Evening star., 1948-06-06

which sprawls alongside busy Balti-
more boulevard about mile north
of Laurel has excited the curiosity
of passing motorists for years. The
management has changed frequent
ly, and. the air of mystery which
haunts the place was considerably
thickened last March when bullet
punctured body was found in the
woods nearby.
The body was that of Hunter C..
Lewis, an ex-convict, whose murder
was charged to a former peniten-
tiary pals Mack Wilson Fierst, q.
Fierst, wanted in at least three
Washington hold-ups and robberies,
was said to have shot 1t out with
his former friend over supposed
"tip-off" while they were planning
to hold up Rocway Towers.
No Link With Probe Seen.
Washington authorities, who said
the popularity of the Towers de-
clined so rapidly after the murder
the place was forced to close its
doors, say little If any connection
between the renewal of gaming there
and the District grand jury investi-
cation OF gambling here.
Many men charged in the Mary
land raid are known to local police,
although there was no veriflcation
of an earlier report that former
Washington policeman was among
those arrested.
Police Supt. Robert j. Barrett
said he had information gaming
was going on at the casino long
before a special grand jury con-
vened here to investigate the gam
bling situation in the District.
"All I've got to say" Maj. Barrett
added, "is that I'm glad the opera
ton was uncovered outside instead
of inside the District"
While there was little doubt that
the heat" in Washington was drtv-
ing some gamblers and patrons
across the District line into Mary
land, Howard County police said
they had noted no increase in their
area as result Of the investiga-
ton here.
Washington police believe the
operators of Rocway Towers turned
it into a gambling casino after they
ran into difficulties in adjoining
Prince Georges County.
Meyers. they say, is better known
as Mike Meyers in Prince
Georges, especially around Suitland
and Silver Hill.
Several months ago all known
gambling places in Prince Georges
were closed by the police.
Meanwhile, the drop in revenue
at Rocway Towers in the wake Of
the Lewis murder left the place
open for new management, it was
said.
Yesterdays raid was conducted
with extraordinary secrecy. State
troopers obtained a search warrant
Friday from Judge John Clark in
Ellicott City. The troopers from
outlying districts reported to the
Pikesville station, where they were
briefed by Col Ober and divided
into three squads under Its. George
E. Davidson, w. H. Weber and w. H.
Conroy.
LoOkouts Arrested.
Shortly after midnight they ap-
fhrnn l.
rections, arresting two lookouts on
the grounds who were replaced by
policemen.
One man was relieved Of As
caliber automatic. There was no
previous warning as the squads
rushed three doors of the establish
ment simultaneously.
They had brought a battering
ram in case the doors were barred,
but those inside had no time to put
up barricades. The bars lay unused
on the floor, it was said. The party
entering a rear door, however, heard
an inner door locked in front OF
them.
The troopers charged this door
with plenty of beef and crashed
through before a bar could be
placed inside.
There was wild scramble when
the three squads broke into the
gaming rooms. Some occupants
believed at first the place was
being robbed, they explained later
One man dashed from an ante
room with a cooked pistol which he