Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 217, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 September 1912 — KARNATZ SENTENCED ONE TO FIVE YEARS. [ARTICLE]

KARNATZ SENTENCED ONE TO FIVE YEARS.

Crippled Tailor Who Sought to Blackmail B. Forsythe Will he Taken to State Reformatory. Eddie Karnatz, the crippled tailor who worked for some years for B. K. Zimmerman, and also~as a picture machine operator for Fred Phillips, Monday afternoon appeared in court and entered a plea of guilty to a charge of having tried to blackmail B. Forsythe, the -wealthy retired merchant of this city, the details of which were published in The Republican at the time of Karnatz’s arrest about three weeks ago. Judge Hanley passed sentence, sending Karnatz to the state reformatory at Jeffersonville for an indeterminate period of from one to five years. Karnatz had lived in Rensselaer for several years and had always had a good reputation. He was quiet and inoffensive and was considered by his acquaintances as a fine young man. His downfall seems to have come about by financial troubles. None believe that he''expected to carry out the threats he made if the money he sought to extort was not given him, but the act was so brazen that it could not be condoned and there was a certainty that the federal authorities would prosecute under the postal laws if the local court -did not. Judge Hanley felt considerable regret in having to send the young man to prison and he would have suspended sen-

fence if Karnatz had employment in Renssejaer, where he would be certain to observe the requirements of making reports, but if he went out of the staje he would have to give bond and this he probably could not do. It is hoped that he will not have to serve longer than the minimum sentence and that he will never again commit so grave an error.