Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-02-13
Quinn Admits PLOTTING
To Free 7 Murderers
In D. {. Jail Break

michael u. quinn, captured Dy
Federal agents yesterday, was the
brains" behind the November "a
District Jail break and he all but
succeeded in setting free two con-
victed murders and another man
now on trial for his life.
Quinn admitted part Of the story
in Chicago where he was arrested
by the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
ton. He is awaiting hearing next
Tuesday for return to Washington.
He told FBI agents the original
escape plot included Earl Mcfarland
and Joseph d. Medley. Mcfarland
is scheduled to die soon for the slay-
ing of 18-year-old Dorothy Berrum
Medley is doomed to die for the
murder of Nancy Boyer and has been
suspected in the bathtub deaths OF
two other women.
Four men sawed their way out OF
jail with Quinn, but Mcfarland and
Medley were not among them. They
were left in the lurch-along with
such potential escapes as Raymond
Connors, on trial for his life in the
Barker Casbarian murder case
Charles Skiskowski, Quinn's partner
in the $4,000 S. Kann Sons store
payroll robbery: and Earl Davis,
who recently pleaded guilty to help
ing smuggle hacksaw blades into the
jail.
Conspirators Separated.
That these men also were tabled
for freedom came out when jail off,
Gals quizzed prisoners during an in
vestigation following the break.
They missed out for two reasons:
Cd Jail officials learned of the plot
a week in advance and separated
some of the conspiartors; (2) Quinn
and his escaping henchmen then re-
fused to take the added risk of let
ting them out of their cells.
Quinn told the FBI the plot had
been Matching for weeks before it
materialized. What he did not tell
was how it occurred q week behind
schedule with little semblance Of the
original plot.
All the conspirators at one time
were lodged on the east side of cell
block No. 1. All but Medley and Nc
Farland had the freedom of the
recreation room between / and
pm. The plan was to overpower
the guard, take his keys to the cell
control board and let out Medley
and Mcfarland.
With the guard out of the way,
the men would have half an hour
in which to saw out the bars before
an officer appeared for his periodic
check. Actually, it took only 10 or
Is minutes to file out the soft iron
bar.
Took Quickest Way Out.
When jail officials learned of the
impending escape, they moved
Quinn, John ,Mansour, William A.
Reed and Paul A. Nicewander from
the west side of the cellblock to the
east where they were separated from
Medley, Mcfarland, Connors, Davis
and Skiskowski by tall tier of cells.
That put the only sawblade equip
ped with handle on tn west side of
the cellblock, and it left a crude
knife, intended to persuade the
guard, in the east wing.
When the break came, the es-
capees still could have attempted to
wrest keys from the guard, entered
a door between the two wings and
freed the others. Instead they took
the quickest way out. Anyway, Skis
kowski had a sawblade tucked away
in his cell which he could use if he
wanted to escape bad enough, II
was disclosed later.
Jail officials have specialized that
Medley was contributing money to
the getaway. They theorized that
otherwise he was too "hot" to be
included in the plans. Quinn had
enough money when he escaped to
hire a taxicab to Baltimore, pro-
coed to Philadelphia and thence to
Chicago by bus.
At the time the plot centered in
the east wing. Mansour-one of two
fugitives still at large-was acting
as barber. Jail officials pointed out
that 1t would have been a simple
matter for Medley or another of the
prisoners to have asked for a shave.
When the guard took him to Man
sour, on the floor beneath the
guards runway, the pair could have
|overpowered the guard and taken his
KEYS.