More on Philip Gargan, Long-Time Pelham Manor Police Chief

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Philip Gargan was appointed as a Patrolman to the Pelham Manor Police Department on July 8, 1907.  He rose through the ranks to become Chief of the force and had a long and successful career as Pelham Manor Police Chief.  

I have written before about Police Chief Gargan.  See Wed., May 04, 2005:  Philip Gargan, Chief of Police of Pelham Manor, New York.  

Philip Gargan in About 1925. Source: French, Alvah P., ed., History

of Westchester County New York, Vol. V, pp. 53-54 (NY, NY & Chicago,

IL: Lewis Historical Publishing Co. 1925). NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

On July 8, 1927, Philip Gargan celebrated his twentieth anniversary with the Pelham Manor Police Department.  The local newspaper, The Pelham Sun, ran an article on Philip Gargan and his two decades of service.  The article sheds interesting light on the early history of the Pelham Manor Police Department and is reproduced in its entirety immediately below, followed by a citation and link to its source.

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"Chief Of Police, To Complete 20 Years Of Service
-----
Philip Gargan Joined Pelham Manor Police Force July 8, 1907; Has Made Enviable Record
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Efficient Police Protection of Village Due to Gargan's Diligent Service
-----

On July 8, Chief of Police Philip Gargan will complete his twentieth year of service as a member of the police department of the Village of Pelham Manor.  The active head of Pelham Manor's peace officers has risen from the ranks to a position where he is recognized as one of the most efficient directors of public safety in the state of New York.  Diligent student of police methods and an able leader of men Chief Gargan has organized a police department that has kept crime at a minimum and provided efficient protection to lives and property in the village.

Possessed of the happy faculty of being able to quickly size up a criminal, Chief Gargan has in many instances landed in his net desperate criminals, although outwardly holding only the slenderest evidence against them.  A systematized checkup on all the citizens of the village and strangers is kept through the diligent service of the chief of police who is on the job twenty four hours of the day.  His wartime military service with the 69th infantry has served him well in his departmental duties.

A native of Ireland, Philip Gargan was born in King's Court, County Cavan.  He left his home at the age of 15 and came to America.

July 8, 1907, he was appointed a patrolman on the Pelham Manor police force.  Those were the days when police officers boasted the four quart helmets and the heavy harness belts.  The village offices which housed everything from the office of the Village President to the ever too crowded lock-up were located in a one room wooden building situated at the corner of Pelhamdale avenue and Black street.

(Continued on page 4)

Chief Of Police To Complete 20 Years Of Service
-----
(Continued from page 1)

It was here that the police shared quarters with the fire department.

As today the village speed laws proved too great a temptation for vehicles on the highway but then the offenders were mainly drivers of horse drawn vehicles or bicycles.  The method of rounding up these offenders of the eight mile per hour speed ordinance is interesting.  Two officers would station themselves at distant points along the Boston road or the Shore road, and the vehicles would be timed for their speed between the officers' stations.  This method would usually result in much arguing, but Chief Gargan has assured the writer that sometimes they would be able to impose a fine.

In 1916 Gargan left under leave of absence with the 69th during the Mexican border trouble.  He resumed his duties again and remained with the department until the call to colors came in 1917.  A brilliant war record is credited to Sergeant Philip Gargan, and he saw many months of fighting in France.

On his return in 1919 he was appointed chief of the department and has held that post ever since.  He is known to everyone in the village and is also known among criminals as a bad man to fool with.  

He has made two visits to his old home in Ireland within the last four years.  His eighty-year-old mother is still living and looking forward to a visit from her son next year."

Source:  Chief Of Police, To Complete 20 Years Of Service -- Philip Gargan Joined Pelham Manor Police Force July 8, 1907; Has Made Enviable Record -- Efficient Police Protection of Village Due to Gargan's Diligent Service, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 17, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 17, p. 1, col. 4 & p. 4, col. 4.

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The Days of Four Quart Bobby Helmets Worn by the Pelham Manor Police

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There was a time, more than a century ago, when the police of the Village of Pelham Manor wore uniforms inspired by English Bobbies.  Their uniforms included the well-known "four quart" Bobby hats.  

In 1927, Pelham's local newspaper published an early photograph of two of the most notable members of the early Pelham Manor Police Department wearing their four quarts shortly after each of the pair joined the department more than twenty years earlier:  Philip Gargan and James Butler.  The photograph, which was published by The Pelham Sun repeatedly over the years, appears immediately below, followed by a citation and link to its source.

"TWENTY YEARS AGO

Chief of Police Philip Gargan and Desk Officer

James Butler as they looked when they first joined

the Pelham Manor police department in 1907.

Imagine wearing that four quart helmet on a hot day.

Source:  TWENTY YEARS AGO, The Pelham Sun,

Jul. 22, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 22, p. 1, cols. 4-5.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

I have written before of these early heroes of the Pelham Manor Police Department.  See:

Wed., May 04, 2005:  Philip Gargan, Chief of Police of Pelham Manor, New York.  

Wed., Sep. 10, 2014:  An Account [by James Butler] of the Pelham Manor Police Department in 1906.

Philip Gargan rose from the ranks of rookie officer to Chief of Police of the Pelham Manor Police Department.  His name appears in hundreds of local articles about his police exploits.  Many such articles appeared during the years he had to enforce Prohibition when those laws were so unpopular and Pelham was a hotbed of illegal stills and illicit bootlegging.  
James Butler became an unofficial historian of the police force who served for more than thirty years.  According to one account, the day Jim Butler joined the Pelham Manor Police Department:  

"the police headquarters was in a small shack at Pelhamdale and Black street, and therein lies an amusing incident, for a few days later Jim reported for duty and found the shack missing. After a frantic search, Jim finally located 'Headquarters.'  The officials had decided to move to the present site on Penfield Place and Jim came across the shack, mounted on planks, moving slowly towards the new location.  The village was divided into 5 posts.  One man patrolled each post and the fifth officer remained at headquarters to receive complaints.  The patrolman stationed at headquarters slept there during the day-time.  That was the 24-hour police protection."

Source:  Jim Butler Recalls Pelham Manor Police Dept. In 1906, The Pelham Sun, Nov. 13, 1936, Vol. 27, No. 32, Second Section, p. 9, cols. 2-3.

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I have written about the early days of the Pelham Manor Police Department as well as a few of the police officers who served the Village and its citizens. See, e.g.: 

Wed., May 13, 2015:  Accounts of Village Police Departments of Pelham Manor and Pelham Published in 1925.

Wed., Sep. 10, 2014:  An Account of the Pelham Manor Police Department in 1906.

Wed., Apr. 30, 2014:  Gun Battle on Witherbee Avenue in 1904 Results in Wounded Pelham Manor Police Officer.

Mon., Apr. 21, 2014:  Early History of the First Years of the Pelham Manor Police Department.

Thu., Jan. 07, 2010:  Pelham Manor Police Establish Speed Traps on Shore Road in 1910 to Catch Those Traveling Faster than Fifteen Miles Per Hour. 

Wed., Aug. 09, 2006:  The Saddest Day in the History of Pelham Manor's "Toonerville Trolley".

Wed., May 04, 2005:  Philip Gargan, Chief of Police of Pelham Manor, New York. 

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Pelham, It Seems, Became a Hotbed of Bootlegging and Illegal Stills During Prohibition

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During the dog days of summer in 1927 at the height of Prohibition, a mechanical trench digger was working on a sewer excavation along upper Pelhamdale Avenue at the border of New Rochelle and Chester Park in the Village of North Pelham.  The operator of the equipment unexpectedly cut into an underground drain.  The resultant smell was overpowering.  No, it was not the stench of sewerage.  Rather, it was the powerful and sickly-sweet stench of mash, a by-product of the process of distilling alcohol.  The discovery promptly led federal agents to one of the largest illegal stills ever uncovered in our area.  The massive still, worth an estimated $40,000, was part of a distillery that encompassed the second floor and attic of the home.  Eleven barrels of mash were being worked at the time of the discovery and law enforcement authorities seized "Several Thousand Gallons of Alcohol."  Pelham, it seems, had become a hotbed of illegal stills and bootlegging in defiance of Prohibition. 

I have written extensively about bootlegging, illegal stills, and liquor raids in the Town of Pelham during Prohibition.  For a few examples, see:

Mon., Jul. 06, 2015:  Police Raided a Massive 300-Gallon Illegal Liquor Still on Corlies Avenue in 1932.  

Fri., Jun. 19, 2015:  More Liquor Raids in Pelham During Prohibition in the 1920s.

Wed., Jun. 17, 2015:   Prohibition Rum-Runners Delivering A Boatload of Booze Were Foiled in Pelham in 1925.

Fri., Apr. 24, 2015:  The North Pelham "Speakeasy Section" Created Quite a Stir During Prohibition.

Tue., Nov. 18, 2014:  More Bootleggers and Speakeasies Raided in Pelham in 1929 During Prohibition.
Fri., May 23, 2014:  How Dry I Am -- Early Prohibition Efforts Succeed in Pelham in 1896.

Thu., Apr. 03, 2014:  The Prohibition Era in Pelham:  Another Speakeasy Raided.

Tue., Feb. 18, 2014:  Pelham Speakeasies and Moonshiners - Prohibition in Pelham: The Feds Raid the Moreau Pharmacy in Pelham Manor in 1922.

Thu., Feb. 07, 2008:  Village Elections in Pelham in 1900 - New York Athletic Club Members Campaign Against the Prohibition Ticket in Pelham Manor.

Thu., Jan. 12, 2006:  The Beer Battle of 1933.

Thu., Aug. 11, 2005:  How Dry I Am: Pelham Goes Dry in the 1890s and Travers Island Is At the Center of a Storm. 

Bell, Blake A., The Prohibition Era in Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 25, June 18, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

With each effort to research the topic, more and more instances of illegal stills, bootlegging, and liquor raids in Pelham are uncovered.  Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog summarizes a number of additional instances of such misconduct, and provides the text of, and citations to, the articles on which the summary is based.  

The Giant Still on the Border of Chester Park

Once the trench digging equipment described above uncovered the used mash in a drain in front of the property located at 710 Pelhamdale Avenue (upper Pelhamdale Avenue adjacent to Chester Park), four Federal agents raided the house.  The home was guarded by a big dog.  Inside the agents arrested William Charles Adler, 35, who said he lived on the premises, Dominick Luongo, 29, of Arthur avenue, Bronx; Joseph Sabella, 26, of Valentine avenue, Bronx.  

The agents removed eleven barrels of mash and several thousand gallons of alcohol.  They took it to a nearby wooded area then-located near the intersection of upper Pelhamdale Avenue and Mayflower Avenue.  The haul was so large that, according to a headline published in The Pelham Sun, the "Odor of Dumped Liquor Permeates Neighborhood."

Successful Raid on Local Drugstore in Pelham Manor with Capture of Hapless Messenger

Today's Trestle Field is located in a tiny park on Pelhamdale Avenue next to the Branch Line railroad tracks across from Manor Circle in the Village of Pelham Manor.  In 1927, there were a couple of businesses located in a building at 1108 Pelhamdale Avenue that housed "K" Garage, an automobile repair garage operated by Roy C. Kaye, who lived in a home adjacent to the business.  One of the businesses, with the address of 1105 Pelhamdale Avenue, was Newman's Drug Store operated by 24-year-old Emanuel Newman.

In 1927, Pelham Manor residents who lived in the area grew suspicious of the business and tipped off Pelham Manor Police Chief Philip Gargan that the tiny Drug Store was involved in unusual activities.  Chief Gargan placed the tiny business under surveillance.  Soon it seemed apparent that the Drug Store was being used as an illegal boot-legging site, accepting illegal deliveries of alcohol and selling the alcohol to customers who came into the business.

Chief Gargan contacted Federal prohibition authorities who arranged to make an illegal purchase of alcohol at the Drug Store and then signal Chief Gargan to arrest the operator of the business once the transaction was completed.  The plan went off without a hitch.  While Chief Gargan waited nearby, the agents entered Newman's Drug Store at noon on Thursday, August 4, 1927 and bought a bottle of Scotch whiskey.  They signaled to Gargan outside who promptly entered and arrested Emanuel Newman.  Gargan and the Federal agents searched the premises and seized twenty-eight bottles of Scotch.  

As Gargan and the agents were wrapping up the search, a showy Packard limousine arrived outside the drugstore.  While a driver waited in the limousine outside, a man walked in and plunked down on the drug store counter a wrapped package that suspiciously looked like a five-gallon can holding liquid.  As the hapless deliveryman turned to depart, the Federal agents opened the package and found a five-gallon can of alcohol.  Gargan immediately arrested the deliveryman and the limousine driver and seized the car.  The Prohibition agents added the five-gallon can to the twenty-eight bottles of Scotch they had seized.

The three men were taken to the Pelham Manor jail.  Bail was set at $1,000 each.  The next day the three were transported to New York City.

Three Bootleggers Arrested in the Midst of a Delivery in North Pelham

Only a few weeks later, police arrested three bootleggers accepting a delivery of alcohol near the intersection of Fourth Avenue (today's Lincoln Avenue) and Fourth Street.  The location was only a few blocks away from the notorious North Pelham "Speakeasy Section" located on Seventh Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

On Monday, August 22, 1927, acting on a tip, North Pelham Police approached three men standing next to two parked cars.  The police observed a five-gallon can sitting on the ground next to one of the cars.  That car already contained five more five-gallon cans.  The men were loading thirty gallons of illegal alcohol into the vehicle when the North Pelham Police stopped them.  

According to a local news report, "The trio who gave their names as Angelo Tomasetti, 21, of No. 2053 Second avenue, New York City; Joseph Arena, 27, of No. 327 East 125th street, New York City, and Guiseppe Seprino, 33, of No. 61 River street, New Rochelle, were arrested by Patrolmen Thomas Kennedy and James Romano, on Fourth avenue, near Fourth street, in which neighborhood it is believed that they purchased the alcohol."  Village police arrested all three, seized both of the vehicles, and took possession of the alcohol.

The driver of one of the vehicles claimed he had stopped to say hello to the driver of the other car whom he claimed to have known a few years before and had not seen since.  The other driver admitted he had bought the alcohol, but claimed he bought it from a total stranger and refused to implicate the other two men.  The third man, who was a passenger in the car of the driver who bought the alcohol, claimed he knew nothing about any transaction and had been asked by his friend to keep him company on a drive from New York City to Pelham.  

Chief of North Pelham Police Michael J. Fitzpatrick communicated with Prohibition Administrator Maj. Maurice Campbell and was told to hold the men until the prohibition officer came for them the next morning.  The following morning, each of the three men posted a bail of $1,000 and a hearing in the matter was set for the following week.

"LIQUOR PLANT IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT Huge tubs

of mash found in Corlies avenue house. Patrolmen James

Tierney and Ellsworth Totten inspecting liquor fermentation vats.

Photo by Frutkoff." Source: LIQUOR PLANT IN RESIDENTIAL

DISTRICT -- Raid Liquor Plant In Pelham Heights: 300 Gallon Still

Seized: Arrest Three, The Pelham Sun, Apr. 15, 1932, p. 1, cols. 4-5.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of a series of articles that form the basis of today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"Chester Park Excited Over Liquor Raid
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Federal Agents Raid House on North Pelham Borders and Capture $40,000 Still and Several Thousand Gallons of Alcohol.  Odor of Dumped Liquor Permeates Neighborhood
-----

Hundreds of gallons of alcohol and mash were dumped in the woods at the junction of Mayflower and [Upper] Pelhamdale avenues, New Rochelle, on Monday, after Federal prohibition agents raided a private residence at 710 Pelhamdale avenue, New Rochelle, which borders the North Pelham line.  A still said to be worth $40,000 and declared by Federal agents to be one of the best they have captured was broken up.

The discovery of the still came it is said when a mechanical trench digger digging a sewer excavating along Pelhamdale avenue cut into a drain which was full of mash.  The discovery reached the ears of Federal Agents Wagner, McCay, Hawley and Frank, who were operating in the vicinity.  They raided the house and arrested William Charles Adler, 35, who said he lived on the premises, Dominick Luongo, 29, of Arthur avenue, Bronx; Joseph Sabella, 26, of Valentine avenue, Bronx.  The three men were taken to North Pelham police headquarters Federal agents being under the impression that the raided house was in this village.  Desk Officer Harry Duelfer communicated with New Rochelle police headquarters and Detective Captain McGowan and Detective Mancusi came and took charge of the prisoners.  

The men were given a formal arraignment and held under $3,500 bail on a charge of being in possession of an unregistered still.  They were taken to New York on Tuesday.

The raided house had been empty for several months.  Quite recently it was renovated and occupied.  A huge dog guarded the premises.

Federal agents found the distillery arranged on the second floor and attic of the building.  Eleven barrels of mash were working and gallons of distilled alcohol were found.

The house has been under suspicion for sometime.  Police have reported hearing sounds of quarreling there during the night although no lights were visible in the house.  Ever since the house was occupied about July 1st events in the vicinity have been such as to cause the police to keep watch over the premises."

Source:  Chester Park Excited Over Liquor Raid -- Federal Agents Raid House on North Pelham Borders and Capture $40,000 Still and Several Thousand Gallons of Alcohol.  Odor of Dumped Liquor Permeates Neighborhood, The Pelham Sun, Aug. 5, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 24, p. 1, col. 5.  

"Federal Agents Stage Raid On Newman's Drug Store, Catch Bootlegger Delivering Goods
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Chief Gargan and Federal Agents Secure 28 Bottles of Alleged Scotch Whiskey -- While Making Arrest Bootlegger Walks In With Package of Liquor for Delivery and Is Grabbed by Gargan
-----

Emanuel Newman, 24, who operates a drug store at 1105 Pelhamdale avenue, Pelham Manor, was arrested yesterday morning on a charge of violation of the Federal Prohibition laws following a raid on his store by Prohibition agents and Police Chief Gargan yesterday morning.  Twenty-eight bottles alleged to contain Scotch whiskey were found on the premises and confiscated by the Prohibition men and Newman is now held in Pelham Manor jail under $500 bail.  He will be taken before Commissioner O'Neill at the Federal Department in the old Post Office building this morning.

While Chief Gargan was making the raid, a man drove up to the store in a Packard limousine, walked into the store and deposited a package which looked suspicious.  The Federal men opened the package and revealed a five gallon can of alleged alcohol.  They took possession of the liquor and placed the delivery man, Elias Nathanson, who says he is a Russian and lives at 900 Bronx Park South, under arrest.  Nathanson could not produce his registration license and on examination of his car it was found that the serial number of the motor had been defaced.  Chief Gargan is of opinion that the car may have been stolen.

John McCabe of 265 East 182nd St., the driver of the vehicle, was placed under arrest by Chief Gargan, claimed to have no part in the operations of the others.  Nathanson and McCabe were taken to police headquarters with Newman and were held, bail being fixed at $1,000 each.  The trio were taken to New York today.

The Newman drug store has been under surveillance for some time following complaints which have been made to Police Chief Gargan.  Major Maurice Campbell of North Pelham, Federal Prohibition Commissioner for this district, took a hand in proceedings, and a plan was made to procure evidence.

Thursday noon, Chief Gargan and the prohibition officers went to the neighborhood of the Newman drug store.  While the police chief awaited the signal, the two prohibition men entered the store and after a little discussion purchased a bottle represented to be full of Scotch whiskey.  The men then signaled to the police chief and he placed Newman under arrest.  As the three officers were packing up ready to move toward the police station the alleged bootlegger walked into the net and was picked up.  

Police Chief Gargan says that application will be made for padlock proceedings against Newman.  Such an order would close the place for a year.  The building is owned by Robert Mullins and was the center of a long wrangle after an alleged violation of the zoning laws when it was built two years ago."

Source:  Federal Agents Stage Raid On Newman's Drug Store, Catch Bootlegger Delivering Goods -- Chief Gargan and Federal Agents Secure 28 Bottles of Alleged Scotch Whiskey -- While Making Arrest Bootlegger Walks In With Package of Liquor for Delivery and Is Grabbed by Gargan, The Pelham Sun, Aug. 5, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 24, p. 1, cols. 6-7.  

"Alcohol, 3 Men And 2 Cars Taken In Booze Raid
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North Pelham Police Officers Find Five Cans of Pre-Volstead Liquor in Car -- Another on Sidewalk
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Trio Held in $1,000 Bail Each For Violation of Prohibition Amendment.  Hearing Tuesday
-----

Arrested in North Pelham Monday night with thirty gallons of alleged alcohol in their possession, three men are held under $4,000 bail, each pending their appearance before the United States Commissioner in New York City, Tuesday.  Two automobiles in one of which it is charged the alcohol was being transported were also seized.  The trio who gave their names as Angelo Tomasetti, 21, of No. 2053 Second avenue, New York City; Joseph Arena, 27, of No. 327 East 125th street, New York City, and Guiseppe Seprino, 33, of No. 61 River street, New Rochelle, were arrested by Patrolmen Thomas Kennedy and James Romano, on Fourth avenue, near Fourth street, in which neighborhood it is believed that they purchased the alcohol.

Acting on police information the officers arrested the trio when they found them standing beside one of the automobiles, in which five 5-gallon cans of alcohol were later found.  Another filled can stood beside the car.  Tomasetti confessed to purchasing the alcohol from an unidentified man who left the liquor on the sidewalk.  The seller disappeared before the police arrived. 

Seprino denied any knowledge of the sale or the contents of the cans, saying that he had stopped his machine on recognizing Tomasetti as a fellow countryman whom he had known several years ago.  Little credence is placed in his story by the police.

Tomasetti refused to implicate the other two in the transaction.  He told of being told by telephone that he could purchase the alcohol at $4.50 per gallon if he came to Fourth avenue and Fourth street, North Pelham.  He asked Arena, a friend, to come along to keep him company on the ride from New York City.

When he arrived at the place mentioned, he told the police, he was met by a stranger who showed him the cans of liquor placed on the sidewalk.  The price was paid and the man left, while Tomasetti and Arena loaded the cans in the car, a Chrysler roadster.

At this time, he stated, Seprina came along in his car, a Ford, and stopped to talk with Tomasetti.  Before the last can could be loaded in the car the officers arrived and placed the trio under arrest.  The cars were taken to a local garage.

Chief of Police Michael J. Fitzpatrick communicated with Prohibition Administrator Maj. Maurice Campbell and was instructed to hold the men until the prohibition officer came for them the next morning.  

Tuesday morning bail of $1,000 each was posted and hearing set for next Tuesday."

Source:  Alcohol, 3 Men And 2 Cars Taken In Booze Raid -- North Pelham Police Officers Find Five Cans of Pre-Volstead Liquor in Car -- Another on Sidewalk -- Trio Held in $1,000 Bail Each For Violation of Prohibition Amendment.  Hearing Tuesday, The Pelham Sun, Aug. 26, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 27, p. 1, col. 5.  

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More Liquor Raids in Pelham During Prohibition in the 1920s

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Shore Road certainly was not the only roadway where Pelham residents could stop at a local roadhouse for a stiff drink during Prohibition in the 1920s.  Indeed, on Boston Post Road near the New York City line in the early 1920s there was a tiny roadhouse then known as the "Ash Tree Inn."  Owned by a married couple, Bertha and Alfred (some reports say "Emil") Stocklasch, the roadhouse was known throughout Pelham as a place to buy a drink.  However, it also was known to Pelham Manor police as such a place.

In January, 1923, Pelham Manor police placed the roadhouse under surveillance.  On January 18, 1923, after learning of a fight at the establishment, Pelham Manor Police Chief Philip Gargan and four of his men raided the Ash Tree Inn and arrested its two proprietors for Prohibition violations.  The police seized cases of beer and whiskey and hauled the proprietors before the Federal Prohibition Commissioner the following day.

Not long after the raid, ownership of the Ash Tree Inn changed hands.  Eugene Frank and George Fisher became the new proprietors and changed the name of the roadhouse to "Boston Road Inn."  Though its name changed, the nature of the refreshments served at the premises apparently did not.  On January 15, 1925, Pelham Manor Police Chief Philip Gargan and one of his officers, Michael J. Grady, raided the establishment.  The new owners seemed quite careful about whom they would admit to the roadhouse.  When the police arrived, they found the front door chained and all doors and windows closed and locked.  Just as they readied to force an entry into the establishment, the proprietors reluctantly opened the doors and accepted their fate.  This time the haul was not so great.  The police seized five quarts of whiskey, arrested the proprietors, and hauled the men off to an appearance before the Federal Prohibition Commissioner.

Stills Discovered by Pelham Manor Police During Prohibition.

From the February 3, 1928 Issue of The Pelham Sun.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of articles about the incident that appeared in The Pelham Sun.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"Licquor [sic] Stock Discovered At Ash Tree Inn
-----
Police and Federal Agents Raid Roadhouse Late Last Night.  Find Liquor
-----
Proprietor and Wife Will Appear Before Federal Commissioner This Morning
-----

Federal agents in company of Chief of Police Philip Gargan of Pelham Manor, and four of his men, raided the Ash Tree Inn on the Boston Road near the New York City line, late last night, uncovered a large supply of unlawful whiskey and beer, and arrested Alfred Stocklasch, the proprietor, on a charge of unlawful possession of liquor.  Bertha Stocklasch, wife of the proprietor, was arrested Monday night after Sergeant James D. Burnett and Patrolman William D. Hamilton of the Manor force, had obtained necessary evidence of a sale of liquor at the roadhouse on that night.

Chief Gargan has had the place under surveillance for some time, and Monday night he was notified that there was a fight at the roadhouse.  [Illegible] Burnett and Officer Hamilton were detailed to investigate, and it was then that the alleged sale of liquor is said to have taken place.  The officers arrested Mrs. Stocklasch, who was later released on $1,000 bail.

After careful investigation, Federal agents Charles Berger, Ben Straus, [illegible] D'Angelica, Chief Gargan, Sergeant McCaffrey and Burnett, Patrolmen Hamilton and Jaeschka, surrounded the roadhouse late last night, armed with a federal warrant the entry was made and the liquor was taken from a trunk.  The stuff included [illegible] cases of beer, five demi-johns of whiskey, six quart bottles of whiskey, one pint of whiskey, eight beer bottles of whiskey, and half pint of [illegible].

Mr. Stocklasch was released on $500 bail.  He and his wife will appear before Federal Commissioner Hitchcock at [illegible] o'clock this morning."

Source:  Licquor [sic] Stock Discovered At Ash Tree Inn -- Police and Federal Agents Raid Roadhouse Late Last Night.  Find Liquor -- Proprietor and Wife Will Appear Before Federal Commissioner This Morning, The Pelham Sun, Jan. 19, 1923, Vol. 13, No. 47, p. 1, col. 1. 

"Alleged Liquor Seized In Raid At Roadhouse
-----
Boston Road Inn Is Raided For Second Time In Two Years.  Search Warrant Obtained
-----
Proprietors Will Appear Before Prohibition Commissioner Hitchcock In New York Today
-----

Five quarts of alleged illicit liquor was the haul of Federal Prohibition Inspectors John H. Fitzpatrick and George W. Hall, who in company with Chief of Police Philip Gargan and Patrolman Michael J. Grady of the Pelham Manor police, raided the Boston Inn on the Boston Road near the New York City line, shortly after noon yesterday.  Eugene Frank and George Fisher, proprietors of the establishment, will appear before Commissioner Hitchcock this morning on charges of violation of the Federal Prohibition Law.

Armed with a search warrant the Federal officers first enlisted the aid of the local police and approached the roadhouse.  Every door and window was closed and the main entrance was barred with a chain.  It was believed that entry would have to be forced, but the two proprietors were inside and on recognizing the police officers they reluctantly allowed them to enter.  A search revealed five quart bottles of a liquor alleged to contain more than one-half of one percent of alcohol.  Two bottles were found in a room on the second floor and three in the cellar.

Frank and Fisher were placed under arrest and held under $500 bail each until their appearance before the Federal Commissioner this morning.

Two years ago Chief Gargan and Federal officers raided the Ash Tree Inn, as the Boston Inn was formerly known and discovered four cases of liquor.  Frank and Fisher were immediate successors to Emil Stocklasch who was then proprietor."

Source:  Alleged Liquor Seized In Raid At Roadhouse -- Boston Road Inn Is Raided For Second Time In Two Years.  Search Warrant Obtained -- Proprietors Will Appear Before Prohibition Commissioner Hitchcock In New York Today, The Pelham Sun, Jan. 16, 1925, Vol. 15, No. 46, p. 1, col. 3. 
 *          *          *          *          *

I have written a number of times about bootleggers, moonshiners, speakeasies, Prohibition, and earlier local prohibition movements in Pelham before national Prohibition.  For a few examples, see:

Wed., Jun. 17, 2015:   Prohibition Rum-Runners Delivering A Boatload of Booze Were Foiled in Pelham in 1925.

Fri., Apr. 24, 2015:  The North Pelham "Speakeasy Section" Created Quite a Stir During Prohibition.

Tue., Nov. 18, 2014:  More Bootleggers and Speakeasies Raided in Pelham in 1929 During Prohibition.
Fri., May 23, 2014:  How Dry I Am -- Early Prohibition Efforts Succeed in Pelham in 1896.

Thu., Apr. 03, 2014:  The Prohibition Era in Pelham:  Another Speakeasy Raided.

Tue., Feb. 18, 2014:  Pelham Speakeasies and Moonshiners - Prohibition in Pelham: The Feds Raid the Moreau Pharmacy in Pelham Manor in 1922.

Thu., Feb. 07, 2008:  Village Elections in Pelham in 1900 - New York Athletic Club Members Campaign Against the Prohibition Ticket in Pelham Manor.

Thu., Jan. 12, 2006:  The Beer Battle of 1933.

Thu., Aug. 11, 2005:  How Dry I Am: Pelham Goes Dry in the 1890s and Travers Island Is At the Center of a Storm. 

Bell, Blake A., The Prohibition Era in Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 25, June 18, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

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Prohibition Rum-Runners Delivering A Boatload of Booze Were Foiled in Pelham in 1925

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

During Prohibition, Pelham had bootleggers.  Pelham had illegal stills.  Pelham had speakeasies.  Pelham even had a speakeasy section.  Now research reveals that Pelham also had rum-runners who attempted to deliver illegal liquor by the boatload to the shores of Pelham Manor.  

I have written extensively about Pelham's struggles with Prohibition and the enforcement of the unpopular laws that it spawned.  See:

Fri., Apr. 24, 2015:  The North Pelham "Speakeasy Section" Created Quite a Stir During Prohibition.

Tue., Nov. 18, 2014:  More Bootleggers and Speakeasies Raided in Pelham in 1929 During Prohibition.
Fri., May 23, 2014:  How Dry I Am -- Early Prohibition Efforts Succeed in Pelham in 1896.

Thu., Apr. 03, 2014:  The Prohibition Era in Pelham:  Another Speakeasy Raided.

Tue., Feb. 18, 2014:  Pelham Speakeasies and Moonshiners - Prohibition in Pelham: The Feds Raid the Moreau Pharmacy in Pelham Manor in 1922.

Thu., Feb. 07, 2008:  Village Elections in Pelham in 1900 - New York Athletic Club Members Campaign Against the Prohibition Ticket in Pelham Manor.

Thu., Jan. 12, 2006:  The Beer Battle of 1933.

Thu., Aug. 11, 2005:  How Dry I Am: Pelham Goes Dry in the 1890s and Travers Island Is At the Center of a Storm. 

Bell, Blake A., The Prohibition Era in Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 25, June 18, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog details an interesting rum-running incident that was foiled by Pelham Manor police in early August, 1925.  The beloved motorman of the Pelham Manor Trolley -- the trolley that inspired Fontaine Fox to create the Toonerville Trolley -- was making the last run of the evening to Pelham Manor at about 1:10 a.m.  

Skipper "Louie" was the motorman that night.  "Louie" was a nickname used by Emil Matter who worked for 35 years as a motorman for the Third Avenue Railway system.  He lived for many years in Mount Vernon and piloted the little Pelham Manor trolley for 25 years.  See Fri., Jun. 17, 2005:  "Skipper Louie" of Pelham Manor's Toonerville Trolley.  

Trolley car that ran from Pelham Station along Wolfs Lane

with a short stint on Colonial Avenue then along the length

of Pelhamdale to Shore Road where it turned around and

repeated the trip. The two trolley operators standing in

front of the car were Skippers Dan and Louie (on Right).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Skipper Louie's senses were somewhat heightened that night because robbers recently had murdered a trolley operator and trolley inspector during a robbery at Mount Vernon's border with the Village of North Pelham.  He noticed near the end of the trolley line where Pelhamdale Avenue intersects with Shore Road that there were two men who were acting "suspiciously."  

He hurried the trolley back to "Red Church Corner" (known today as "Four Corners," the intersection of Boston Post Road and Pelhamdale Avenue).  There he flagged down Pelham Manor police officer Arnt H. Arnsten and expressed his concern.  Officer Arnsten alerted headquarters and joined with Police Chief Philip Gargan and three other officers who quickly headed to the desolate, dark, and then-unpopulated area where Skipper Louie had seen the two men.

The police searched the nearby woods and checked along Shore Road, Pelhamdale Avenue, Bolton Road, and Mt. Tom Road.  They found two trucks hidden from sight.  One had a fake license plate.  They also found a Hudson motorcar.  They rounded up a man from New Rochelle and seven men from New York City.  

The police seized the trucks and car.  They charged the men with loitering and vagrancy.  They interrogated all the men.  Only one had anything to say.  He admitted the men were there to accept delivery of "cases," but clammed up after that admission.

After completing their investigation, the police concluded that the trucks and their crew were awaiting the arrival of a boatload of liquor and that they planned to unload the liquor to small boats off Travers Island and carry it to the trucks near Shore Road.

Below is the text of a news article about the foiled rum-running incident.  it is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"Police Capture Gang Loitering On Shore Road
-----
Domenick Trotta, His Hudson Car, And Two Trucks, Seized in Secluded Spot.
-----

Ten men, including Domenick Trotta of New Rochelle, were taken in custody by the Pelham Manor police shortly after midnight Monday, after they were found loitering in the vicinity of Mt. Tom Road, Pelhamdale avenue, and Boston Post Road.  Two trucks and a Hudson touring car were taken to headquarters.  No charge was made against Trotta.  Seven of the crew were charged with loitering.  The trucks had no lights.  It is believed by the police a plan for transportation of a cargo of liquor was frustrated.

'Louie' the motorman of the 'dinky' trolley car, on his final trip to Pelham Manor, noticed two men acting suspicious at the end of the car line, near the Shore Road at 1:10 a.m.

Having in mind the recent murder of a trolley inspector and a motorman in Mount Vernon, he drove his car to the Boston Post Road, where he informed Policeman Arnt H. Arnsten, at the Red Church Corner, of his suspicions.  Chief Philip Gargan, with Sgt. James Burnett, and Policemen Gennerrazzo and Fowler, scoured the woods in the vicinity.  

The big Hudson touring car of Trotta, 5V-2504 was discovered in a secluded section near Travers Island.  Nearby were two trucks.  One had wrong license plates.  Harry Margolis, 704 Coster street, Bronx, and Charles Newman, 516 West 111th street, New York, with Trotta, and his brother-in-law, Caneo Nannerello, of 203 Union avenue, New Rochelle, were at the scene.

Loitering in the vicinity were John Burke, 303 E. 91st street, Patrick Murphy, 446 E. 146th street; Harry Freeman, 324 E. 118th street; John Haigh, St. Nicholas Baths, New York; Robert Kennedy, 623 Cortlandt street; John Kelly, 328 E. 70th street, and Louis Kaufer, of 3214 Cortelyou Road, and 109 Lenox avenue.  All reside in New York city.

Kaufer told police he maintained two addresses.  He was found over on the Shore Road where he had his taxicab parked.

Morris Feiger, 60 St. Nicholas avenue, New York, who the police believe is chauffeur of a G. M. C. truck, Model 16, X-706369, could show no motor number.  Chief Gargan after investigation announced the license plates on the G. M. C. truck belonged to a Ford truck.  The card for the license plates bore no motor number.  

The Stewart truck, X-739540, which the police believe was operated by Harry Margolis, 704 Coster street, Bronx, carried authentic license plates.  Chief Gargan took the fictitious license plates off the G. M. C. truck.

None of the men would talk.  In reply to questions by the police each said he knew nothing.  One of the gang finally admitted he had been notified at his home in the Bronx, his services would be needed to move some 'cases' in Pelham Manor.  He would say nothing more.

Employees of the New York athletic club on Travers Island told the police they saw the two trucks on Travers Island in the evening.  Patrolman Fowler drove one of the trucks from Mt. Tom Road to police headquarters.  Patrolman Generrazzo drove the other.

It is the impression in the minds of the police that the trucks and their crew were awaiting the arrival of a boat load of liquor and it may have been planned to unload it in small boats off Travers Island and carry it to the trucks near the Shore Road.

In Pelham Manor police court on Tuesday night, Freedman and Kaufer were each fined $5 on loitering charges.  Sentence was suspended on charges of vagrancy.  

Charges against five other men in the crew were continued until tonight.  Trotta promised he would have the men in court.  He explained to Judge L'Esperance that they were employed at daily occupations and often had to work 'quite late' at night in addition.

The two trucks are at police headquarters.  No one has claimed them, according to Chief Philip Gargan.  He told a reporter of the Sun that the owners, when they appear, will be held, one on a charge of having wrong license plates, and both for having no lights.  One truck was discovered on Bolton Road.  The other on Mt. Tom Road."

Source:  Police Capture Gang Loitering On Shore Road -- Domenick Trotta, His Hudson Car, And Two Trucks, Seized In Secluded Spot, The Pelham Sun, Aug. 7, 1925, Vol. 16, No. 23, p. 1, col. 1.  

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