A MAN’S DOUBLE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 17 November 1927, Page 8

A MAN’S DOUBLE

MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

SOME MONTHS IN PRISON.

New York, Oct. 19.

A strange case of mistaken identity has been settled. Max Gottlieb, of Manhattan, was charged with grand larceny as a fourth offender, and at two trials was positively identified by five persons. For _ the last five months he has been in prison, serving a life term, under the Baumes law, as a habitual criminal. His attorney, Henry Rosenberg, was, however, sure that there was a mistake, and, with the aid of private detectives, working for months in the underworld, succeeded at last in locating the real offender, and “tipped off” the New York police. Abraham Schwartz, of the Bronx, was arrested, and Captain King ,of the New York police, was so misled by his likeness to Gottlieb that for a time he believed the latter had escaped from custody. The two men were brought together for the first time before Judge Lewis. Both men have the same cast of features in almost exact detail, the chief characteristic being eyes that bulge in each case. Gottlieb is 40, Schwartz 41.

The witnesses were astonished, but Schwartz cleared up the doubt by admitting that he was guilty. Schwartz caused gl*at amusement by describing to the Court his practice of selling bits of glass as diamonds. In the present case he had secured £9OO from a shoemaker and £6OO from a shopkeeper for his “glass” diamonds.