BANK ROBBER FAILS

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 71, 21 September 1936, Page 17

BANK ROBBER FAILS

TELLER NOT BLUFFED

NITRO-GLYCERINE TRICK

A Brooklyn salesman armed with an unloaded .32-calibre revolver, a bottle of syrup intended to look like nitroglycerine, and a 315-word letter of instructions to tho bank teller, tried to rob .the • Harrison (New Jersey) National Bank of 3000 dollars, but failed in spite of his elaborate precautions, says the "New 'X'drk Times." He failed even though a woman stenographer employed by the bank decided that the burglar alarm had "gdne off by accident again," and tried, to send away a patrolman who answered it. He failed because the teller, a sixty-year-old former special policeman, refused to be bluffed. Arrested on charges of attempted robbery, the man said he was Walter Hill, 46 years old, Brooklyn, but refused to answer any questions other than ■ to- say that he needed the money. (A-Brooklyn address given by Hill is a garage, where no; one knew of him.) The hero of the incident was the paying teller, Thomas Sheridan, a stocky, mild-mannered person, sft 4in in height, with thick White hair, l He was hired by the bank as a police guard six years ago, and was promoted to the position of teller in 1935. He kept a loaded revolver in his cash drawer and had often made plans as to what he would do in the, case of a hold-up, but when it really happened he had no chance to carry them out. The bank is at 406 Harrison Avenue, in, the heart of the' business district. At 11.58 a.m., two minutes before closing time, there were nine employees and five customers in the building. The front door was locked, being opened and shut at intervals to permit .the departure of patrons. Suddenly, as Shferidan was preparing to-lock'up, Hill, a heavy-set man with a head set like a bulldog's,, stepped lip to his cage and thrust a white, envelope through the bars. Sheridan opened ifc and found a 3000----dollar.cheque made out to cash, and a type-written note. . ■. ' •, ■ / THE LETTER.. The note follows: — "Dear Sir,—Read'and digest this. Very thoroughly, for you right now are in a tough spot. I have my hand on a rod, ready for, instant use, and th.c little bottle you see in my, hand contains, nilro-glycerine, which, when !■ drop it, will blow this bank Wide open, and kill everyone in here. "I will talje death in. preference to capture., and if your actions force.the issue, I don't'care who goes with me. Cash the enclosed Cheque with large bills. "No new money wanted. Place them in a large envelope, and hand them to me; 'Do this in the usual manner, and keep your hands in sight at, all'times. '"■■■■ ' ' ■'"■"■ ' ■ "My pal is covering the outside of the bank and is ready to handle the bull on the corner, and any alarm you may give -will mean someone passing out of the picture in a rather disagreeable manner.■•-.. •, , . , . , "When I leave, keep aright on waiting on the people; as: if nothing had happened for at least twenty minutes, for if you don't and raise an alarm, one does not have to use good aim to hit a, bank .building . with a bottle, and there' will be two of us with bottles to blow, so'it willbe just too bad for anyone in the building or in "front of it. -' :' '■' -; "Now, if you want to be a sap for a lousy 3000 dollars,,go ahead,and make a false move, and see what I will do. Both of us are desperate. Life doesn't mean a thing and we will not be taken alive,. If you act natural, following instructions ■ carefully, not a soul will be hurt. Try to be a wise .guy and.-you and everyone around you will be blown to hell and gone. So use your head. • "P.S.-^-Return check,to me, mixed in with the bills." !.".. Sheridan read the note with conflicting emotions. He,was rather amused by its melodramatic style and decided that the author had been to too many gangster movies, but there was no /way of telling whether the man really had nitro-glycerine. When he looked up, the man was pointing ominously to a small bottle in his hand. TALK STALLS HIM OFF. "What is this all about?" Sheridan asked, trying to detract Hill's attention so that he could reach in the drawer for his pistol. "You know what it's about," the man said, sounding as tough as he could. "Come on. Step on it" This gave Sheridan an idea. He stepped oh the burglar alarm, and went on talking. The intruder heard the bell ringing outside the front door of the bank, and became frightened. "Gee," he said, "that sounds like a burglar alarm." "What the hell do you think it is?" Sheridan said, getting tough himself. By this time Patrolman Joseph Catterall, who had been on traffic duty 50ft from the bank, was at the door. Sheridan started to breathe a sigh of relief, but was suddenly horrified to hear the bank's stenographer, whose name was not revealed, telling the officer to go away. She explained pleasantly that the burglar alarm was always going off by mistake, and that nothing was wrong. ' Catterall was starting to walk away when Sheridan summoned up his courage and shouted for help. The policeman bjfard him and returned with his revolver drawn. Sheridan dashed out of his cage and around to Hill, who was looking • around for someone to surrender himself to. j "All right, you've got me," he said.! "I give up." , v| At the police station it was discovered that the bottle which he had carried in his hand was filled with the kind of cherry-flavoured syrup which is used in soda fountains. They alsoi found the unloaded revolver in his! pocket, but no trace of a confederate. Sheridan admitted later that he had become scared after Hill's arrest. Hej found that his knees were knocking, so he stopped at a laar for two Tom Collinses1 oiv his way, to tho police station j to file the complaint. j