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World War I Draft Card |
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Philadelphia
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Camden
Post-Telegram Adams
Avenue
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Camden Evening Courier- January 20, 1928 |
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SLOT
MACHINE THIEF IS TAKEN IN AUTO CHASE Pursued for more than two miles
in a wild chase through the heart of Camden about noon today, two “shiekbandits”
were captured by the man whose store they had robbed of two gambling
machines. Police later said they had
arrested one youth in connection with the case. He was Walter S. Nowak, 22
years old, of 442 Jackson
Street, they said, and he had been booked on a charge of “holdup in
a store.” They knew nothing, they said about two men being caught. How he followed two “young
fellows” through the streets of the city after they had dashed from his
store with the machines in which they had “lost $2,” was repeated by
Lewis Schectman, proprietor of a general store at 708 Broadway. The chase began when Schechtman
commandeered an automobile in front of his store. It ended when he and the
driver of the automobile captured the youths at the corner of Fourth
Street and Kaighn
Avenue. There, according to Schectman,
the youths were turned over to the patrolmen of the Second District,
Police Officers Nathan
Petit and Edward Carroll. When asked to confirm a report
that the young bandits had been arrested, Sergeant James Clay of the desk
of police headquarters, refused to show the ‘police docket’ to
newspaper reporters. Members of the patrol crew refused to give
information concerning the arrest of anybody connected with the robbery,
or any charge on which they may have been booked. Rivalry
of Syndicates It is generally believed that
the thieves are representatives of one of the several
“syndicates” which place gambling machines in stores, saloons and
poolrooms about town. It was pointed out that often there is intense
rivalry between the competing syndicates and that it is sometimes carried
to the point where they steal each other’s equipment. “It
was 11:45 this morning when two young fellows, well-dressed, came into my
store.” declared Schectman. “They
started playing a nickel machine which is out of sight of passers by in
the corner of the store. I heard them say they lost $2. My attention was
taken up by a salesman who came into the store to collect a bill. I went
to the rear of the store to get ink with which to write a check. I heard
my wife scream murder, thieves, police, help.” According
to Schectman, his wife, Jennie, 40 years old, and his 16-year old daughter
Esther saw the youths run out of the store with the slot machine in their
arms, load them into a car parked in front of the establishment and drive
away. Schectman said he and
the salesman took up the chase. After he saw the bandit car pass a red
light at the corner of Broadway
and Line
Street he commandeered an
automobile, ordering the driver, whose name he did not obtain, to follow
the touring car which then had turned left into Line. Details of the chase
were told by Schectman. The bandits were followed west on up to Fifth Street. Their car swerved from Fifth to Chestnut, and turned southwest on Newton Avenue until it reached Kaighn Avenue. “They then swung west
on Kaighn
Avenue and drove toward the
ferry. We were about a half a square behind them, all the way.”
Schectman declared. Down to the ferry plaza, the bandits swung their car around in the ferry driveway, and dashed back up Kaighn Avenue until they reached Fourth Street. ‘We yelled ‘murder,
police, robbers’ all the way.’ Schectman declared. Two
Fugitives Caught After
they had turned the corner on to
Fourth
Street, the robbers, apparently
frightened, jumped from their machine and ran north on
Fourth
Street.
Schectman and his friend followed, caught up with them and collared them. A
telephone call brought the Second District police patrol. The
slot machines which contained about $50 were confiscated by the police,
Schectman said. The
touring car used by the bandits in their attempted get away had no rear
license tag. On the front was a license p1ate with C-16207 N.J. Schectman said he believed the car had been stolen. The car was a Flint touring car. Investigation
this afternoon revealed that this license was issued for a 1927 blue
Chrysler sedan, on January L to Richard
Gondolf, 3037 Fenwick
Road, Fairview, at the agency of Samuel
Weinstein, 411 Kaighn
Avenue.
Gondolf is a son of Peter Gondolf, former policeman and who is now in the
contracting business. The son works with his father. Store
Robbed Sometime
between 9 o’clock last night and 7 o’clock this morning the store of
William Henion at 517 Clinton
Street
was broken into. Two
slot machines of the “penny’ type, containing a total of $80 were
taken. Ten boxes of cigars and an amount of candy were also stolen by the
robbers, who gained entrance by forcing a door in an unoccupied house at
the rear of the store. A box containing $8 in pennies which lay near the machines and $2 in a cash drawer were overlooked. The break was discovered by Henion when he opened up this morning. He figured his loss at $100. |
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Camden Evening Courier- January 20, 1928 |
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DEALER
DENIES THIEVES TOOK SLOT MACHINE Lewis Shectman changed his story in police court today and declared that it was only a box of cigars, not a gambling machine that was stolen from his store, 708 Broadway, yesterday by two bandits. Police Court judge Bernard Bertman characterized Schectman as a prevaricator. Shectman denied statements published ion the Evening Courier yesterday, in which he and his wife and daughter related in detail how two men had carried away a gambling machine in an automobile after losing $2 playing the machine. William Gaffney, Evening Courier reporter, was called to the stand and repeated the facts published in yesterday’s paper. “I cannot help but believe you are lying”, Bertman said to Schectman. At the same time Bertman intimated that he would recommend a further investigation of the matter by County Prosecutor Wescott before putting the evidence before a grand jury. Denies Stealing ‘Cigars’ Schectman appeared in Court today against two men the police arrested in the case The defendants are Walter S. Nowak, 22 years old, 442 Jackson Street and Martin Bertherlet, 25 years old, 1218 Pavonia Street. Each was held in $500 bail for the Grand Jury after Samuel P. Orlando, counsel for the two men, had waived a hearing. Orlando, after the hearing today, stated that both men deny the charge of stealing the cigars. He would not comment on the case further, however. Nowak was caught after a two-mile chase through the streets. of Camden yesterday by Schectman and Frank Helm, 2909 Stevens Street, who offered his car as Shectman cried “Help! Robbers!” in front of his store. Nowak was turned over to Patrolmen Nathan Petit and Edward Carroll of the Second District patrol crew. Both Are Identified Berherlat was arrested. Police said he called at headquarters yesterday afternoon and reported that his automobile had been stolen from Hyde Park, Second and Kaighn Avenue. Police said they doubted his story, investigated, and placed him under arrest today. Both Novak and Bertherlat were identified as the two men who rushed from his store yesterday noon, by Shectman. A stir was created in court when the Broadway store proprietor said he did not own a gambling machine, and said that the thieves had stolen a box of cigars. When Shectman, answering a question put to him by Bertman, denied that he had been asked to “change the story” Gaffney was called to the witness stand. Gaffney recited in detail an interview with Schectman yesterday shortly following the robbery. How Schectman had said that be had been robbed at a slot machine by two well-dressed bandits and how he had pursued them through the principal streets of South Camden—account of which was printed in detail in Fridays Courier—was told by the witness. Shectman Questioned Questioning of Schectman by Bertman followed statements by Detective Louis Shaw and attorney Orlando. Shaw, asked the nature of the case against Nowak and Bertherlat said that it was over the “larceny of cigars.” Orlando said that he understood that the matter invoilved his clients with the theft of a slot machine from Shectman’s store. Orlando said that his clients denied stealing cigars. Neither of the defendants were called to testify. Following Gaffney’s testimony, Judge Bertman said that he was tempted to hold the complainant under bail. Shectman then again tried to “explain” the alleged discrepancies in the interview Friday and the statements made in court this morning. “I don’t want to talk with you” was Bertman’s answer to Shectman’s request for a “few minutes” with the judge. Police today said that they had arrested Harry Simons, 44, of 1447 South 4th Street “on suspicion” last night. After Shectman positively identified Nowak and Bertherlat, Simons was released. An erroneous report of the license number found on the Flint touring car used by the men on their flight from Shectman’s store was made yesterday. The license number, police said, was C16209 and not C16207 as reported yesterday. It was through the tracing of the license number and the report that Bertherlat’s car had been stolen, that the second arrest in the case was made this morning. Police said they figured the car had been used in several South Camden robberies during the past month. Under the law, had Shectman admttted to possession of the slot machine, he would have been subject to a fine. |
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Camden Courier-Post * February, 1928 |
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GARAGE
WATCHMAN FOILS WHISKEY THEFT |
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George
M. Beringer - Herman
Z. Cutler - Norm Middleton |
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Camden Courier-Post - October 27, 1931 |
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2
Wives Give Same Block Duplicate Murder Scares
Two wives, within two hours, excited the neighborhood of Chestnut Street in the 200 block by running into the street and calling "murder." . In both instances Motorcycle Patrolman Earl Wright was summoned to subdue ferocious husbands. The first call came from 290 Chestnut Street. Wright used jujitsu to stop William Passio, 24, from breaking up the furniture and threatening his wife, Catherine, with a bread knife. The cop arrested Passio and confiscated one case or 48 half-pint bottles of alleged whiskey and a punchboard. Sergeant Truax and Policeman Devine assisted. The second call came from 254 Chestnut Street. Wright and Sergeant Petit found George Hall, 28, at the back door with a carving knife up his sleeve. His wife, Hazel, said he attempted to kill her. Wright drew his pistol- Hall handed over the knife. Both men were given "suites" in the city jail pending arraignment today. Both were charged with "threats to kill.' |
Camden Courier-Post * December 31, 1932 |
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Nathan
Petit - Roy
R. Stewart - A.
Lincoln James - Samuel
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Camden Courier-Post - February 10, 1933 |
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SALESMAN
DIES IN COLLISION OF AUTO AND BUS John A. Ashton, 36, a salesman, of 316 Boyd Street, was injured fatally last night when his automobile and a Public Service bus collided 100 feet from his home. He died in West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital at 8:10 PM, an hour and five minutes after the crash. The bus was driven by Joseph Clark, 50, of 504 North Fourth street. He was held in $1000 bail for the grand jury on a charge of manslaughter. The crash occurred at Boyd Street and Baird boulevard. According to Policeman Russell Young, on duty at the traffic light at Baird and Admiral Wilson boulevards, a man whose name he did not obtain told him both cars were proceeding on Baird boulevard and that Clark attempted to pass Ashton's car on the right as Ashton turned right into Boyd Street. Ashton's car was forced onto the island separating the two traffic lanes on Baird boulevard. Ashton was thrown to the road. According
to Motorcycle Policeman Thomas Welch, who arrived a moment after the
accident, the bus
continued a block after hitting the car before it was stopped. Ashton
was picked up by Welch, who commandeered an automobile and took him to
the hospital. He died of a fractured skull and internal injuries.
Coroner Arthur H. Holl issued the death certificate. Lieutenant
Nathan Petit, who lives nearby, assisted Welch. Clark
was arrested at the Public Service car barns by Welch and Policeman
Stanley
Wirtz. Ashton
was employed as a salesman for the W.S. Quinby Coffee Company,
Philadelphia. He is survived by a widow, Miriam, and a daughter, Marilyn,
one year old. |
| Camden Courier-Post * June 19, 1933 |
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Jobless
Men Aid Police to Trap Suspects Surrounding a vacant house at 331 Boyd Street which two alleged thieves had entered, a group of unemployed men yesterday cut off every avenue of escape until police arrived. The men, who were found hiding in a second floor closet, police said, gave their names as Barney Runyon, 26, and William Newcomb, 22, both of 2301 Mickle Street. A telephone call to the home of Patrolman Earl Stopfer, of 226 Boyd Street, by a resident in the vicinity of the vacant house, informed Mrs. Stopfer that two men were in the house. With her husband on desk duty at city hall, Mrs. Stopfer went to the home of Lieutenant Nathan Petit, 320 Boyd Street, but he was out. She then sent a group of unemployed men working on community gardens in the rear of her home to the scene and telephoned police. The unemployed men were circled about the house when a patrol crew, under Patrolman George Getley arrived. The two men already had dismantled plumbing fixtures, Getley said. They were committed in default of $500 bail each for a hearing in police court this morning. |
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Camden Courier-Post - February 20, 1936 |
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COPS
BEAT OUT FLAMES IN WOMAN'S CLOTHING A
South Camden woman was burned seriously yesterday when her clothing
caught tire while she was working in the kitchen of her home. Mrs.
Ihlelgn Brown, 35, of 1026 South
Second street, is in serious condition in Cooper Hospital. She was
taken to the hospital after two policemen, Sergeant Nathan
Petit and Marshall
Thompson, smothered the flames with blankets. After her clothing caught fire, Mrs. Brown ran to the second floor of her home, where her husband, Abraham, was sleeping. He shouted to a neighbor who called police. |
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Camden Courier-Post * February 21, 1936 |
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FALSE
ALARM LEADS TO
ARREST OF THREE A passerby who thought he saw a house afire on Taylor Avenue near Third street, turned in an alarm that brought four fire companies on a monkey run yesterday. It required more than five minutes to find the house reported afire when the apparatus pulled up at the alarm box at Third and Federal streets. Two
policemen, Sergeant Nathan
Petit and Marshall
Thompson, who followed
firemen to the scene were quicker
than that for they found the house and a young woman hiding in the
closet on the second floor. She was arrested along with a woman and a
man. Taken
to police headquarters the young
woman, who identified herself as
Margaret Pone, 17, of Park Avenue, Maple Shade, was held on a charge of
vagrancy. Margaret
Johns,
and Louis Archer, 39,
both Negroes, who were also found in the three-story dwelling
at 230 Taylor
Avenue,
were also held as
material witnesses. The
reported fire turned out to be the smoking stove.
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Camden
Courier-Post George
Clark |
| Camden Courier-Post * - January 8, 1938 | ||
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Kobus - Arthur
Colsey - Ralph
Bakley - Herbert
Bott - Louis
Shaw John Skolski - George Frost - Walter Welch - Nathan Petit Frank Evans - Gus Koerner - Edward Hahn - Harry Newton |
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| Camden Courier-Post - February 11, 1938 |
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Who was elected as a member of the vestry of St. Wilfrid's Episcopal Church, Westfield avenue and Dudley street, along with Robert M. Burgy. Petit also was named chairman of the parish committee and Burgy, treasurer. The Rt. Rev. Wallace J. Gardner, Bishop of the New Jersey Diocese, will administer the sacrament of confirmation at the church Monday night. |
| Camden Courier-Post - February 11, 1938 |
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THIEF BITES OFF END OF CAPTOR'S FINGER Seized by the owner of a bicycle which he allegedly was trying to steal, Thomas Fletcher, 25, of 814 South Second street, bit off the end of Herman Lundy's right forefinger last night at Broadway and Liberty streets in his efforts to escape. Lundy, 19, of 530 Kaighn avenue, clung to Fletcher, however, until Police Sergeant Nathan Petit and Patrolman Marshall Thompson arrived and arrested the man. He was charged with mayhem and attempted larceny. The police rushed Fletcher to detective headquarters as an angry throng of more than 50 men assembled and began muttering ominously against the prisoner. Lundy told police he saw Fletcher attempt to take his bicycle, parked near the butcher shop where he worked, and that someone called police while he grappled with the man. |
| Camden Courier-Post - February 12, 1938 |
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BIKE THIEF SENTENCED ON CHARGE OF MAYHEM Charged with mayhem and larceny, Thomas Fletcher, 25, of 814 South Second street, was sentenced yesterday to six months in jail on the latter charge by Police Judge Mariano and held in $5000 bail for the Grand Jury on the other charge. Appearing against Fletcher was Herman Lundy, 19, of 530 Kaighn avenue, his left hand in a sling. Lundy charged that Fletcher bit off the end of his left forefinger when he grappled with the man to prevent theft of his bicycle. Sergeant Nathan Petit and Patrolman Marshall Thompson, who arrested Fletcher, told Judge Mariano that 200 persons were assembled around the man and threatening him when they arrived at the scene. Fletcher told the court he was drunk. The policemen said he was not. They told Judge Mariano that Fletcher recently was released from Ancora, where he had served six months on a larceny charge.. |
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World War II Draft Card |
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| Trenton
Times * December 23, 1947 Click on Image to Enlarge |
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W. Frost - David
S. Rhone - Samuel
Johnson - Nathan
Petit George E. Brunner |
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| Camden Courier-Post - July 31, 1948 |
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THREE MEMBERS OF CAMDEN TRAFFIC squad are shown on new motorcycle mounts which went into service this week. Left to right are Patrolmen Martin Nelson, Frank Wilmot, and Thomas Carr in front of City Hall. Seven of the new $800 vehicles were delivered to the department on Wednesday, Capt. Nathan Petit, squad commander, announced. |
| Camden Courier-Post - September 17, 1948 | |
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ALL
of the officers were fully exonerated of ANY wrongdoing. Nathan
Petit - David
S. Rhone |
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Camden Courier-Post * November 29, 1949 |
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NAMED CHIEF of the Camden police department today, Captain‘Gustav Koerner, a 26-year veteran of the department and one time baseball player, is shown receiving the congratulations of Public Safety Director Aaron. A native of Camden, Chief Koerner succeeds George W. Frost, who resigned Jan. 1, 1948. Captain Samuel Johnson had been acting chief since then. Gustav
A. Koerner - George
W. Frost |
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