Evening star., 1952-05-17
Police Arrest 10
lin $500,000
Numbers Ring
Raiders Link Some
Of Suspects to
Whitetop Simkins


Whitetop Simkins
A gambling ring that collected
$500, 900 year from Washington
area bettors has been smashed
with the arrest Of 10 men and
women. in a series of numbers
game raids, Police Inspector Clar-
ence Lutz said today.
Warrants are out for other
members Of the ring and their
are imminent, Inspector
Lutz, chief of the combined head-
quarters vice and gambling squads.
declared.
New techniques devised after the
United States Court of Appeals
ruled recently that it was not
for police actually to
place numbers game bets before
obtaining arrest warrants were
in yesterdays raids. In
spector Lutz said.
Linked to Simkins.
Undercover agents reported that
some of the men arrested In the
raids formerly were top lieuten-
ants of Roger (Whitetop) Simkins,
colored, whose name has figured
prominently in gambling investi-
cations by the grand jury and the
Senate District Crime subcommit-
tee.
Simkins denied this morning
that any of the men caught in
the raids had ever worked for him.
Two of the men arrested yes
terday were witnesses before the
grand jury during its investiga-
ton of Simkins. They are Roger
A. Wilson, colored, 33, of the 2700
block of Thirteenth street NV.
and Alvin Barnes, Al, of the 1900
block of East Capitol street.
They were arrested after raid
ers broke down the door of base
ment apartment in the first block
of S street NV. Inspector Lutz
said the apartment was head
quarters Of the ring. Several add
ing machines, a quantity Of num-
bers game slips and $1,400 in cash
were seized in the raid, Inspector
LutZ said.
Others arrested in the apart
ment were Mrs. Helen Clara Gill.
owner of the building; Mrs. Olivia
M. Stevens, 46. of 1900 block Of
o street NV, and Mrs. Parthenia
r. Adams. So. of the 1900 block Of
street NV. All are
colored.
S1,4O0 Daily Play.
Inspector Lutz said the 81 400
the normal daily play
sent to the S street establishment
by numbers game runners.
While the S street raid was in
progress additional members Of
the gambling squad famed out
throughout the Northwest section
and rounded up five additional
men.
Francis A. (villa) Wilson.
colored, SO, of the 1900 block Of
D street Sc, was arrested in the
1900 block of Ninth street NV.
Inspector Lutz described him as
the No. 2 pickup man" for the
group. Wilson was the "top man."
Lutz said, and Barnes
was his first lieutenant.
Others arrested at scattered
points were: Arthur L. Sweeting.
colored, %, of the 1900 block of
T street NV; Jerry Rembert.
colored, AZ, Of the 700 block of
Otis street NV. Edward G.
Jackson. colored, 40. of the 1000
block of L street NV, and Will
liam Manus, colored, 81, Of 419
Sixth street Sc.
Manus was charged with operat-
ing lottery and the other nine
persons were charged with operat-
ing lottery and possession Of
numbers slips.
First precinct police, in a sepa-
rate antf-gambling attack, ar
rested four colored men who al
legedly were participating in
numbers game operations in the
1400 block of H street NV. The
men were charged with op-
Grating a lottery and possession Of
number slips. They are Wilbur
R. Washington, IS. of the 900
block of M street NV; Joseph E.
(Poor Boy) Adgley, 38, Of the TOO
block of Irving street NV; Clyde
E. Cole, %, of the 1900 block Of
Kansas avenue NV, and Emanuel
j. Jones, Is. of the 1400 block Of
Belmont street NV. All four
were held under bonds of 81. 500
each after a preliminary hearing
before United States Commissioner
|Cyrll .. Lawrence.
Lutz Praises Aide.
Inspector Lutz commended Pvt.
Joseph Stanczak Of the Thirteenth
precinct for uncovering operations
of the ring that operated from the
IS street headquarters.
Pvt. Stanczak discovered that
Thomas would station himself
every day on a wall bordering the
Howard University Medical School
at Sixth and w streets NV. In a
hedge behind the wall he kept a
large canvas sack. Other men
would come up to him during the
day, pass over packages which
disappeared into the sack.
Inspector Lutz assigned three
undercover men to work with Pvt.
Stanczak and trail the men who
met Thomas. AS evidence began
to accumulate Inspector Lutz con-
ferred with Assistant United
States Attorney Thomas Walden
and developed the plan to strike
at the heart Of the organization
rather than merely placing bets
with the individual runners.
Mr.. Walden said every one was
tired of the old technique that