Greater Astoria Historial Society 35-20 Broadway, 4th Floor | L.I.C., NY 11106 718.278.0700 | www.astorialic.org Gallery Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays 2-5 PM Saturdays 12-5 PM Exhibits ~ Lectures ~ Documentaries ~ Books Walking Tours ~ Historical Research Unique & Creative Content For more information visit us on the web at www.astorialic.org This image adapted from an invitation to the Long Island City Athletics 33rd Annual Masque Ball, 1909. 32 JUly 2016 i LIC COURIER i www.qns.com Legends SUTTON’S LAW In February 1952 the law caught up with Willie Sutton – not from sharp police work but from happy accident and his stupidity. On a tip, several police officers questioned a man they thought resembled Sutton. They released him as they believed their suspect only had a passing resemblance to Willie’s mugshot – besides his driver’s license said his name was ‘Gordon.’ They apologized for their intrusion and returned to the station house. An incredulous detective, upon hearing their story, demanded they go back. Willie, ignoring an opportunity to flee, was where they left him. Besides where could he go? He only lived two blocks from the police station. Even after the police brought him in, they did not start questioning him for an hour or so, again giving Sutton plenty of time to escape. It was the $8,000 in loot and a 38 caliber pistol that Wiilie carried on him that finally got him arrested. About a month after Willie’s capture he was brought to trial in the Long Island City Courthouse before Judge Peter Farrell over the robbery of $63,942 from a branch of the Manufacturers Trust Company in Sunnyside. Near the bench, four globe lights hung down from the ceiling. Sunlight filtered through a beautiful stained glass skylight. A large American flag was displayed on the wall behind the judge. Death threats were sent. Fifty police officers, assigned to the third floor, barred unauthorized persons. In addition to press passes, the media received special blue cards to gain access to the courtroom. A press office was set up in the basement with both pay phones and direct lines to major newspapers. Sixteen photographers were on hand. A reporter covering the trial described Sutton as a mild looking skinny little man with a scrawny neck and the face of a weasel. Oddly, despite black hair he had a thin blonde moustache. Willie was guarded by a man twice his size. When Willie he sat down, a reporter observed the guard “shoved the chair under Sutton with more force than courtesy.” Willie Sutton received a sentence of 30 to 120 years. In a separate Brooklyn proceeding, he got an additional 30-years-to life. He was dispatched to Attica State Prison. But Willie’s story is far from over for he only served 17 years – and on Christmas Eve, 1969, he was released due to health concerns. Willie lived quietly for another 11 years advising banks on theft deterrence and making speeches on prison reform. Despite a hardscrabble background that gave him limited formal education, like many of his generation, he was street smart in many ways. It is one of life’s ironies that, in the eminent schools that teach of financial investments, business management, and medicine, this man is not only remembered, but a legend for something he never did: at the courthouse a reporter asked “why do you rob banks Willie?” he reported to respond – “That’s where the money is” – words he later denied. From this apocryphal quip sprung ‘Sutton’s Law’ – a principle used on Wall Street, hospitals and board rooms: for the investor, it teaches to focus on the highest yields, not frivolous opportunities – for the doctor, concentrate on the most likely diagnosis, rather than an uncommon condition – for the business manager, examine the highest costs for that is where the greatest savings occur.
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