Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-02-27
Two Confess Participation in
HoId-up-Six Implicated
Are Women.
LY$17,125 OF $4,000
TOTAL LOOT RECOVERED
Prisoners Turned Over to Postal
Inspectors-Crime Carefully
Planned, Police Say.

iouA Hiel ana SIX women arrested Dy
the police as implicated in the $4,000
Grand Trunk mail train robbery last
Saturday were turned over to K. p.
Aldrich. chief post Office inspector. to-
day. Four others were sought.
Only two Of the men had confessed
actual participation in the hold-up and
only SITES OF the loot had been recov-
cred. Aldrich said.
The men and women were ordered
lodged in county Jails in nearby coun-
ties
Aldrich said he intended to seek in
dictmentS today or tomorrow.
Involved In Other Robberies.
William O'Connor. deputy commits
sioner OF police. after spending most
OF the night on the case. said the pris-
oners include "Llmpy Charlie" Cleaver.
at whose home was found $l7,125:
William Donovan, whom police
say plotted the robbery with Cleaver:
William Carmody, Angelo Francisco and
Joseph Lamm, the latter proprietor of
poolroom where members of the gang
were said to have gathered.
The deputy commissioner said he had
detailed confessions from Cleaver and
Donovan, together with additional in
formation involving them in two other
recent robberies-the Ravenswood Ma
tional Bank hold-up in which $4,000
was taken. and the hold-up OF Joseph
Fekete. mortgage banker.
Fekete partly identified Cleaver. Car
mody and Francisco as men who rob-
bed him February g. Bonds found at
Cleaver's home were identified as hav-
ing been taktn from the Fekete Bank.
Some OF Loot Recovered.
The deputy police commissioner, who
has been in active charge of the In
Vestlgation from the moment word was
received that the Grand Trunk train
carrying pay roll money to two Harvey.
H.. banks, had been held up. did not re-
veal the exact amount of money re-
covered
He would not discuss the police re-
port that raid on the far South Side
early today. In which three women
were arrested. had led to the finding
of some OF the stolen money.
NO robbery in police records was
more carefully planned or executed
than this, O'Connor said. The plotting.
execution and escape were recon-
structed by detectives this way:
The FIRST step was TO obtain informa-
ton as TO how and when the money
would be shipped. This was followed
by daily trips over the Grand Trunk
to Evergreen Park by one of the plot
ters--Donovan, the police say Thus
the plotters familiarized themselves
with the routine of train crew.
Drilled With Toy Train.
A toy train. having the same number
Of cars as the train that was to be
robbed. was used by members of the
gang. to perfect every detail. With the
aid OF the toy train each man was
drilled In the part he would take In
the hold-up.
On Saturday morning the train left
Chicago with the consignment Of $751;
900 by two Chicago banks for two banks
In Harvey, Among the passengers ac-
cording to the police reconstruction OF
the robbery. was Donovan. II was
Donovan. they say, who pulled the
emergency cord. which brought the
train to "A stop.
So foresighted were the robbers that
they had planted cache Of dynamite
under the platform of the lonely St
Maria Station. In Evergreen Park. to
be used II the explosives carried by the
men proved inadequate for blowing
open the mail car door and safe. The
cache was found last night by members
OF the bomb squad.
Escape was made In n car driven. the
police charge, by Carmody.
$4,000 for Legal Fund.
The division OF the loot took place
shortly after the robbery. according To
information the police got In the
Saturday night and Sunday questioning
OF 25 men and women under arrest.
There were seven shares of $4,000
each. The extra $4,000. the Donovan
and Clcavcr confessions were under
stood 10 have explained. was set aside
as legal fund.
The quick work Of the police IN
solving the crime was attributed partly
to the Crime Prevention Bureau. q
secret department Of police working
under cover and seeking TO learn OF
impending crimes. A tip that Cleavcr
ming big job" led To the tapping Of
telephone wires leading to his rest
dence.
IL was from constantly listening In
to conversations over the Cleaver line
that police got the names of several
persons who. the talk indicated. were
IN" on the big job"
The wire tappers learned that the
robbery WAS to take place after the
train reached Harvey. In anticipation
Of 1t there were Chicago detective
squads concentrated In the suburb,
A change In plans. police said was
made at meeting OF the plotters at
the Cieavcr home, Thus. while the
actual robbery caught officers unpre-
pared. the Information obtained by the
Crime Prevention Bureau before It's
commission gave them leads which made
solution prompt
Important Information was received
from Donovans wife.
lie was In on IT," she told ofilcers.
"Ie WAS IN the robbery at the same
place IN 1925. when they got $4,000,
From that he brought home 500. and
] put H. IN the bank"
She said that when her husband came
home Saturday night she asked him
where he had been, lie told her. she
said. that he had been robbIng u train.
When she asked him where the money
was, she said he answered that he had
I.ft ~ IT Ia s,f iAu Ju In