New Britain herald., 1930-03-10
Chicago Extortion Arrest Leads
 To Holding of l5 as Abductors
 Of Wealthy Insurance Executive
Victim Finds Divorced Wife Among Gang That Threatened Him With Torture by Heated Irons.

Chicago, March 10 P}-A band Of . extortionists that piled its trade of kidnap and torture from New York to Chicago was believed broken to- Cay because of an eX-wife's tip thot her former husband, a wealthy il- 1 surance company head, would be an "casy victim."
 The "easy victim." Theodore Eopelman, at the county jail yester- v, day positively identified six men as the ones who held him captive in T lcnely lake resort cottage an1 threatened him with soaring irohs until he paid ransom.
 Kopelman then picked out among those rounded up in connection with the gang, his divorced wife, now the sweetheart of one of the : ring leaders.
 Others Are Sought
 In addition to the seven leaders, seven men and another woman are . held as witnesses and two more arc being sought.
 Patrick Roche, chief investigator for the states attorneys office, sail | the rings operations netted a yearly average of $35.000 for each membe.', while one of the men, he said, had confessed his share last year was $75,000. He said the operations Of the ring were widespread through out the east.
 Assistant States Attorney Charles Miller said he would ask the eX- ' treme penalty for conspiracy to kid nap for ransom-death in the elcc- tric chair.
 In the east, Roche said he be- , lieved the ring was connected wisn the Kidnapping of labor leaders, racketeers, actors and others during the past two years. Through fear Of reprisal, he said, none of those who paid ransom would identify their abductors.
 The investigator said he knew of six other torture kidnapings which / lie positively attributes to the ring now under arrest and that he had reports of o5 others where the methods were similar. In the cast 1 the only abduction which reacheI public notice was that of William J. Lyons, president of the Building Trades Council of Newark, N. J., who paid 8 gang of torturers large sum for freedom after he had been burned with hot irons.
 Paid S4,OOO Ransom
 LonoIno, v-ac l,idponod Eabr,,o [, N 2S, held prisoner a day in a bungl l. lew at Camp Lake, Wis, another day in a Chicago apartment and finally freed later after he had pail $4,000 and given a check for S1, ,000
 The men went to his sister, Ge.- trude kopelman, and his attorney, Louis Victor for the money. When they spent a week trying to force kopelman to cash it. Finally Kopel- man called in Roche and early yes terday, when the six men went tc the sisters Michigan Bouleva- d dress shop for the mone..' they were captured.
 No actual torture vas applied tc hOpeillldll, but uc Sdlu lnC llleI heated irons with which they singed his hair, threatening cioser applcl. tion.
 Several hotel and apartment rails followed and the net picked up Mrs Myrtle Christine Larson Thor kopelman Gusenberg, an attractive blonde, who, it was finally learne l vas Kopelman's divorced wife an1 the sweetheart of Norman Resnici; one of the prisoners. The woman according 10 Roche, provided the ring with information about her eX. husband.
 Besides Resnicll and Mrs. Guscd. berg. those held as principals are Michael Rosenberg, in whose homo kopelman was held; Isidore smaller once indicted as bomber; Charles Hadesman, reputed election terro :, ist; Sam Gold, with a police record and Sam Fellar. who was wounded when "Hymie Weiss, notorious gangster, was machine gunncd |: death in front of the Holy Name cathedral. Rosenberg, Roche said has confessed his share ill the plo. kopelman has identified all
 Mrs. Gusenberg was divorced iron her first husband, a man nam aG Thorn. and then from Kopelman Pete Gusenberg, her third, was kill ed in the St. Valentines Day mas sacre of 1929.