The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-06-24
Confessed Burner of Catho-
7 lie Buildings Has Long
+ Prison Record.
POLICE CHECK STORY
May Connect De La Tour
With Cincinnati Sack
ing Gang.

Detective Chief Claude NJ. Worley
today planned to ask life sentence
for Maurice De La Tour, alias Roy
Gordon, who has confessed that he
set fire to st. Patrick's, Our Lady
Of Lourdes and st. Joan Of Arc
Catholic Churches here.
Worley said that as soon as he
has received official word verifying
De La Tours confession late Thurs
day that he had served prison SEN
tences imposed at Savannah, Ca;
Cincinnati Ohio, and in California
for arson and burglary, he will
charge De La Tour with being a
habitual criminal in Criminal court
Search of police records also re-
vealed past crimes Of De La Tour
here.
In 1920 when arrested in Cincin-
natl for a Catholic church robbery
there he had in his possession part
of loot taken from the rectories Of
ST. Bridget's Church, st. Clair and
West SITS, and SIS. Peter and Paul
Cathedral and three north side
homes.
He obtained six quarts of sacra-
mental wine. 500 cash and guam
tity of gold plate in the rectory rob-
berries and more than $1,000 loot
from the homes. He was indicted
here for burglary. but not brought
back for trial.
Arrested Here Before
Court records show De La Tour
was arrested here in 1907, suspected
OF burglary The court action is
not listed. In 1914 he was arrested
and convicted in st. Quentin, Cal,
for burglary and sentenced to serve
two and a half years.
Shortly after release he was
arrested and convicted again on
similar charges. In October, 1922,
he was arrested as a murder sus-
pect at st. Louis. Mo-, but released.
His next tangle with the law took
place at Savannah, Ca, in June,
1923, where he robbed two church
rectories and attempted to fire a
church. Sentenced to prison at
Douglass. Ga, on the arson charge
he served part of the sentence and
escaped. He also served sentences
for church thefts in several Eastern
cities and Florida, it is believed.
He is suspected of being the man,
who recently fired churches i'll Gin
cinnati, Ohio, and Ludlow, KY.
Check Deans Story
Police here also expected word
from Cincinnati and Kentucky
authorities as to whether De La
Tour was one of four men named
by Roy Dean, under arrest at San
dusky, Ohio, as other members Of a
gang, who robbed and fired nearly
score of Catholic buildings over
the country, including some in the
vicinity of Cincinnati recently.
Although De La Tours name was
not one of those given by Dean a
possibility was seen the prisoner
here was using another name in
Cincinnati.
Dean was arrested at Upper San
dusky charged with the theft of
the sacred image from the shrine
Of Our Lady of Consolation at Carey,
Ohio. He was captured after offer
ing to restore the image to Rev.
Aloysius Fish for a sum of money.
In the alleged confession made to
detectives of Bromley, KY, Dean
said he could not name all Of the
churches which had been violated,
but he said there we're "score" and
gave a partial list,
Begun in Kentucky
Dean and four other men
launched upon their whirl of church
robberies and burnings a few days
after Dean left the Toledo (Ohio)
workhouse, where he had served
thirty days for robbing a Cathedral
chapel. according to his signed con-
feSSiop.
The arson trail started in Gov
ington, KY, and extended to Gin
cinnati and Dayton, he said.