The Robbery of the Max State Bank - July 1931
In July 1931, the Max State Bank, the only bank in Dundy County that did not fail during the Great Depression, was the target of a daring daylight hold-up. What follows are newspaper accounts of that robbery.
July 17, 1931
Fifteen minutes after he had unlocked the safe and prepared for the usual day’s business last Friday morning, Cashier D.E. Gallatin of the Max State bank was met with the command to “stick ‘em up!” and within five minutes time the bandit car was headed east on the highway with $2,321.82 of the bank’s funds. President F.G. Stilgebouer was out in the country on business and did not know of the robbery until notified by telephone.
The bandits took Mr. Gallatin by complete surprise. He was visiting with J.B. Ball, insurance man from Grand Island, and Horace T. Clements, farmer of the Max section and customer of the bank. They were in the bank’s private office when the two bandits appeared with the stickup order. All three men were required to lie face down on the floor, one man guarding them with drawn revolver while the other entered the vault and helped himself to whatever money he came in contact with.
After this Gallatin, Ball and Clements were ordered into the vault where they were locked up. The bandits then headed for their car, joining the third member of the trio who was doing lookout duty in the machine, apparently reading a paper. The motor was running and the car headed east at terrific speed. But almost before they full underway, telephone messages were being sent to officials at Benkelman and surrounding towns, this extremely quick action being due to the efforts of A.H. Bahret, Max merchant, who was coming to the bank when he noticed the bandits backing out of the door with drawn revolvers.
Cashier Gallatin was so well informed as to the workings of the vault that he was able to free within the space of a minute. This knowledge was imperative as the vault was not equipped with ventilation and it is doubtful if one could live in for any great length of time.
Fifteen minutes after he had unlocked the safe and prepared for the usual day’s business last Friday morning, Cashier D.E. Gallatin of the Max State bank was met with the command to “stick ‘em up!” and within five minutes time the bandit car was headed east on the highway with $2,321.82 of the bank’s funds. President F.G. Stilgebouer was out in the country on business and did not know of the robbery until notified by telephone.
The bandits took Mr. Gallatin by complete surprise. He was visiting with J.B. Ball, insurance man from Grand Island, and Horace T. Clements, farmer of the Max section and customer of the bank. They were in the bank’s private office when the two bandits appeared with the stickup order. All three men were required to lie face down on the floor, one man guarding them with drawn revolver while the other entered the vault and helped himself to whatever money he came in contact with.
After this Gallatin, Ball and Clements were ordered into the vault where they were locked up. The bandits then headed for their car, joining the third member of the trio who was doing lookout duty in the machine, apparently reading a paper. The motor was running and the car headed east at terrific speed. But almost before they full underway, telephone messages were being sent to officials at Benkelman and surrounding towns, this extremely quick action being due to the efforts of A.H. Bahret, Max merchant, who was coming to the bank when he noticed the bandits backing out of the door with drawn revolvers.
Cashier Gallatin was so well informed as to the workings of the vault that he was able to free within the space of a minute. This knowledge was imperative as the vault was not equipped with ventilation and it is doubtful if one could live in for any great length of time.
Letter to Opal Maxwell from Dent Gallatin after the bank robbery:
Bank Robbers and Their Molls
From left to right: (top row) Pearl Robinson, George T. Savage, Mrs. Goldie Handley
(center) O.T. Handley
(bottom) Enos W. McCollom
(center) O.T. Handley
(bottom) Enos W. McCollom
Various related articles from the Denver Post appear below:
THREE BANK BANDITS CONFESS AFTER CAPTURE IN DENVER
------------------------------------
Search for Missing Auto Uncovers Clew That Leads
To Undoing of Gang That Held Up
Bank in Nebraska
-----------------------------------
ADMIT TAKING LOOT OF $2,500;
TWO WOMEN ARE QUESTIONED
-----------------------------------
(CRIME NEVER PAYS)
------------------------------------
Search for Missing Auto Uncovers Clew That Leads
To Undoing of Gang That Held Up
Bank in Nebraska
-----------------------------------
ADMIT TAKING LOOT OF $2,500;
TWO WOMEN ARE QUESTIONED
-----------------------------------
(CRIME NEVER PAYS)
Three Denver men arrested early Saturday as suspects in a $2,500 holdup of the Max State Bank at Max, Neb., Friday, admitted their guilt to Captain of Detectives William J. Armstrong shortly before noon, according to a report submitted by Armstrong to Chief of Police Albert T. Clark.
Two women also were held for questioning in the case. Denver Detectives were on the trail of the alleged stickup gang before word of the holdup came from the little Nebraska town. The tracing and capture thru an automobile that “disappeared” from a local driverless car agency is a story that reads like a fiction “thriller.”
Even the use of a juicy beefsteak as a “persuader” to get the first man to talk about his pals smacks of detective drama.
Cash and bills totaling $1,381.45 for which the three men and two women could give no satisfactory explanation were found in their possession, police say. Detectives believe this money is part of the Max bank loot.
The men arrested are O.T. Handley, 38 years old, 1528 Curtis Street; George T. Savage, 48 of 1630 Glenarm Place; and Enos W. McCollom 33, living with his wife and three small children at 3027 Umatilla Street.
ADMIT BEING IN NEBRASKA TOWN
The two women held for questioning are Mrs. Goldie Handley, 26 wife of O.T. Handley, and Pearl Robinson, 45, of 2428 Welton Street, alleged sweetheart of George Savage.
Authorities of Max and representatives of the Nebraska State bankers association, offering a $250 reward for the capture of the bank bandits, were expected to reach Denver late Saturday.
The three men, police say, admit being in Max, Friday, but declare they were looking for work as harvest hands. The “driverless” car, in which they admit they made the trip from Denver, was recovered on the wash rack in a local garage. Garage employees say it came in spattered with mud and covered with dust and was ordered washed.
George Savage, according to police, rented a car with six yuellow wire wheels from the Hertz agency, 1636 Glenarm place, on July 1.
HANDLEY SEEN DRIVING RENTED AUTO
Savage was not seen with the car again, but the agency manager, H. Burgess told police he saw the car a half-hour later with C.T. Handley at the wheel. Burgess knew Handley as a former customer and was surprised to see him, instead of Savage, piloting the company’s machine thru downtown traffic.
The car failed to come in within a reasonable time. Burgess, fearing it had been stolen, reported the case to police several days ago. Detective Leo O’Laughlin and Clarence Jones started checking up but at the time were unable to get a line on the machine.
Then the Max bank was robbed at 9:3a.m. Friday, and the authorities there sent out descriptions of a car with six yellow wire wheels, occupied by three men who had participated in the holdup.
LEAVES $90 HOTEL BILL
Detective Capt. William J. Armstrong, and his assistant, Charles Burns had a strong “hunch” about that car. They assigned detectives Henry Tormey and Harry Bernstein to the case. These two sleuths picked up the trail of Savage, who had rented the car. It led them to his last Denver resident, the Republic hotel. The detectives found the hotel manager worrying about a $90 room bill which Savage had neglected to settle when he departed several days ago.
The hotel was holding Savage’s luggage as security. Tormey and Bernstein searched these effects and discovered a photograph of Handley and his wife Goldie. They weren’t sure of that identity until they showed the picture to Burgess, the driverless agency manager.
“That’s Handley,” said Burgess. “He’s the man I saw driving our car a half hour after Savage had rented it. He’s a whopping big man, over 6 feet tall, and weighs at least 200 pounds.”
LARGE MAN WANTED FOR HOLDUP
“Hm,” mused the detectives. “That is interesting.”
Altho rather vague in details, descriptions of the Max bank holdups did state that one was a “large man of powerful physique, about 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing more than 200 pounds, wearing a gray suit.”
The bank also reported another man, 5 feet 8 inches tall, who participated in the actual holdup, while a third man waited at the wheel of the automobile outside.
The detectives started checking up on Handley. They learned he and his wife moved recently from a Welton street hotel to the Regent hotel, 1528 Curtis street. Tormey and Berstein went there, and learned Handley’s wife was there, but Handley was out. They waited in the lobby until midnight. Handley had not appeared when Detectives Ray Harrison and Ed Niles came to relieve them.
HANDLEY APPEARS CARRYING SUITCASE
Harrison and Niles had just settled themselves in chairs when in walked Handley, carrying a large suitcase. The night clerk gave the two detectives a quick wink.
They followed the big man into the elevator, with another passenger. As the lift started upward, the detectives thrust revolvers into Handley’s ribs.
“Stick ‘em up, big boy!”
Handley dropped the heavy suitcase, and elevated his powerful arms, then lowered them as handcuffs clicked in place. Mrs. Handley was aroused from sound sleep and taken to police headquarters for questioning. She was not permitted to see Handley.
$690 IN BILLS PINNED TO UNDERCLOTHING
Handley refused to talk, at first. He was searched, and then objected testily to the removal of a $690 roll of bills pinned to his underclothing beneath an armpit. In the suitcase were gold and silver coin and small change in two white sacks, such as are used by banks.
Mrs. Handley proved more talkative than her husband. Assistant Captain Burns questioned her and she said Handley had “gone places by auto with McCollum.” She gave McCollum’s address.
The detectives went out to 3027 Umatilla street. They discovered a two-story house with the ground floor unoccupied. When they continued knocking at an early morning hour, McCollum put his head out the window and shouted:
“Nobody lives down there.”
“Come on down,” said the sleuths. “We want to talk to you.”
“Who are you?” McCollum demanded.
“Police.”
TWO SMALL GIRLS SLEEPING ON FLOOR
“Oh!” gulped McCollum, and came down in his nightshirt to admit them.
The family in their upstairs quarters seemed to be living in dire poverty, although McCollum drives a car for which he is paying by installments. Two little girls slept on the floor on a canvas and an 18 month-old boy was in bed besides Mrs. McCollum, who soon will become a mother for the fourth time, and is seriously ill. Detectives told her they wanted to question her husband about an automobile accident, and McCollum made no protest.
Meanwhile, Handley as questioned at police headquarters after his wife had talked. He declared he had won the money in a crap game.
“Lotta good it does me,” growled the big man.
“I’m hungry enough to eat a mule stuffed with dynamite.”
“How’d you like a juicy T-bone steak?” asked Burns.
“Mmmm --, don’t!” sighed Handley.
“—with French fried potatoes, mushroom gravy, and all the fixin’s?”
TRADES PAL’S ADDRESS FOR BEEFSTEAK
“Hey! Stop the third degree!” pleaded the big man.
“Well, you get the steak if you’ll give us the address of your pal Savage. We’ll get him anyway, but you can help.” said Burns.
“O.K.,” grunted Handley. “He’s at the New Brunswick hotel, Seventeenth and Larimer Streets.”
Savage was there. Detectives aroused him from bed and marched him to headquarters. His alleged “lady friend” was found visiting the McCollum home.
Savage was found to have $101 in his possession. He also had revolver cartridges in his pockets, but no gun. A revolver had been found on Handley.
Savage talked freely – too freely, say the detectives.
“Sure, you want me to tell about that driverless car I rented,” he said nervously. “I didn’t steal it. It’s in the garage, being cleaned up. I’m returning it in the morning.”
REVOLVER HIDDEN IN STOVE
Questioned by Burns, Savage is alleged to have admitted:
“Yes, I was in Max, Neb., Friday. I was sitting in my car in front of the bank there.
“McCollum and Handley were with me. They went in the bank and changed a $5 bill. We were there looking for work as harvest hands.”
At the McCollum home, detectives found two shotguns and two revolvers. One revolver was under the sick wife’s pillow. The other was in a stove, hidden in ashes. McCollum denied hiding it there.
The driverless automobile as located in a garage at 2335 Larimer street. On the floor of the machine police found many cracker crumbs indicating the occupants had lunched on the move. Savage, however, declared the trio had eaten supper Friday night at Kit Carson.
LICENSE PLATES DO NOT TALLY
Detectives also located Mrs. Handley’s mother, Mrs. George Eddy, living at Golden, Colo. She formerly lived at 2233 Welton Street. She was questioned by not arrested.
Nebraska reports said the stickup car carried a Kansas license, but the car found here had Colorado plates.
Police say McCollum’s car was used to deliver Handley and Savage to their hotels Friday night, after the rented machine had been left at the garage.
Two women also were held for questioning in the case. Denver Detectives were on the trail of the alleged stickup gang before word of the holdup came from the little Nebraska town. The tracing and capture thru an automobile that “disappeared” from a local driverless car agency is a story that reads like a fiction “thriller.”
Even the use of a juicy beefsteak as a “persuader” to get the first man to talk about his pals smacks of detective drama.
Cash and bills totaling $1,381.45 for which the three men and two women could give no satisfactory explanation were found in their possession, police say. Detectives believe this money is part of the Max bank loot.
The men arrested are O.T. Handley, 38 years old, 1528 Curtis Street; George T. Savage, 48 of 1630 Glenarm Place; and Enos W. McCollom 33, living with his wife and three small children at 3027 Umatilla Street.
ADMIT BEING IN NEBRASKA TOWN
The two women held for questioning are Mrs. Goldie Handley, 26 wife of O.T. Handley, and Pearl Robinson, 45, of 2428 Welton Street, alleged sweetheart of George Savage.
Authorities of Max and representatives of the Nebraska State bankers association, offering a $250 reward for the capture of the bank bandits, were expected to reach Denver late Saturday.
The three men, police say, admit being in Max, Friday, but declare they were looking for work as harvest hands. The “driverless” car, in which they admit they made the trip from Denver, was recovered on the wash rack in a local garage. Garage employees say it came in spattered with mud and covered with dust and was ordered washed.
George Savage, according to police, rented a car with six yuellow wire wheels from the Hertz agency, 1636 Glenarm place, on July 1.
HANDLEY SEEN DRIVING RENTED AUTO
Savage was not seen with the car again, but the agency manager, H. Burgess told police he saw the car a half-hour later with C.T. Handley at the wheel. Burgess knew Handley as a former customer and was surprised to see him, instead of Savage, piloting the company’s machine thru downtown traffic.
The car failed to come in within a reasonable time. Burgess, fearing it had been stolen, reported the case to police several days ago. Detective Leo O’Laughlin and Clarence Jones started checking up but at the time were unable to get a line on the machine.
Then the Max bank was robbed at 9:3a.m. Friday, and the authorities there sent out descriptions of a car with six yellow wire wheels, occupied by three men who had participated in the holdup.
LEAVES $90 HOTEL BILL
Detective Capt. William J. Armstrong, and his assistant, Charles Burns had a strong “hunch” about that car. They assigned detectives Henry Tormey and Harry Bernstein to the case. These two sleuths picked up the trail of Savage, who had rented the car. It led them to his last Denver resident, the Republic hotel. The detectives found the hotel manager worrying about a $90 room bill which Savage had neglected to settle when he departed several days ago.
The hotel was holding Savage’s luggage as security. Tormey and Bernstein searched these effects and discovered a photograph of Handley and his wife Goldie. They weren’t sure of that identity until they showed the picture to Burgess, the driverless agency manager.
“That’s Handley,” said Burgess. “He’s the man I saw driving our car a half hour after Savage had rented it. He’s a whopping big man, over 6 feet tall, and weighs at least 200 pounds.”
LARGE MAN WANTED FOR HOLDUP
“Hm,” mused the detectives. “That is interesting.”
Altho rather vague in details, descriptions of the Max bank holdups did state that one was a “large man of powerful physique, about 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing more than 200 pounds, wearing a gray suit.”
The bank also reported another man, 5 feet 8 inches tall, who participated in the actual holdup, while a third man waited at the wheel of the automobile outside.
The detectives started checking up on Handley. They learned he and his wife moved recently from a Welton street hotel to the Regent hotel, 1528 Curtis street. Tormey and Berstein went there, and learned Handley’s wife was there, but Handley was out. They waited in the lobby until midnight. Handley had not appeared when Detectives Ray Harrison and Ed Niles came to relieve them.
HANDLEY APPEARS CARRYING SUITCASE
Harrison and Niles had just settled themselves in chairs when in walked Handley, carrying a large suitcase. The night clerk gave the two detectives a quick wink.
They followed the big man into the elevator, with another passenger. As the lift started upward, the detectives thrust revolvers into Handley’s ribs.
“Stick ‘em up, big boy!”
Handley dropped the heavy suitcase, and elevated his powerful arms, then lowered them as handcuffs clicked in place. Mrs. Handley was aroused from sound sleep and taken to police headquarters for questioning. She was not permitted to see Handley.
$690 IN BILLS PINNED TO UNDERCLOTHING
Handley refused to talk, at first. He was searched, and then objected testily to the removal of a $690 roll of bills pinned to his underclothing beneath an armpit. In the suitcase were gold and silver coin and small change in two white sacks, such as are used by banks.
Mrs. Handley proved more talkative than her husband. Assistant Captain Burns questioned her and she said Handley had “gone places by auto with McCollum.” She gave McCollum’s address.
The detectives went out to 3027 Umatilla street. They discovered a two-story house with the ground floor unoccupied. When they continued knocking at an early morning hour, McCollum put his head out the window and shouted:
“Nobody lives down there.”
“Come on down,” said the sleuths. “We want to talk to you.”
“Who are you?” McCollum demanded.
“Police.”
TWO SMALL GIRLS SLEEPING ON FLOOR
“Oh!” gulped McCollum, and came down in his nightshirt to admit them.
The family in their upstairs quarters seemed to be living in dire poverty, although McCollum drives a car for which he is paying by installments. Two little girls slept on the floor on a canvas and an 18 month-old boy was in bed besides Mrs. McCollum, who soon will become a mother for the fourth time, and is seriously ill. Detectives told her they wanted to question her husband about an automobile accident, and McCollum made no protest.
Meanwhile, Handley as questioned at police headquarters after his wife had talked. He declared he had won the money in a crap game.
“Lotta good it does me,” growled the big man.
“I’m hungry enough to eat a mule stuffed with dynamite.”
“How’d you like a juicy T-bone steak?” asked Burns.
“Mmmm --, don’t!” sighed Handley.
“—with French fried potatoes, mushroom gravy, and all the fixin’s?”
TRADES PAL’S ADDRESS FOR BEEFSTEAK
“Hey! Stop the third degree!” pleaded the big man.
“Well, you get the steak if you’ll give us the address of your pal Savage. We’ll get him anyway, but you can help.” said Burns.
“O.K.,” grunted Handley. “He’s at the New Brunswick hotel, Seventeenth and Larimer Streets.”
Savage was there. Detectives aroused him from bed and marched him to headquarters. His alleged “lady friend” was found visiting the McCollum home.
Savage was found to have $101 in his possession. He also had revolver cartridges in his pockets, but no gun. A revolver had been found on Handley.
Savage talked freely – too freely, say the detectives.
“Sure, you want me to tell about that driverless car I rented,” he said nervously. “I didn’t steal it. It’s in the garage, being cleaned up. I’m returning it in the morning.”
REVOLVER HIDDEN IN STOVE
Questioned by Burns, Savage is alleged to have admitted:
“Yes, I was in Max, Neb., Friday. I was sitting in my car in front of the bank there.
“McCollum and Handley were with me. They went in the bank and changed a $5 bill. We were there looking for work as harvest hands.”
At the McCollum home, detectives found two shotguns and two revolvers. One revolver was under the sick wife’s pillow. The other was in a stove, hidden in ashes. McCollum denied hiding it there.
The driverless automobile as located in a garage at 2335 Larimer street. On the floor of the machine police found many cracker crumbs indicating the occupants had lunched on the move. Savage, however, declared the trio had eaten supper Friday night at Kit Carson.
LICENSE PLATES DO NOT TALLY
Detectives also located Mrs. Handley’s mother, Mrs. George Eddy, living at Golden, Colo. She formerly lived at 2233 Welton Street. She was questioned by not arrested.
Nebraska reports said the stickup car carried a Kansas license, but the car found here had Colorado plates.
Police say McCollum’s car was used to deliver Handley and Savage to their hotels Friday night, after the rented machine had been left at the garage.
WIFE WILL NOT LINK HUSBAND WITH ROBBERY
Young Mother of Three Is Ill When Police Search Home
(by Dorothy Battle)
Young Mother of Three Is Ill When Police Search Home
(by Dorothy Battle)
Ignorance of whether or not her husband was one of the bandits that held up the Max Neb., state bank was professed Saturday by Mrs. Enos W. McCollum. McCollum was held by Denver police in connection with the robbery, after being arrested, Early Saturday morning at his home, 3027 Umatilla street.
“Of course I couldn’t be sure.” said the 23-year-old wife, who had been married seven years. “He was gone from home, but I thought he was working.”
HAS COPY OF POST TELLING OF HOLDUP
Mrs. McCollum, mother of three small children, is soon to become a mother again. A fall on the front steps Friday brought on an illness which confined her to bed. She was lying awake at 2 a.m. when the detectives entered the place and searched it, allegedly finding some firearms.
The two elder children, Frances, 5 years old, and Wilma Rose, 3, were asleep on a canvas on the floor beside their mother’s bed dressed in the “sun suits” they wear at play. The 19-month-old boy, Frankie, was in bed with his mother.
She was able to work about the house a little Saturday morning and later was taken to the police station for questioning.
Altho Mrs. McCollum insisted she knew nothing about the holdup personally, and was not in the habit of taking a paper, she had a copy of THE DENVER POST for Friday, telling of the Max stickup.
ADMITS COMPANIONS WENT INTO BANK
Her husband, according to police, admitted he was seated in an automobile outside the bank when the two other men accused of the robbery went in, but claimed he is innocent saying his companions told him they were going to get change for a $5 bill.
McCollum, who said he was in Max looking for work as a harvest hand, has been employed on farms in various parts of Nebraska and Colorado his wife said. He was doing odd jobs as a mechanic in Denver.
The family judging by Mrs. McCollum’s account have been “automobile gypsies,” roving about this region with their children, which McCollum picked up work here and there. They have lived in Denver since September, she said. Mrs. McCollum was born and reared in a Nebraska village. She would not name the town, declaring her father and relatives there “wouldn’t like it.”
“Of course I couldn’t be sure.” said the 23-year-old wife, who had been married seven years. “He was gone from home, but I thought he was working.”
HAS COPY OF POST TELLING OF HOLDUP
Mrs. McCollum, mother of three small children, is soon to become a mother again. A fall on the front steps Friday brought on an illness which confined her to bed. She was lying awake at 2 a.m. when the detectives entered the place and searched it, allegedly finding some firearms.
The two elder children, Frances, 5 years old, and Wilma Rose, 3, were asleep on a canvas on the floor beside their mother’s bed dressed in the “sun suits” they wear at play. The 19-month-old boy, Frankie, was in bed with his mother.
She was able to work about the house a little Saturday morning and later was taken to the police station for questioning.
Altho Mrs. McCollum insisted she knew nothing about the holdup personally, and was not in the habit of taking a paper, she had a copy of THE DENVER POST for Friday, telling of the Max stickup.
ADMITS COMPANIONS WENT INTO BANK
Her husband, according to police, admitted he was seated in an automobile outside the bank when the two other men accused of the robbery went in, but claimed he is innocent saying his companions told him they were going to get change for a $5 bill.
McCollum, who said he was in Max looking for work as a harvest hand, has been employed on farms in various parts of Nebraska and Colorado his wife said. He was doing odd jobs as a mechanic in Denver.
The family judging by Mrs. McCollum’s account have been “automobile gypsies,” roving about this region with their children, which McCollum picked up work here and there. They have lived in Denver since September, she said. Mrs. McCollum was born and reared in a Nebraska village. She would not name the town, declaring her father and relatives there “wouldn’t like it.”
Officers Give Prisoner Meal, but He Pays For It
Assistant Detective Captain Charles Burns kept his beefsteak promise to O.T. Handley, a suspect arrested here Saturday in the Max, Neb., bank robbery case.
“Get me a T-bone steak with the trimmings and I’ll tell you where George T. Savage lives.” bargained Handley under questioning at headquarters.
“Fair enough,” agreed Burns.
Handley told and Savage was arrested.
When the beefsteak was brought to his cell by a white-jacketed waiter, Handley seemed surprised.
“I thought you were kidding Cap,” the big man told Burns between mouthfuls.
“Not on your life,” said Burns. “I made a bargain. You kept your part and I’m keeping mine. But you seemed to have a little cash on you Handley, when we searched you.”
“Sure, I’m not broke. It’s my money,” insisted Handley, from beneath whose armpit police had removed nearly $700 in bills.
“Well, I’m assuming the price of the beefsteak was yours, anyhow. We’re taking that out of your roll,” chuckled Burns. “I promised to get the steak, but the police department isn’t paying for it. The steak cost you $1.06.”
Handley continued to eat, but in his eyes was a thoughtful gleam. Shrewd bargainers these cops.
“Get me a T-bone steak with the trimmings and I’ll tell you where George T. Savage lives.” bargained Handley under questioning at headquarters.
“Fair enough,” agreed Burns.
Handley told and Savage was arrested.
When the beefsteak was brought to his cell by a white-jacketed waiter, Handley seemed surprised.
“I thought you were kidding Cap,” the big man told Burns between mouthfuls.
“Not on your life,” said Burns. “I made a bargain. You kept your part and I’m keeping mine. But you seemed to have a little cash on you Handley, when we searched you.”
“Sure, I’m not broke. It’s my money,” insisted Handley, from beneath whose armpit police had removed nearly $700 in bills.
“Well, I’m assuming the price of the beefsteak was yours, anyhow. We’re taking that out of your roll,” chuckled Burns. “I promised to get the steak, but the police department isn’t paying for it. The steak cost you $1.06.”
Handley continued to eat, but in his eyes was a thoughtful gleam. Shrewd bargainers these cops.
Love Triangle is Revealed in Holdup Quiz
Savage Admits Buying License for His Girl To Wed Another
Savage Admits Buying License for His Girl To Wed Another
A strange love triangle and the pathetic plight of a young mother and her three babies came to light Saturday, as police investigated the “women in the case” of the three Nebraska holdup suspects now in jail here.
George T. Savage, who formerly lived at 1630 Glenarm place, was asked by police whey he had a photograph of Handley and Mrs. Goldie Handley in his effects found there.
“Well, I’d been keeping company with Goldie McDowell before she married Handley,” Savage admitted.
“I was pretty far gone about her, but she seemed to pick the big boy. I didn’t care for the wedding plans, but you can’t argue with a lady. So I took it on the chin and pretended to like it. I even paid for the marriage license, myself.”
Among the effects of Handley’s bride, police found a newspaper clipping, undated, taken from a Red Cloud, Neb., paper, giving an account of the “robbery of the Webster County bank, Thursday.”
POLICE CHECK UP ON WEBSTER HOLDUP
The name of “Retta McDowell” was mentioned in the story as an employee of the Webster County bank at the time of the holdup.
“Are you Retta McDowell?” Assistant Captain Burns asked Mrs. Handley.
“Sure,” she said, “That’s one of my names.”
Police are checking on the Webster County bank holdup. The clipping states that “job” was done by three men. Mrs. Handley admits she went with Handley by automobile to Nebraska a week ago. She said was “just a pleasure trip.” Police are seeking to learn whether the trip was made to “spot” the Max bank “job” in advance.
Handley, under questioning, said:”I won’t squawk on myself. I did that once, and got a 15-year jolt in Iowa. They said I embezzled $105,000 from an Iowa bank. I served seven years of that jolt.”
Police say they have learned Handley formerly was a successful agent for a well known automobile in Oklahoma.
George T. Savage, who formerly lived at 1630 Glenarm place, was asked by police whey he had a photograph of Handley and Mrs. Goldie Handley in his effects found there.
“Well, I’d been keeping company with Goldie McDowell before she married Handley,” Savage admitted.
“I was pretty far gone about her, but she seemed to pick the big boy. I didn’t care for the wedding plans, but you can’t argue with a lady. So I took it on the chin and pretended to like it. I even paid for the marriage license, myself.”
Among the effects of Handley’s bride, police found a newspaper clipping, undated, taken from a Red Cloud, Neb., paper, giving an account of the “robbery of the Webster County bank, Thursday.”
POLICE CHECK UP ON WEBSTER HOLDUP
The name of “Retta McDowell” was mentioned in the story as an employee of the Webster County bank at the time of the holdup.
“Are you Retta McDowell?” Assistant Captain Burns asked Mrs. Handley.
“Sure,” she said, “That’s one of my names.”
Police are checking on the Webster County bank holdup. The clipping states that “job” was done by three men. Mrs. Handley admits she went with Handley by automobile to Nebraska a week ago. She said was “just a pleasure trip.” Police are seeking to learn whether the trip was made to “spot” the Max bank “job” in advance.
Handley, under questioning, said:”I won’t squawk on myself. I did that once, and got a 15-year jolt in Iowa. They said I embezzled $105,000 from an Iowa bank. I served seven years of that jolt.”
Police say they have learned Handley formerly was a successful agent for a well known automobile in Oklahoma.