CRIME: Goldfish Bowl

Nobody was surprised when one Arthur Maillefort, automobile thief, strangled to death last June chained in a “sweat box” (board casket) in a Florida prison camp. Notorious is Florida’s rough penal system, exposed in 1929 by the crusading old New York World.

But the Press was startled and shocked last week when one Hyman Stark, 20, died at the hands of the Nassau County police, guardians of New York’s most swank and civilized area. Arrested for beating and robbing a county detective’s mother, Stark was put in the “goldfish bowl” (a bright bare room for inquisitions) at Mineola headquarters, given the third-degree for eight hours. An autopsy showed Stark died from a fractured larynx, complicated by a cerebral hemorrhage. His body was horribly marked. Explained the District Attorney: “Some overenthusiastic police officer broke that man’s Adam’s apple.”

At a public investigation Assistant District Attorney Martin Wilson (“Bill”) Littleton Jr., son of the famed lawyer, revealed he had warned the police: “No third degree. One black eye might ruin a first-degree murder case.”

Let the Devil help the criminal who injures a policeman or his family. Outside Albany last week Edward (“Fats”) McCarthy, “cop killer.” was shot in the head and killed by avenging detectives, who were praised, promised promotion for their deed.