Casper Holstein
A Harlem figure whose kidnapping in September 1928 was reported across the country. The records filed here are newspaper pages from 1928 to 1930. They call him a wealthy sportsman, clubman and philanthropist and an Elks leader; one Seattle paper calls him a "reputed ace of Harlem gamblers." None of them is a court or federal record.
- Aliases
- Caspar Holstein
- Rights
- Every record on this page is a United States newspaper page published in 1930 or earlier, public domain by date. The page reports what the newspapers printed; it does not adopt their labels or figures.
On the record
- 1928-09-20 — The Gary American of 28 December 1928 says he "was kidnaped the night of Sept. 20"; the Associated Press (Evening Star, 24 September 1928) and the Savannah Tribune (27 September 1928) say Thursday night. The two papers give different addresses for the abduction: 265 West 145th Street (Savannah Tribune, page 4) and 225 West 140th Street (Gary American).
- 1928-09-24 — Associated Press, Evening Star, 24 September 1928: "Casper Holstein, wealthy negro sportsman and philanthropist," was "released early today and made his way to a police station"; his captors gave him $3 for taxi fare. The headline and the phrase are the paper's.
- 1928-09-27 — The Savannah Tribune, reprinting the New York World, calls him "sporting king of Harlem," president of the Virgin Islands Council and of the Turf Club, and says he "was released after being held prisoner for three days."
- 1928-09-28 — The Gary American (Amsterdam News Service) says he had sent $5,000 and timber to "the Virgin Islands, his native home," for storm relief. The birthplace is the paper's statement.
- 1928-10-04 — The Enterprise (Seattle) prints his photograph, calls him "New York colored millionaire, and reputed ace of Harlem gamblers," says police doubted his story, and reports a libel suit against a New York paper "reported to have alleged he maintained a policy gambling house." The claims are the Seattle paper's report.
- 1928-10-12 — The Gary American of 12 October 1928 reports that at a hearing "Monday morning" in Washington Heights court he "refused to identify any of the three men as his abductors," and that the charges against two of them were dismissed..
- 1928-12-28 — The Gary American of 28 December 1928 reports that Michael Bernstein, "alleged leader of the gang that kidnaped" him, surrendered and was held in $100,000 bail; an ANP item in the Omaha Monitor of 4 January 1929 gives $25,000 and spells the name "Hornstein."
- 1930-08-17 — The Richmond Planet of 23 August 1930 reports that dissident Elks met in Richmond in answer to "a call sent out by Caspar Holstein, of New York city, the aspirant that Wilson defeated last year," and that he attacked Grand Exalted Ruler J. Finley Wilson.
No birth or death date, family or role is set. The records filed here are newspaper pages, and none of them states that he ran a numbers or policy business. The only gambling statements are the Seattle Enterprise’s label “reputed ace of Harlem gamblers” and its second-hand report of what a New York paper “is reported to have alleged,” which this archive reports and does not adopt. In the same coverage, Rudolph Brown told police he had been Bernstein’s partner in “numbers” banking; that statement concerns Brown and Bernstein, not Holstein (Gary American, 28 December 1928).
The 1928 papers disagree on the number of kidnappers, the ransom, the abduction address and the bail figures; the Harlem numbers page sets out the differences. No court record of the kidnapping case has been opened. The only photograph is the uncredited newspaper portrait on the Seattle Enterprise page, and it is not used as this page’s image. The newspapers’ words “negro,” “colored” and “sporting king” are theirs.
Records
clippingEvening Star, 24 September 1928, page 21: Casper Holstein freed by kidnapersAn Associated Press dispatch from New York reporting that Casper Holstein, kidnapped on Thursday night, was released early on 24 September with $3 for taxi fare, that Michael Bernstein had been arrested after a ransom demand, and that the demand had risen to $50,000.
clippingThe Savannah Tribune, 27 September 1928, page 1: the Casper Holstein kidnapping, reprinted from the New York WorldA front-page report, datelined New York, 24 September and drawn from the New York World, that Casper Holstein of Harlem had been abducted at midnight on Thursday and was held for $50,000 ransom, that five men had been arrested and that twenty detectives were on the case.
clippingThe Savannah Tribune, 27 September 1928, page 4: the Holstein kidnapping story continuedThe continuation of the front-page Holstein story: Michael Bernstein of the Bronx held on the kidnapping charge with four other men, the ransom demand made to Holstein's secretary, the abduction outside 265 West 145th Street as this paper prints it, and Holstein's release after three days.
clippingThe Gary American, 28 September 1928, page 1: Holstein back home, and mystery around his abductionAn Amsterdam News Service story on Casper Holstein's return, saying no one knew where he had been held, that he was blindfolded throughout, that police said they found on a prisoner a list of other people to be kidnapped, and that he had sent storm relief to the Virgin Islands, 'his native home'.
clippingThe Enterprise (Seattle), 4 October 1928, page 1: Casper Holstein's photograph and the police doubtsA Seattle weekly's front-page photograph of Casper Holstein with a caption story saying police doubted his account of the kidnapping, and reporting that he had sued a New York paper for libel over an alleged claim that he kept a policy house. The libel claim is the paper's report.
clippingThe Gary American, 12 October 1928, page 2: charges dropped against two men in the Holstein kidnappingA report that a magistrate in Washington Heights court dismissed the kidnapping charges against Rudolph Brown and Moe (Monty) Schubert after Casper Holstein would not identify them, and that Michael Bernstein's $10,000 bond was forfeited when he did not appear.
clippingThe Gary American, 23 November 1928, page 1: a robbery plot against Holstein reportedA short front-page item reporting that Casper Holstein, 'whose kidnapping last September aroused national interest,' was to have been the victim of a planned $20,000 robbery, learned with the arrest of a man just out of Sing Sing.
clippingThe Gary American, 28 December 1928, page 1: Bernstein surrenders in the Holstein kidnappingA report that Michael Bernstein, sought since 1 October as the alleged leader of the gang that kidnapped Casper Holstein, walked into a police station and was held in $100,000 bail. It recaps the abduction with an address and details that differ from other papers.
clippingOmaha Monitor, 4 January 1929, page 1: 'Hold Holstein Kidnappers'A two-sentence Associated Negro Press item reporting that 'Michael Hornstein,' named as one of the ringleaders in the Casper Holstein kidnapping, was held in $25,000 bail when arraigned in New York. Other papers spell the name Bernstein and give other bail figures.
clippingThe Richmond Planet, 23 August 1930, page 1: Elks answer Casper Holstein's callA front-page report from Richmond that about fifty Elks met on 17 August 1930 in answer to a call from Caspar Holstein of New York, who attacked Grand Exalted Ruler J. Finley Wilson. It records Holstein's public role in the fraternal order; it is not an organized-crime record.