3rd Arrested, Dragnet Out as U. S. Cracks Spy Ring
Americans
Rounded Up
In Vienna
£ Vienna, Austria, UP)—
U. S. agents investigating
a Soviet-led spy plot in
Vienna have arrested a
naturalized employe of the
U. S. Army's Intelligence
Service f o r questioning,
U. S. officials said tonight.
The man was identified
as Ernest Pislowitz, 40, a
j ^ f . ^ i ^
DrdNbtmf^mmgton'
Data Destination:
Berlin-born A r m y veteran who
has been employed for several
y e a n in the Army's Intelligence
Service here.
Pislowitz was detained Wed­
nesday at the same time agents
arrested Otto Verber and Kurt
L.
Ponger on
grand
jury
charges of espionage, and Wal­
ter Lauber, a student, for ques­
tioning. Laubera Austrian-born
wife is reported to have dis­
appeared.
A t least one other American
is known to ha^e been seized
in Vienna but L' S officials
are wtihhoding his name.
• Four Eadleott civic leaders
discuss problems of child psy­
chology, schools, medical treat­
ment and religion in the home
at P T A symposium. Page 6.
5
Bentley
u.
Novikov
The theory of this i s . that
the full ramifications of an
espionage organization mav be
disclosed bv suspects unwit­
tingly leading investigators to
their top contacts and to other
suspects.
There was the possibility
that it was this procedure
which fastened suspicion on
Novikov.
'
The
indictment.
returned
earlier this week and sealed
until Verber and Ponger could
be picked up, accused them of
conspiring since mid-1949, in
Washington, in Vienna and in
Salzburg, with Novikov and
others
to deliver to Russia
documents, maps, sketches and
other information on the de­
fense system of the United
States.
In
Vienna,
a
wholesale
roundup of Americans was re­
ported underway in connection
with the case
A spokesman
at the Embassy there said a
substantial number had been
studying there under the G I
Bill of Rights.
Once Poor
DP Runs
Dice Palace
9 N e w York—Aristotle Socra­
tes Onassis. youthful, hand­
some proprietor of 81 ships, of­
fices in six countries and homes
in Sutton Place. Paris, Antibes, Athens, and Montevideo,
has added a new and glamor­
ous property to his holdings,
but for an unglaunorous pur­
pose
After a year and a half of
patient purchasing from 2.000
stockholders, he has acquired
control of the famous casino
and resort buildings in Monte
Carlo in the principality of
Monaco.
He has gained control, too.
of several hotels, including the
Hotel de Paris, Hermitage and
Beach Hotel, t h e ' w i n t e r and
summer sporting clubs where
formal dress is required of the
gamblers, and a couple of
other empty buildings.
Although
he
has
visited
Monte Carlo often, he's never
gambled there and has no in­
tention of* doing so now.
" I never gamble it doesn't
amuses*ne." he declared.
His whole life has been "a
terrible gamble." the suave,
dark shipping executive said.
There s been little time for sit­
ting m chairs, either, since the
homeiesx. " s l a t o l m . penniless
Greek's arrival at the age of
16 in Argentina where his
first job w a s . as a night tele• phone -operator.
(Siberia)
estimated at $300,000,000 and
he does his gambling on an in­
ternational scale - - with oil
tankers and whaling expedi­
tions.
•
•
•
•
Oppose
•
Dulles Policy
For 'Liberation'
Facing Battle
Regents
TV Program
•
0
Hainan Attack Is Considered—Arrow indicates
Hainan Island, now occupied- by Chinese Communist
forces, which reportedly is. being considered as a pos­
sible attack point for" Chinese Nationalist forces from
the Formosa redoubt to northward. Washington re­
ports say the incoming Eisenhower administration is
considering permitting Nationalists to attack Hainan to
relieve Korea.
City Man Pinned 2 Honrs
In Auto Following Crash
•»
• Four Bingham t o * men had a narrow escape from death or
serious injury early today, when their car went out of control
on a curve, knocked down a tree and plunged into a gully,
coming to rest upside down.
« — - — — — — — — — — — — — —
A passenger
in the car.
Frank Medinosky. 21. of 257
Conklin A v e . was pinned in
the wreckage for nearly two
hours,
before deputies
and
aides could extricate him.
He was admitted to Wilson
Memorial
Hospital. Johnson
City, where his principal tnpury is listed as a fractured
•
N e w York, l ^ — T h e wsy
right ankle
was cleared officially at Presi­
dent-elect Eisenhower's head­
Broome Sheriff's men said
Medinosky was riding in the quarters today for election to­
morrow o f C . Wesley Roberts
front seat of a vehicle oper­
of Kansas as the new chairman
ated by Marcello Layton. 25.
of
the Republican National
of 30 Parsons St.. and owned
Committee
by Medinosky.
Former U S Senator Harry
The car went out of control
Darby,
national
committee­
on a curve on Upper Park
man from Kansas, told a news
Ave at the Peckham Road in­
conference that a ffve-man
tersection—a spot known as
subcommittee had unanimous­
Hairpin Curve—and left the
ly recommended election of
road The machine flew about
Roberts to succeed Arthur E.
fi9 feet into the air deputies
Summerneld of Michigan.
*aid during its Journey into
Summerneld is resigning as
the gully
Republican National Commit­
Deputies and wrecking rrews
tee head to serve as postmas­
worked nearly two hours free­
ter general in Eisenhower's
ing Medinosky from the wreck­
administration.
ed rar
The driver. Mr Layton. suf­
fered abrasions of the face anal
Ike Names 2
right arm. and two other pas­
sengers in the car. William •
N e w York, (^—President­
Tahulos 26 of 5 Rollins St.. elect Eisenhower today named
Robert W . Burgess, of Pelham,
and l » u i s I^ombrone 25 of
30 Parsons St suffered minor N Y . as director of the census,
and Robert C. Watson of Silver
cuts and bruises
At 7 J5 a m . two men were Springs. M d . as commissioner
hurt, one seriously, in a colli­ of patents, in the new adminis­
sion on Route 11 in the Town tration
Both posts are in the Com­
of Kirkwood
merce Department, which will
John Meade, 27, of Susque­ be headed by Sinclair Weeks of
hanna. Pa., driver of one of the Boston
cars involved, suffered a com­
pound fracture of the right leg,
and a possible back fracture.
He was admitted to City Hos­
pital, where his condition is
listed as only "fair."
The driver of the other car.
—
Ray Everett. 42. of Great Bend,
Helen (Bill's Soda Spa)
Pa . suffered a cut on the nose, •
Kconomidea birthdaying today.
but was not hospitalized.
Congrats and stuff.
Roberts OK'd
As GOP Boss
1
Osainlng, l/F*-* Joseph L. Pao-
Paonessa
41,
ma ntained
to
+he end that rh? CTTrfie was*
masterminded by an evil com­
panion later adjudged insane
Paonessa said m his defense
fersdorf.
j
Von Wolfersdorf was adjudged insane and committed to
Matteawan State Hospital for
the criminal insane.
Ralph ( I B M ) Parker very
much convinced that transport,
ing a calf or a cow in anything
less than a cattle truck is not
only risky but just plain not
wise Liv»» and learn, we always
say Ralph
Louis ( I B M ) Lnddy all a
twitter todav what with the
a m \ a l of a son last night at
Wilspjt JlcspjXaL Baby weiffhed
nine pounds and five ounces.
Mother Jane and baby are fine!
The reMlutloa contends that
the status of the Institutes, at
Blnghamton. New York C i u .
Buffalo.
Utica
and
White
Plains, is not different from the
vocational and agricultural in­
stitutes, which have full state
support and are permanent
In opposing the proposed state­
wide network of educational
television stations, the resolu­
tion urges the Legislature to
reject the plan by th? Statp
Board of Regents
I | ^contends potential result*
are vague and th* monev re­
quired for building and o p i ­
ating the network should he
used for present school opera­
tions or left in the hands of
the taxpayers
The Regents have estimated
construction of the stations
would cost $3,850,000 and main­
tenance about $2,300 000 a year
Such a network the resolu­
tion adds, would plare in th*
hands of a government agency
a state-wide medium for propa­
ganda.
The supervisors also were to
act on other resolutions includ­
ing a reauest for increased lorn I
authority and responsibilitj for
welfare administration
— B y the Staff—
PhlJ
Crooks
(Happy)
Bates
and
Henry
running up
quite a " s c o r e o n rabbits gar­
nered In various hunting fora\s
they've been taking laTeiv.
Only trouble is that Phil ran t
seem to score . . The bunnies
just won't seem to cooprratp
. . . He's on the zero end of
a 7 to 0 record but bp sa>s
"better days are coming . . .
Could be.
Fuller and wife off
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Pearxall
of. Maine turning over in* rar*
and responsibilities of Paynes
meat counter to othcis and
taking off for Florida to pnjoy
a f e w weeks of summer in the
^-"^
'
Lee as* Margaret K a o w l e a
14 years wed today and happy
about ft. 'Congrats. Only 36 to
the golden wedding.
Bob Tkosttae dropping his
role of young lawyer about
town and heading for Ideal
early this ayem to awai: ar­
r i v a l of the stork Stork hadnt
arrived a t press tunt.
M
o
1
Waahuigtoa, UTi —
J oka
0 Syracuse, l » — T h e Super­ F o s t e r Dulles seems e e r t a l a tm
visors Association of N e w York •noounter a a srgiim—t with la
State today considers resolu­ the- State Department over his
• plan to try to loosen Russia'*
tions endorsing full state sup­ hold over Its statellltea b y new
port of the five initltutas of political and propaganda s t r a t ­
appied arts and sciences, and egy.
Th© secretary of. j t a j f c d e s l g opposing a plan for the st&ia.
to operate an educational tele­ h a i e Tor the Eisenhower admin­
istration told tae S e n a t e F o r ­
vision network.
e i g n RelaUsua C o m m i t t e e yes­
The
resolution calling for t e r d a y he Is convinced t h a t a
full state financial support of policy of expressing U. 8. con­
the five institutes also urges c e r n for peaceful liberation of
that they be made permanent. t h « Iron Curtain lands c a n and
(Editor's Note- One of the m u s t be adopted.
A f t e r hearing Dulles on this
five is the Institute of Applied
Arts and Sciences in Bingham- a n d other foreign policy views,
ton
Broome County super­ t h e committee unanimously v o t ­
visors have offered SI million e d to reeemmend S e n a t e contoward construction costs of flaniatioa « / Dulles after the
the Institute here, but have Inauguration next Tuesday.
" A policy which only con­
refused to contribute, a cent
t o w ar d operational
costs. tains Russia. U bound to fall."
There is where the matter D u l l e s said, referring to the
stands now Neither the State basic containment theory of
nor the County has made a t h e outgoing Truman adminis­
tration.
move to break the deadlock )
The institutes were set up
by the state on a temporary
basis and discontinuance has
been authorized after estab­
lishment of community col­
leges within their counties.
Main Stem Flashes
nessa, convicted slayer of a 14year-old schoolboy, died in Sing
Sing electric chair last night in
frightened silence
1
f) Cloudy and much colder
with snow flurries tonight.
Low.
10 to 15.
Saturday
mostly cloudy and cold. High,
20 to 25.
Vol.
•
•
•
•
8 4 , No. 8 5
Departing
President
Bids Adieu
Supervisors Association Considers Plea
For Full State Support of Institutes
0
'
Truman Sees Red Fall,
Victory in Cold W a r
s.
Dies in Chair
in Boy's Death
^
The W e a t h e r
Endieott, N . Y . . Friday, J a n u a r y 1 6 , 1 9 5 3
Pages
Reliable X\ 8. sources said
Cecile Lauber, 36-year-old naturabzed American, was believed
to have taken refuge in the
Soviet sector of the city.
Lauber is under questioning
regarding his associations with
Verber and Ponger.
Yuri V , Novikov, second
secretary of the Soviet Em­
bassy in Washington, was nam­
ed as co-conspirator,
with onger in the "Central
Lauber has been associated
with Ponger In the "central
European Press Agency." a pur­
ported news agency which •.Ver­
ber and Ponger w e r e registered
as representing here. All three
were studying at Vienna Uni­
versity under the G I Bill of
Rights.
A IT. S. spokeemaa said that
a "substantial number of Ameri­
cans and others known to have
had contracts with Verber and
Ponger" would either be picked
up for questioning o r "invited"
to tell what they know during
the next few day*.
Unofficial sources said that
U . S. agents "got everybody
they regarded as important"
when they arrested Verber and
Ponger Wednesday and picked
up Lauber and the other two
persons held for questioning.
As explained in the Justice
Department and in comments
by A r m y spokesmen, the suapects were allowed to operate
unmolested for several years
after agents kfeew who they
were and what they were do­
ing.
V
the plane at Washington Airport In the black, pre-dawn hours
of today, handcuffed to F B I agents.
Their formal arrest, culminating an investigation and sur­
veillance of several years, was made when the FBI boarded the
plane and took them from the custody of Army officers.
Taken to the Federal Court Building, they were arraigned
on charges of violating the Espionage Act. with "Yuri V. Novikov
as co-coaspirator" He is the second secretary of the Soviet
Embassy here. The United States, following diplomatic custom,
did not include him in the Indictment, but in a note to th*
Embassy requested his prompt departure from this country.
It was the first time an Investigation of espionage in the
.U. S. had led directly to the Embassy.
U. S. Commissioner C. S. Lawrence set ball at $50,000
each, and the prisoners went to Jail because the money was
not forthcoming.
Lawrence advised them they would have opportunity later
today to plead guilty or innocent to the spy charges.
Serving the Communities of Western Broome and Eastern Tioga Counties
14
s.
# Washington, UP>—Two former Army Intelligence servicemen
accused ol spving for Russia were brought into U. S. District
Court briefly today, but their formal arraignment was put off
until Mondav.
Judge Alexander Holtzoff delayed the arraignment of O t t o
V e r b e r 31 and Kurt Ponger. 39. to afford them opportunity to
study the indictment against them and to consult counsel.
Verber and Ponger. arrested in Vienna where they w e r e
srud>mg under the G I Bill of Rights, arrived here In shackles
earlv today by plane They are accused of being members of an
int.-inational spy ring operating here and abroad under the di­
rection of Yuri V . Novikov, second secretary of the Soviet E m ­
bassy
A t bird American, Walter Lauber, is in custody for question­
ing in Vienna
Verber and Ponger are both natives of Austria but natural­
ized
S citizens
The dour and silent men were hustled down the ramp of
THE DAILV BULLETIN
Conts
•«B
Shackled Pair Returned to U. S., $100,000 Bail Set
% N e w York. UP*—Elizabeth Bentley says she never told William
W Remington that the wartime secret information she allegedly
got from him was to be handed over to a Soviet spy ring.
Miss Bentley. self-admitted formet Communist spy courier,
testified yesterday at Remington's second perjury trial, now
entering its fourth day in federal court.
Under cross-examination, the witness said she did not tell
the former government economist he was "supplying data"
to Soviet Russia.
Instead,' she said, she told Remington the material—includ­
ing a top secret formula for synthetic rubber—was going to Ear\
Browder, former Communist Party head in this country.
Asked by defense counsel why she didn't tell Remington the
truth. Miss Benotley said'That would be foolhardy in an intelligence organization."
Helping Our Children
•
Taft Mum
As Durkin
Gets O. K.
% Washington. >/F> The Senate
Labor Committee today recom­
mended Senate confirmation of
Martin P. Durkin as secretary
of labor, without a word of pro­
test from Sen Taft i R , Ohio),
who had termed the selection
"incredible "
' T a f t raised no objection of
any kind at a half-hour public
hearing, held informally by the
committee to clear the decks
for
Durkm's inauguration-day
installation in offirp Taft him­
self similingly gave reportrr*
the first word of the u n a n i ­
mous approval
T h i s approval came at a three
minute closed door meeting of
the committee, called immedi­
ately after the public session
T a f t had denounced Durkin s
appointment when the selection
was
announced by President­
elect Eisenhowor. Durkin. who
was head of the A F L s Plum­
bers Union, is a Democrat, he
supported Gos Adlai K Steven­
son against Kisenhower
However, the Ohioan said
later he would not oppose con­
firmation of the new labor sec­
retary.
Brown Eyes
Better 'n Blue
•
N e w York. 1 Pv—Headlight
^lare from autos bothers blureyed drivers more than the
brown-eyed, a new study finds
The blue-eyes on th> average
are more sensitive to glare lo»s
able to see well, repprts hdwin
I). Fletcher, psychologist and re­
search specialist of the Cali­
fornia State Division of Driv­
ers" Licenses. As a safe driving
tip. he suggests that the blueeyes slow down whpn meeting
autos with bright ligh's.
Student Killed
•
I t h a c a , c J V i - A Cornell U J U -
two classmates with his auto
mobile, injuring one of them
fatally, police reported. James
A. DeSantis. 20, of Schenec­
tady died in an ambulance en
route to the university infirm­
ary.
Arrested on 'Treason'
High East Germany Reds
Tumble in Sweeping Purge
B y T o m Reedy
# Berlin, OTt—East Germany's spreading purgt of Communist of­
ficials snd their collaborators today engulfed the Red regime's
figurehead foreign minister. O o r g DertTnger. T h e East Berlin
press announced his arrest on charges of high treason as a we»t>
em spy.
' 1
n — — — —
Soon alter the anouncementrthe West German radio N W D R
reported that Max Kellson, chief
of the Soviet Department of
Dertinger*! ministry, and KelJson't wife had been arrested.
Dertinger was a former mem­
ber of the Soviet Zone's Christ­
ian Democratic Union, one of
the four "non-Communist" part,
ics collaborating in the east • Seonl, tm— U. S Sabre jets
regime with the ruling Red So­ — outnumbered four-to-on* —
cialist Unity Party. Western sent one Communist MIG-T5
observers long had considered spinning to earth and damaged
him to be on shaky ground.
another
today while Allied
continued
Kellson Is a member of the fighter-bombers
Socialist Unity Party. He'servpd blasting Red supply arteries.
a.i editor of Vorwaerts, the
The Fifth Air Force reported
party's •first postwar newspa­
six Sabres took
24 M I G « in
per, before Joining the Foreign
Ministry as press chief Later furious dogfights high over
he was made director of the Northwest Korea Lt. Peter J.
bureau dealing with Soviet Un­ Frederick. College Point, N . Y . .
ion affairs.
was credited with the kill—the
11th in three days.
Dertinger is the most promi­
nent of the east zone clique to
The MIGs presumably were
fall shice the German Commun­ trying to break up expected
daylight strikes against
ists and parties allied with them new
weie hit by the purge launched the battered transportation hub
of Sinanju, but today's fighterby thp conviction in Prague of
bomber raids
were
farther
Rudolf Mansky and 13 other
south
once-powerful Reds
On the battlefront. the mer­
The tersp announcement said
Dertingpr was arrtsted yester- cury skidded to nine below zero
on the central front last night
da>
- second coldest reading of the
"The arrest Is based on his winter.
enemy activity against the Ger­
man Democratic Republic which
hp carried out in behalf of an
imperialist espionage ring,' the
announcement added
,The
Soviet occupation of
Kast Germany made his pos'
largely meaningless
The real
bo.->i of the ministry has been • Two employes of Valley M o ­
Anion Ackermann, M o s c o w - tors. 2011 East Main St., Endtrained Communist who held well were arrested early today
down the key job of state sec­
by Johnson City police who said
retary
the pair were racing 1953 OldsAt least two of Dertinger s mobiles down Riverside Drive.
top aides In the Foreign Min­ Both are Blnghamton residents.
istry have fled to the west in
John E. Quinlivan. 34,=of 46
recent months
Orton A v e . a salesman for Val­
ley Motors, pleaded guilty in
Johnson City Police court to
a speeding charge, and paid a
fine of $5.
Joseph Ruspantlni. 31. of 67
Broad Ave , Valley Motors serv­
# New York, i/P\—Dense fog ice manager, failed to halt for
kept the Air Force chiefs of police, and was chased to the
Floral-Ackley Avenues intersec­
staff's planp from landing at
tion. He also failed to appear
I j Guardla Field for four hours In court today, and Justice Rich­
yesterday
ard F. Rath issued a warrant
Gen
Hoyt S Vandenberg's and had him brought in. Rus­
prepared address was read by pantlni furnished $15 hail for
another man but the general
appearing tomorrow morning.
made a l i t t l e impromptu
•t
speech to the luncheon of ad­
vertising men by air-to-ground
radio
I* began this w a y
' I,am now circling over Flatbush
•
F t Meade. Md., OD—War­
ren G McConnell. 21-year-old
New Jersey soldier, was freed
yesterday on a charge of going
asleep at his post in Korea
An
earlier court
martial
found him guilty and sentenced
him to 10 years at hard labor.
# Washington. UTU-Hemv W .
However, that verdict was re­
The
Dutchman
Grunewald
versed by a military court of
pieaded innocent today to a
appeals..on a technicality and
31-count indictment on charges
^.j /^J«fls^.#^lfa^m«
Of JontjmjJt of ,r
second tune.
The case against Pfc. M c ­
said in a^ftfni voice when he
appeared before ' U S. District Connell fell through yesterday
when two buddies with him on
Judge Alexander Holtzoff
The judge set Grunewald's duty the night of Nov. 14. 1951,
testified time and again they
trial for March. 16. He was
couldn't remember just w h a t
continued at liberty under $2,happened,
500 bail.
Uefending
MIG Downed
By Sabrejefs
Racing Driver
Fined, Second
To Face Court
General Makes
Talk from Plane
Court Frees G I
O n Sleep Rap
Contempt Denied
By Grunewald
A
b
J
#
WmthfaiftOfi, Ufy—Re*
tiring President Truman
predict* Soviet Russia's
aggressive schemes w i l l
collapse, sooner or later,
under the growing weight
of the free world's de­
fenses.
And that, he forecast In
a farewell to the natkm
from the White House last
night, will lead to a new fepjden
age—to an era of spreading
world authority, and of peace
"as tar ahead a« man can see."
Truman took over the na«
tion's radio and television net­
works for a highly personal,
sometimes emotional, review of
his eight turbulent years in
the White House and for a
guess at how thev may look in
the light of history
He pointed to dangers ahead
—of a possible new world war
that would dig the jrrave of
western civilization and of its
Communist enemy alike.
He disclaimed for this nation
anv will to provoke such con­
flict by hurling ultimatums or
by using terrible new weapons:
"Starting an aromic war Is
totally unthinkable for rational
men."
He called for complete public
support of his successor. Dwigh't
D. Eisenhower
Finally, putting eight years
of controversy behind, the out­
going President ended his vale­
dictory with a gentle"Good night—and God bless
you a l l "
As he did so. Mrs. Truman
and Margaret appeared on
either side of him for the T V
cameras.
Trnmaa'a last address from
the chastely decx>rated oval
office be will vacate Tuesday
came only a few hours after
he handed a firm piece of ad­
vice to his successor: Free-forall news conferences may be
tough on vou but don't give
them up—the people are en­
titled to them
It was at just such a comewhat-may session with news­
men—his 324th and last—that
the President read a formal
statement upholding the right
of newsmen to ask a chief
executive
on behalf of the
nation all sorts of questions
in open meeting
It's important to a democ­
racy. Truman said, that "every
medium of communication be­
tween the citizens and their
government, particularly
the
President, be kept open as far
as possible "
He went on*
"This kind of news confer­
ence where reporters can ask
any kind of questions they can
dream of — -directly to the
President of the United States
— illustrates how strong and
hnw vital our democracy is.
There is no other country. In
the world where the chief of
state submits to such unlim­
ited questions."
Truman acknowledged with a
grin that some of the questions
he has been asked have made
him wince. He accepted a re­
porter s suggestion that he's
been known to make blunders
at news conferences
Maybe,
he said, succeeding presidents
can figure out improvements
to the existing system but.
" I hope thev will never cut
the direct line of communica­
tion between themselves and the.people."
aasl^JBaalcsrjtaeisB^as***^
.^
reporters dug up one antjc^
pated news story: The P r e s P
dent is about to Issue an exe­
cutive order reserving for the
national defense, and specifi­
cally for the Navy, the rich oil
lands of th* shores of Texas,
,
Louisiana and California,