BY KRISTIN BEUSCHER
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
HARRINGTON PARK, N.J.—Two recently released convicts, armed with burglary tools, were probably bound for Harrington Park when police picked them up on April 13, 1910.
That Wednesday evening, three New York City detectives shadowed the notorious criminals as they traveled from the Bowery to Eighth Street to Avenue A. Both of the men were wearing soft caps and shoes with rubber heels that would enable them to walk quietly.
“They looked as though they were out for action,” one newspaper reported.
When detectives stopped John Schmidt and Charles Fisher that night, Schmidt was in possession of two flashlights, a long chisel, some strong twine, a knife with a flexible blade (adapted by burglars for springing window locks) and a timetable for the West Shore Railroad, with the Harrington Park station underlined. Fisher had a small suitcase and a loaded revolver. The men were taken in on charges of possession of burglars’ tools and concealed weapons.
Both men were well known to law enforcement and had recently been released from prison.
Schmidt, also known as “The Berliner,” had already done time back in 1905 for possession of burglar tools. After getting out, in 1906 he burglarized a mansion in Rye, N.Y., and stole $4,000 worth of jewelry, clothing and silverware (equivalent to over $110,000 in today’s dollars). Before leaving the house, the brazen burglar availed himself of some snacks from the ice box and a good bottle of wine. Schmidt was locked up for four years and nine months for the crime.
Fisher, known by the alias “Schwab,” served six months at the Union County Jail in Elizabeth for larceny and then seven years at the state prison in Trenton for stealing horses in Bergen County in 1903.
“The police think the pair were on their way to operate professionally at Harrington Park when arrested last night,” The New York Times reported April 14, 1910.
In 1910 there were 377 people living in Harrington Park.
The Harrington Park railroad station, the presumed destination of the two criminals, stood at the corner of La Roche Avenue and Elm Street. In the mid-20th century, the old station became the headquarters for the Harrington Park Police Department. An electrical fire destroyed it in 1986. A new police station was subsequently built at the same corner and is still in use today.
