The Gary American, 28 December 1928, page 1: Bernstein surrenders in the Holstein kidnapping

The front page of The Gary American for 28 December 1928 carries a story headed “Bernstein, Missing Kidnaper of Caspar Holstein, Found,” with the deck “Is Held In Bail of $100,000 When He Refuses To Answer Judge’s Queries.” The headline was read from the stored scan; the OCR garbles it, and the headline spells the first name “Caspar.”

It reports that “Sought since October 1, Michael Bernstein, 32, white, alleged leader of the gang that kidnaped Casper Holstein,” walked into a police station on Thursday and surrendered, and that “His bail was fixed at $100,000 by Magistrate Weil when he refused to submit to questioning.” It recaps the case as this paper had it: Holstein “was kidnaped the night of Sept. 20 from the hallway of 225 West 140th street,” taken by “Five armed white men” with “two white women,” and held blindfolded for 72 hours; Bernstein had at one point been released under $5,000 bail, raised to $10,000, and then forfeited his bond; the other men were freed when Holstein “failed to identify any of them.” It says Holstein “is reported to have paid perhaps $30,000 for his own release,” and that Rudolph Brown, who “vigorously denied any part in the kidnaping plot,” had “admitted having been a partner with Bernstein in the business of “numbers” banking.”

This is the paper’s account, and it differs from others. The Savannah Tribune put the abduction outside 265 West 145th Street (page 4); the Associated Press said “seven men and a woman” (Evening Star); and an ANP item a week later gave Bernstein’s bail as $25,000 (Omaha Monitor). The $30,000 payment is reported, not shown. Brown’s statement about numbers banking is about Brown and Bernstein, not about Holstein. No court record of the case has been opened, and no outcome is recorded here.