The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1935-06-06
CHAIR AWAITS
M|LLEN GANG
TONIGHT

ton and Irving-and Abe Faber,
gangsters who plotted to establish
a fantastic kingdom of the under
world with headquarters in Wash
ington, will go to the electric chair
in the CharleStown State prison
in Massachusetts,.
There is only one slender ray
of hope for last-minute reprieve.
Faber's attorney arrived in the
Capital in the hope that he can
get a justice of the United States
Supreme Court to issue restrain
ing order that would stay the exc
cution.
But, since the full court already
has refused to review the case, it
was thought there is little chance
of obtaining the stay.
Officials Under Guard
Meanwhile, in Massachusetts,,
the homes of the district attorney
who prosecuted the gangSters and
the commissioner of corrections
were placed under heavy police
guard on receipt of letters that
they would Le killed if the trio
went to the chair.
The gangSters were convicted
of the murder of a policeman
and a bank official during
holdup in February, 1884, but
police say they were responsible
for at least half a dozen other
killings as they blazed a trail OF
crime across a dozen States in
the two years they operated.
Educated men-Faber is an
honor graduate of the MaSSa-
chusetts Institute of Technology
the trio called on science to aid
them in setting up an organiza-
ton which would rule the under
world. They studied ballistics
and explosives. They learned to
fly and planned campaign to
rob mail planes, plotting their
own pirate ships.
Planned Raid Here
One of the most fantastic of
their plots was projected raid
on the Department of Justice
headquarters here to obtain plans
for an armored fortress-automo
BILE which they could use to eS-
cape.
The gang came here first early
last year. renting an expensive
apartment in the 1000 block Six
RAANAfh With fhnVo
came Murton's bride of a few
weeks, Norma Brighton Millen.
daughter of clergyman, the
Rev. Norman Brighton, New York
pastor, widely known as a war
worker in Washington during the
World War.
Irving Millen, the youngest of
the trio-he is just 22-applied at
the Hamilton National Bank for
a position as messenger. but was
not employed. Police believe that
this was preliminary step to
campaign of bank robberies here.
for as messenger Irving would
have been in a position to know
when large shipments of currency
were to be made to branch banks.
The gang established an arsenal
at Union Station. On two differ
ent occasions they checked large
bags there. Police later reclaimed
the bags and found that they con-
tanned a machine gun, two sawed
off shotguns, five pistols, a gas
mask, a number of tear gas bombs
and hundreds of rounds of am
munition.
Cached Loot Here
In addition to the weapons, the
bags contained $4,000 in cur
rency, later identified as part of
the Needham Bank robbery loot,
for which the trio are paying the
extreme penalty.
The gang also rented a safe de-
post vault, and when this was
opened by police an additional $4,-
100 was found.
Norma, a graduate of Cornell
University, was only 10 when she
met the handsome Murton at a
beach resort and married him
after a short whirlwind courtship.
When the gang was captured
she was grilled and broke down,
giving information that led police
to find the Washington cache
She was later found guilty as an
accessory and sentenced to one
year in prison.
Drove Getaway Car
Although she denied she knew
her husband was a criminal until
a few days before the gang was
captured, police charged that on
one occasion at least she drove
the getaway car following a rob
berry.
The gang planned a nation
wide series of bank holdups, strik-
ing at several banks at the same
time. To obtain arms and am
munition they plotted a series of
raids on arSenalS and gun fac
tories, and they also planned to
steal a number of airplaneS to be
used in raids.
One of their boldeSt jobs was
the robbery of a police exhibit in
Boston when they stole machine
gun and later used this weapon
in bank holdup.
The gang robbed four banks,
obtaining more than 100000, and
also staged number of payroll
and theater robberies. Since
their conviction and sentence to