“A DANGER TO ANY COMMUNITY”

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21035, 10 February 1940, Page 12 (Supplement)

“A DANGER TO ANY COMMUNITY”

Criminal Without Mercy Returns to Gaol

Sentenced as a criminal who was “without mercy or compunction” “University Harry,” as Henry Rosenfeld, otherwise Rosefield, convicted thief and debonair crook, is known 1 in the underworlds of London, Paris, j and Brussels, is once more behind i prison bars. j Rosenfeld, described as a 42-year- ! old solicitor’s clerk, was sent to penal i servitude for three years by the Rei corder. Sir Gerald Dodson, at the j Old Bailey for obtaining £IOO by j false pretences from an Austrian j refugee, Arpad Poliak, j It was stated in court that Mr | Poliak had a son in Haifa, Palestine, J anxious to reach this country. Polj lak and his wife—once a famed j teached of music at Vienna’s Con--1 servatoire—believed Rosenfeld to be | a solicitor with considerable in- | fluences at the Home Office. J The Poliaks handed Rosenfeld 15 j guineas, the fee payable on the "per- ! mit” for their son to be brought to j England. j Later Rosenfeld declared that he j had obtained the “permit” and was j given a further £IOO, which he said | was required as a deposit with the I Heme Office for the guaranteed mainj tenance of young Poliak, j In fact. Rosenfeld had not obtained j a permit for the Poliaks’ son, who is i still in Palestine. ! After he had heard the details of j Rosenfeld’s long criminal record, the ' Recorder told him: ! “I have not the slightest doubt you : are a danger to an} r community, here jor abroad. It is necessary to pro- ! tect the public from the depredations of a man like you.” i Rosenfeld’s young wife, who had j been sitting at the back of the court, | collapsed as the Recorder uttered his ; condemnation, and had to be car- ' ried by two policemen to a waitingroom. Rosenfeld, a swarthy-complexion-j ed. black-moustached man, who : throughout the trial had made great play with his horn-rimmed spec- ; tacles. showed little emotion. He , walked smartly down the cell-steps ! at the touch of the warder’s arm. I War-time Special Constable “University Harry’s” glibness and his assumption of superior learning have for many years, in the intervals of his incarceration in English ana Continental prisons, won him a considerable following in the East End of London. \

His criminal record, as reported by Detective-Inspector Fish, is impressive. He was born, the officer stated, in the East End, of Russian parents. He had ten previous convictions. In 1916, when he was a special constable in the Metropolitan Police, he was sentenced to three months’ hard labour for obtaining 5s by false pretences. In the following year he was sentenced to three years’ Borstal detention for receiving a stolen motor-car. In 1920 he was ordered three years’ penal servitude for stealing £l5O by means of a trick. On his release “University Harry” made his way to the Continent, but rapidly caught up with his old practices—and his old associates. He found himself condemned at Antwerp to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 500 francs for swindling. At the Old Bailey in 1926 he was given 15 months’ hard labour for stealing four rings. On that occasion, the then Detective-Sergeant Lander spoke up for him. “The people with whom he associated,” declared Mr Lander, “undoubtedly caused his downfall, and if he could be got out of the hands of these older criminals I think he would still make good because of his talents.” Judge Atherley Jones then gave Rosenfeld one more chance, but he did not take it. Fluent Linguist Almost immediately on his release “University Harry” was sentenced at Southampton to three months’ hard labour for false pretences. The sorry talc of his crimes and convictions persisted in Hull, Antwerp and Lisbon. Where Rosenfeld acquired his thin \ eneer of academic education is a mystery to the police and his victims alike. He went to a poor school, j yet he talks Russian, French and, German fluently. Despite all the years he has spent in prisons he has an air of academic distinction which rarely fails to impress. He was never admitted as a solicitor, yet he brazenly set up business as a" solicitor in Commercial Road. E., and rapidly acquired a reputation as a shrewd and substantial lawyer. For many years he has been known lo the police as an associate of international thieves. “University Harry” is certainly an enigma of the underworld.