The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1945-11-27
Safe
Continued from Page One

of Sunday, when Warren
Township police patrol car. with
Sgt. Vincent Romano at the
wheel, and Patrolman James
Asaro beside him, stopped TO in
vestigate a car parked on Lund
street off l3-Mile road.
Romano said he had noticed
the cara tWo-tone green Buick
sedan-park a few minutes be-
fore and its lights had been turn
ed off. Believing it was another
"petting party case, Romano
halted the police car beside the
Buick and flashed tn police
light on, intending to tell the &C.
cupants to keep moving"
The new commander predicted
the Rehabilitation of Europe
would take a long time. He said
he thought the standard Of liv-
ing could be raised above pre-
war levels 'if we have time"
This goal can be achieved
eventually if the atoms involv-
ed work together long enough, >
McNarney said, 1.-The biggest
problem is getting four differ
ent nations TO agree on single
coordinated policy"
The car sped away and Ro-
mano obtained momentary
glimpse Of two men crowded
closely together in the front
seat.
Realizing that the case was
worthy of more investigation,
Romano turned the police car
around and following the escap-
ing auto.
The two officers emptied their
revolvers at the car and at one
interval, when it suddenly slow
ed up, they believed they had
wounded one of its occupants.
They were confident that some
bullets marked their target.
SAFE DUMPED
In the vicinity of 12-Mile and
Mound roads, the criminals car
reduced its speed for a brief Pc
riod and the pursuing police OBJ
served something drop from it..
A minute later the officers came
upon the safe lying in the center
of the road. They were forced
to swerve to avoid hitting it.
BY this time the fast car op-
Grated by the safe-crackers had
disappeared in westerly di-
rection.
Romano radioed the police de-
partment to spread the alarm,
and the new hook-up between
Macomb County polio and all
communities of Oakland County
was put into action for the first
time. intersections of Dequindre,
Van Dyke and Mound roads
were quickly blocked, but 10
trace of the car was found. A
statewide pickup order was then
circulated by Warren Township
police.
JOB INTERRUPTED
Inspection of the safe dumped
by the criminals revealed that
it came from Raymond's Rose
Vile store. The door hinges had
been forced and the door pried
open. Near the safe lay a large
screwdriver (later identified as
having come from the Raymond
store. Marks on the inner safe
compartment containing the re-
covered $479) indicated the men
were prying loose this part OF
the safe when surprised in their
parked car by Romano.
The mems daring in risking
arrest while getting rid of the
safe and screwdriver indicated,
police said, that they were not
beginners in crime. Had arrest
appeared imminent, police be-
lieve the men would have bundl-
ed whatever loot they had, in
Guiding the $1,000 in cash, and
thrown that from the car-com-
pletely removing discriminating
evidence.
The safe was sufficiently
weighty that it required a
wrecker to remove it from the
highway, and later four we'll
built policemen were used to
carry it. The weight was esti-
mated at close to 400 lbs.
GANGS ARE ACTIVE
Sgt. Romano said that the po-
sition Of the two men close to
the wheel of the car indicated
that the safe was on the right
side of the vehicle, from which
it is possible part of the seat
may have been moved. Police
also believe that one or two
other men were in the rear part
of the car.
A sharp rise in safe-cracking
in Detroit and surrounding area
is said to have brought about by
the arrival in that city Of several
"out- of town" gangs of expert
enced safe thieves.
All South Macomb police
agencies and the sheriffs de-
partment are intensifying their
patrol .fforts. They have urged
merchants and businessmen to
leave their business places light
cd in the vicinity of the safes,