The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-05-18
BY DIILOs SMITH Hinitcd ppcss StafY COrrcsuONdcnt)

I A Cruel lies that led Colonel | Charles A. Lindbergh on a heart breaking hunt for a phantom shir and kidnapers born of the crafty mind of John Hughes Curtis were to be punished to-day by arres and arraignment of Curtis--of misdemeanor charges.
 The most brutal hoax in the his. tory of American crime. one that | tortured an American idol, his wife and family with tho belief that for money they could buy the safety of. their child, murdered and hidden at tho moment within sight of their home. rates In New Jersey with petty larceny and traf- fic violations. It is punishable by q maximum sentence of three years in prison and q $1,000 fine.
 The vicious chain of stories which were woven together Into q melodrama scenario by the bank rupt Norfolk shipbuilder has been logical enough to convince thou. sands--among them Colonel Lind. bergh himself, a Norfolk minister and n retired admiral, close friend of Lindbergh.
 It included mysterious trips al sen in search of the Gloucester schooner so definitely described by Curtis, mysterious telephone calls, encounters with desperadoes, short wave radio messages, Involved denls through third parties. air plane trips to New York and New ark, u minute search by Il fleet of 75 coast guard vessels, q hero named Curtis. and the full conn- dence, finally, of the deceived fa- ther and mother of the stolen baby
 Tho Curtis hoax, every bit as sen. sational, and inc0nceivnbly brutal as compared by the public with that perpetrated by Dr Frederick Cook who claimed to have beaten Commander Peary to the North Pole, may bring some further pun ishment by the law---the culprits signed confession indicated he wat undergoing mental torture.
 There Is n federal statue which provides prison sentences and fines for defrauding the government of either money or misuse of It's func- tions. Curtis call for coast guard vessels with attendant expense in the negotiations he conducted may bring prosecution under that stat. ute.
 Prosecutors plainly were puzzled in the first hours following the sen. sational revelation that Curtis chain of stories had been fiction However, during the night they conferred at Trenton and decided on the arrest and immediate ar- ralgnment at Remington. Ball of $5O,000 waB to be demanded.
 The statue under which the pros. ecutors planned to act reads:
 Any person who shall knowing. ly or wllfully aid or assist any per. son who shall commit the crime oi murder or any crime denominated by any law In this state, or who being within tho state of New Jer. sey shall for the purpose of pre-. venting or hinderlng the apprehen. sion of any such person whether within this state or not. knowing. ! ly or wilfully gives false or untrue reports shall bs guilty of misde. meanor~for which the maximum sentence shall be three years i'm. prisonment. $1 ,o00 fine. or both"
 The dramatic confession Curtis made before dawn Tuesday and an. nounced late that afternoon. wal AcitVNVu Ot aeNoibpuHtCu III Juot uf sensational manner by these de. velopmehts:
 | Dr John r. (Jafsle) Condon wal revealed as an authentic negotiat0i through Identification of the hand. writing on letters he received Hugh McQuillan of the bureau oi investigation. department of inter nal revenue. Identified the writing as by the same hand that wrote tho original ransom letter left 1T Charles A. Lindbergh Jr's crib the night he was stolen--March 1.
 Prank Parzych, Brooklyn. ar rested on an abandonment charge "confessed" he was a member o the rum-running gang which kid naped the Lindbergh baby. He snit the actual kIdnaper fell HR tn, ladder, and the baby was Killed lf the fall. His story "appeared t' have the ring of truth" Poiic, Commissioner Muirooney annOunc