yesterday as result Of his
conviction by jury of four charges
NJ housebreaking and robbery. some
one in the courtroom was heard To
remark: 1T could have been worse. y
In fact, had Chief Justice Mccoy
tences aggregatitng 80 years on the
burglar. Tate was given 10 years on
each OF three charges of housebreak-
ing and larceny and 10 years on a
single charge of housebreaking. The
court said they were to run Consecu'
tivelv, thereby making one of the
heaviest sentences ever pronounced in
the District for the character of Of
fenses Tate was assused of.
Might Have Gotten 80 Years.
Taken individually. there were four
cases Of housebreaking and three
cases OF larceny. The maximum SEN
tence for housebreaking is Is wears
and the maximum for larceny is 10
and the aggregate of the seven under
maximum penalties would be 80 years.
Francis A. Kloss. 80 years old, of
Scranton, one of Tate's companions
received 80 years. and under the same
powers of the court he might have
drawn a maximum OF SIS years. kloss
was convicted on charges of house
breaking and larceny in three in
stances.
Attaches OF the courthouse state
that Tate is quoted as having told
deputy marshal that he was eligible
for the full penalty of the Baumes law
In New York-life sentence-and that
Is why he talked freely of his safe
cracking activities here. Tate, ac-
cording to a letter he wrote woman
prisoner at Occoquan, said he en-
pected Ito draw a Ave and would be
out in 90 months"
Sentence Is Surprise.
As Tate appeared before Chief
Justice Mccoy to receive sentence he
was asked by the clerk il he had any
thing to say, and he produced let
ter which he said was from a New
York hotel man, who would testify
that on the days the Peoples Drug
Store, at Tenth and F streets. and
"
street. were broken into and robbed,
he was in the metropolis. The court
observed that the jury already had
convicted Tate for these offenses. and
therefore the matter could not be
gone into.
AS the four "t0s" were recited hy
the court. and as Tate made mental
note of forty years" his only COM
ment was an almost inaudibie
'whew"
Kloss had nothing to say before
receiving his 30.year sentence, but his
attorney, Frank J. Kelly, spoke to the
court, saying his client had no pre-
vious criminal record. Chief Justice
Mccoy lifted a paper from his desk
and said that Kloss was wanted Tor
offenses in several cities.
Another Escapes.
Randolph NJ. Rawlett OF this ciry,
who was led into two of the ventures
according to the courts opinion, py
George Wilcox, the fourth member
of the band. was sentenced to serve
fve years in the penitentiary, but was
placed on probation. He had PLEADED
guilty 10 the two charges.
Wilcox, alias Gregory Wilson OF
New Bedford, Mass, whose wife is the
member Of popular musical comedy
now playing in Chicago, was not SEN
fenced. He was convicted Of the same
charges as Tate, but he has announced
his intention of fling a motion for a
new trial. Sentence was withheld
pending the return to Washington
of Assistant United States Attorney
William III. Collins. who, together
with Assistant United States Attorney
Walter NJ. Shea, prosecuted the case.
In nrfa q.
turn to Washington shortly.