Daylight Bandits Get $25,000 in “Swag.”
The most daring robbery that has been perpetrated in Chicago in many months, in which a jeweler, his clerk, and two other men were seized in broad daylight, bound hand and foot with rope, held prisoners, and menaced with revolvers, while gunmen robbed the safe of $25,000 in jewelry and money, occurred recently.
The scene of the robbery was the North Avenue loan bank and jewelry store, 517 West North Avenue, founded six years ago by Max Klein and Max Spear. An important part of the business is loaning money on jewelry, and all the valuable pieces were in a safe in the rear of the store, which was looted. The four men who were seized, bound, and held prisoners while the men packed the loot in a suit case and got away were Max Spear, partner and manager; George Kacker, clerk; Charles A. White, customer, who entered while the robbers were at work, and[Pg 61] Frank Dallas, a saloon keeper, who came in to get change for a twenty-dollar bill.
All four victims remained bound hand and foot in the little rear office for forty minutes while the money, watches, rings, bracelets, necklaces, and other jewelry were taken from the safe by one of the men, while the other robber kept a gun close to their heads. They saw every detail of the robbery, and finally watched the robbers depart.