FATAL PRINTS

NZ Truth, Issue 1062, 1 April 1926, Page 10

FATAL PRINTS

"Master Criminal" MARKS ON BOTTLE (From "Truth's" Special Auckland Rep.) ■■■••: In the case of two young men, both with a record, dealt with last week at Auckland, the wonderful efficiency of the finger-print system was again well proved. Within two hours of the letter containing the photos of the finger-prints' being opened m Wellington, information was m the hands of the Auckland police as to the indentity of the wanted men. Leo Sylvester Hannan and George Edward- Allen, aged 25 and 26 respectively, well-dressed young men. They were charged with breaking and entering and theft. Lawyer Singer appeai'ed for the accused, who pleaded guilty. Their arrest may be directly at- ; tributed to a weakness for cheap ' liquor. Three or four times within the last six months the Commercial \ Hotel, Auckland, has been broken into and liquor was missing. The hotel was m a state of re-building. On the night of February 13 last, a constable .saw two men leave the hotel premises, but before he could reach them they had cleared off m a hired taxi. Several cases of whisky were stacked near the door, but _ had not been The thieves left evidence of their identity, however, their finger-prints being on several bottles — presumably

empty ones. Whisky, cigarettes and . cigars were missing. _,■ Allen, it' appears had also a finger— and a print— in the recent gelignite outrage at Rosenf eld's office m the Strand, Parnell.; Here the safe was blown up and all the windows smashed by the explosion 1 . Rosenfeld, Ltd., had been the recipients of many visits from parties unknown on similar lines. Mr. Singer, on behalf of his clients, asked that they might be dealt with summarily. With this suggestion, Mr. Hunt, S.M., and the chief detective agreed, and to make this possible the charges were amended to theft and mischief, the Magistrate not seeing the use of putting the State to the expense of a Supreme Court trial. Chief Detective Cummings stated , that when arrested Hannan admitted his share of the Commercial Hotel robbery, but Allen told the police to prove it. Th|s the finger- . ; . prints left behind had done beyond doubt. , v . '" In regard to the charge of blowing up the safe at Rosenf eld's, .there was no direct evidence against Hannan except that of close association. . ' t Hannah's record was not so bad; he had been before the Court m 1918 and m 1922. ; ■ But Allen is "a master criminal, an associate of thieves, and is always organizing crime." ' The woman who had gone bail for Hannan was requested by counsel to tell the Coux-t that: he had been a good boy. : .She was able to say that she thought drink was the. cause of his getting into such bad company. He had behaved well while : on bail. Mr. Hunt does not waste undue time on men of this type; he gave Allen six months' hard to be followed by two years' reformative detention, and on Hannan he bestowed six months hard with one year , reformative. . .