John
V.
Wilkie

JOHN V. WILKIE was born on June 29, 1898. His father, William Wilkie, was born in Scotland and had worked as a merchant seaman.

On March 1, 1928 John V. Wilkie was appointed to the Camden Police Department along with the following men, Francis Guetherman, August Riehm, William Schriver, Edward Shapiro, Earl Wright, Edward Cahill, Marshall Thompson, Stanley Bobiak, Paul Edwards, Leon Feltz, George Getley, Joseph Lack, Thomas Stanton, Otto Toperzer, Walter Vecander and Frank Wilmot.

John V. Wilkie was known all through the city as Camden's "notebook cop".  He was living at 1148 Haddon Avenue in 1936. The 1947 Camden City Directory shows that he had been promoted to Sergeant, and was living at 1144 Princess Avenue with his wife Theresa. 

1953 saw great tragedy in the life of John V. Wilkie. His son John was killed in a crash in Japan in June. The marriage of John V. and Theresa "Tessie" Wilkie ended in divorce. By December of 1953, John V. Wilkie had gone out on sick leave from his job on the police force.

A third tragedy occurred in John V. Wilkie's life on Sunday morning, December 20, 1953. Son James Wilkie, only  seventeen years old, took his own life, using his father's service revolver. John V. Wilkie, a devout Catholic, was determined to see his son receive full Catholic burial rites, so told authorities that he had shot his son during an argument and struggle for the weapon. This was quickly disproved by forensics personnel. James Wilkie was buried in a non-denominational Cemetery a few days later, and John V. Wilkie was cleared by the grand jury of any involvement in the affair. After spending ten days in the County Jail on the sixth floor of Camden's City Hall, John V. Wilkie was released on December 31, 1953.

John V. Wilkie later moved to 1063 Haddon Avenue in Camden, where he resided as late as late as 1970. He later moved to Blackwood NJ. John V. Wilkie passed away in May of 1976.  

Camden Courier-Post
March 23, 1929

Stanley Powell
John V. WIlkie
Edward G. Kelly
Whitman Avenue
Kenwood Avenue

George Ward
Roy R. Stewart
Charles V. Dickinson
Market Street
John V. Wilkie

OFFICER John V. Wilkie forwards this one to us. He says that his curiosity was aroused by a man who walks along the curb on the east side of Admiral Wilson Boulevard, going south, every morning and some time later, can be seen walking north on the west side.

Wilkie questioned him one morning, asking him if he was a motor vehicle inspector. The man replied he wasn't. Upon further questioning, it developed that every morning he starts at Penn and Linden streets, goes as far as the circle at White Horse Pike and Crescent Boulevard and returns to his starting point.

"I find nickels and dimes," he continued. "Sometimes I find quarters lying in the gutters. The highest I ever found was a $5 bill. But I find something every morning."

It may or it may not please you who work hard and lose that money, to learn that this gentleman has not worked for three years!

WILKIE THREATENED BY EIGHT MEN IN AUTO

Search for a maroon-colored touring car believed by John V. Wilkie, Camden's
notebook cop," to contain eight beer runners was made yesterday after Wilkie had
been threatened by an occupant of the automobile while in his traffic booth at Baird
and Wilson boulevards.

The car containing the eight men, three in the front and five in the rear, was 
proceeding northwest on Admiral Wilson boulevard when one of the occupants 
uttered the threat against Wilkie. 

"Come on out and fight; you ____” the stranger shouted. Wilkie said he placed
the light at amber and sought to learn the license number of the automobile. The 
plates however, were indistinguishable, he said, or had been either smeared or 
turned around to be unrecognizable.

Wilkie said he reported to police headquarters and that Major Charles V. Dickinson, deputy director of public safety, and Motorcycle Police Sergeant Jeff Kay and Policeman Nathan Wine searched and waited for hours for the return of the mysterious car without avail.

OFFICER John V. Wilkie, known as the notebook cop, laid his blackjack and handcuffs on a shelf in his traffic booth at Baird and Admiral Wilson boulevards the other day. He forgot about it, and later began to wonder what had happened to them.

He searched the booth but could not find the "yools." So he went to Mt. Ephraim, to his home, to a chapel and several other places where he had been, but could not find them.

The following day an automobile broke down on the boulevard. The driver went to the booth and asked Wilkie if he could use the telephone to call a garage. He did not know the number, so he asked for the telephone book

Wilkie reached up on the shelf over his head, grabbed the book and took it down. The handcuffs and blackjack came down with it, the cuffs hitting him in the head and cutting it open.

Camden Courier-Post * June 4, 1932

Laying aside his famous note book In which he has recorded details In many a crime puzzle, Patrolman John V. Wilkie, well-known Camden blue coat, has turned to the "Hi-Ho" puzzle for diversion. Wilkie admitted he had faced many baffling problems "In line of duty" and that the "HI-Ho" Letter  puzzle gave him plenty of trouble. But he finally mastered the puzzle, as photo shows. The "Hi-Ho" puzzles, which are claiming the attention of thousands In South Jersey, are featured in the Courier-Post Newspapers, a new puzzle being printed each day.

WILKIE DENIES CHARGE BROUGHT BY GIRL

Mayor Roy R. Stewart yesterday opened a secret hearing on charges brought against Patrolman John V. Wilkie, Camden's "notebook cop," by Miss Tessie Iusiak, 19, of Mechanic Street near Mt. Ephraim Avenue.

The nature of the charges was not revealed, but it was said Wilkie made an emphatic denial of the accusation.

The hearing continued all day in the mayor's office and will be resumed at 9:00 AM today,

Mayor Stewart said no report on the matter will he made until after the hearing is concluded.

DECISION ON WILKIE RESERVED BY MAYOR
Hearing on Girl's Charges Against 'Note Book Cop' Is Concluded

Decision on charges preferred against Patrolman John V. Wilkie by a 19-year-old South Camden girl was held under advisement yesterday by Mayor Roy R. Stewart at the conclusion of a hearing which lasted a day and a half.

Complainant in tire case is Miss Tessie Iusiak, of Mechanic Street near Mt. Ephraim avenue. Miss Iusiak was escorted to the hearing both days by police officials who taxied her from her home to city hall.

The nature of the charges was not revealed by the mayor, Wilkie made denial of the charge, it was reported. The hearing, which was held behind closed doors, started Wednesday 

(Continued on Page Three)

WILKIE TO ANSWER GIRL’S CHARGE TODAY
'Notebook Cop' Is Father of Her Unborn Child, Affidavit Says

Patrolman John V. Wilkie will voluntarily appear in Camden police court this morning to answer charges made by Miss Tessie Iusiak, 19, of 1177 Mechanic Street.

Miss Iusiak yesterday signed a complaint before Police Judge Garfield Pancoast charging Wilkie with being the father of her unborn child.

Judge Pancoast refused to, issue a warrant for Wilkie, explaining he would allow him the courtesy of appearing voluntarily because he is a policeman.

To Postpone Case

No hearing will be held today, the police court judge explaining he will postpone the case until after the child has been born, which is the customary practice in such cases.

When she appeared before Pancoast with a written complaint. Miss Iusiak admitted she did not understand everything in it.

It was on Miss Iusiak's accusation that Mayor Roy R. Stewart conducted a secret hearing all day Wednesday.

(Continued on Page Twelve)

COP ON LEDGE THRILLS HUNDREDS DRAWN BY FALSE BURGLAR ALARM

Several hundred persons, attracted by the loud ringing of a burglar alarm at the King jewelry store, 4 Broadway, watched Patrolman John V. Wilkie last night as he climbed over the roof of the building and across a narrow ledge to an open second story window to investigate the alarm.

Failing to find anyone, Wilkie climbed back, over the ledge to the roof after finding himself locked in the building.

A score of police detectives and motorcycle patrolmen answered the alarm. William Schoeffling, manager of the jewelry concern, was notified of the "false alarm."

	2 to 20 Broadway Late 1920s Click on Image to Enlarge The block of stores had just been built and were not all leased yet. The large building at the far right on Broadway was the Merchants Trust bank. King Jewelers, at 4 Broadway, would be the second from left, next door to the A. Schulte cigar store.
	2 to 14 Broadway 1937 Click on Image to Enlarge It's worth noting that by the time this photo was taken in the fall of 1937, the trolley tracks evident in the picture above had been removed.

Camden Courier-Post
August 30, 1935

John V. Wilkie
Rosie Gieldonski
Orchard Street
John Kaighn
Haddon Avenue

Camden Courier-Post - August 30, 1935

Camden Courier-Post - August 31, 1935

Camden Courier-Post - October 29, 1935

COPS WATCH AUTO, THIEF GETS ANOTHER
Stolen Car Located Near Hospital But Vigil of Police is in Vain

After abandoning a four-night vigil, kept in the hope that thieves would return for a stolen automobile left in the Cooper hospital parking lot, the police have learned that another car was stolen from the same place.

The first car, owned by G. R. Wood, of 208 West Holly avenue, Pitman, was stolen Oct. 16. Last  Tuesday, Wood was in Camden and noticed his car parked in the hospital yard.

He communicated with Pitman police. Chief Lloyd came to Camden and joined with Detective Stanley Wirtz, Acting Detective John Wilkie and other detectives who took turns watching the car,  ready to pounce upon the thieves from places of concealment around the hospital if they came back.

By Saturday evening, however, when no one showed up, they gave up the watch and Wood drove the  car home. Over the license plates of his car, the thieves had placed tags stolen from S. Earl Rue, of 914 State street, Camden.

At 11.45 p. m. Saturday, only a few hours after the policemen had left the yard, Mrs. Vera B. Carter, of Cook Lane, Bridgeton, discovered her car had been stolen from the yard while she was visiting an ill friend.

Because of the duplicate license plates, police believed the theft of Wood's car, and possibly that of  Mrs. Carter's, was the work of bandits, rather than ordinary car thieves.

Fine or Jail Term Ordered To Make Bootleg Buyer Talk
Reveal Rum Source or Else, is New Rule of Police Court
2 Wilkie Nabbed Are Among First 'Victims'

Unless they tell where they bought it, drinkers of bootleg liquor arrested by Camden police henceforth will receive the full penalty of $200 fine or 90 days in jail, Police Judge Lewis Liberman decided yesterday.

The new policy of getting to the bootleg seller through the bootleg drinker was announced by Judge Liberman when he imposed maximum sentences on two men arrested by Acting Detective John V. Wilkie at Eighth and Cooper streets last night.

The men were Albert Waite, 29, of 916 Pearl street, and John Barrett, 34, of 237 North Eighth street. In the latter's pocket, Wilkie said he found a half pint of "white mule."

Barrett refused to tell Wilkie where he brought it, so in a pre-hearing conference with Judge Liberman and Court Clerk Edward Smith, it was decided to give Waite and Barrett, originally arrested as just drunk and disorderly, a trial on the more serious charge of possessing illicit liquor. If Barrett gets a change of heart and names the seller, his sentence later will be suspended, said the judge.

"This is a fine idea to make the purchasers of illegal whiskey tell where they got the stuff," said the judge. "There will be mighty few willing to pay $200 or spend three months in jail rather than tell on a speakeasy. 

VET SOUGHT BY COPS; FOUND BY WILKIE
Ex-Marine Was in City Hall Basement Aiding Pals on Bonus Data 

A former U. S. marine who spent a week in the basement of city hall helping veterans make out their bonus applications while police searched throughout the city for him, was arrested by Acting Detective John V. Wilkie Saturday night.

Edwin W. Eddington, 26, who said he has no home, was held without bail for the grand jury by Police Judge Lewis Liberman on two charges of larceny. A warrant for his arrest was issued on complaint of Joseph Cohen, of 1406 Broadway, three weeks ago, after Cohen told police he stole electric wire and tools valued at $54.75.

The warrant was given to Wilkie and he immediately began a search for Eddington. He visited several former homes and a number of tap-rooms where Eddington was known to spend some of his time, but he evaded arrest each time.

On Saturday night Wilkie was approached by Harry Taylor, of 567 Mickle Street, a retired U. S. Navy machinist, who told the officer that a man named Eddington had stolen a suit of clothes and some other wearing apparel from his room. He said Eddington occupied an adjoining room.

"Why, I've been looking for that fellow for nearly two weeks," Wilkie said. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know where he is now, but all last week he was in the basement of city hall from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. helping veterans make out their bonus applications,"

Taylor said. "You might try the Naval Veterans' clubrooms at 304 State Street." Wilkie explained he works from 7 p. m. to 3 a. m. Wilkie immediately went to the State Street address, and while he stayed in the car, Taylor went inside.

While he was in the place, Eddington came along accompanied by a woman and went in. Taylor brought him out under the pretext of taking him to a tap-room. When he reached the pavement he shouted to Wilkie, "Here's your man."

Wilkie then took Eddington to city hall and in the basement where the applications were made out he found Eddington's personal belongings. Several of the articles of clothing were identified by Taylor.In court he pleaded guilty to both charges and said he sold the suit in Philadelphia.

TWO WOMEN EXILED BY LIBERMAN ORDER

Two young women were ordered to leave Camden by Police Judge Lewis Liberman yesterday when they were charged with disorderly conduct on a complaint made by Acting Detective John V. Wilkie.

Miss Dorothy Mendenhall, 24, and Miss Peggy Schultz, 24, both of whom gave addresses of 523 Penn Street, were arrested by Wilkie Saturday night after he received a complaint from a boarding house proprietor at the Penn street address.

Three men also were arrested as a result of the investigation made by Wilkie. Two were released with a warning while the third was fined $10.

Wilkie testified he went to the address in response to a radio call and was told by Mrs. Harry Barton, the proprietor, that Miss Mendenhall and Leonard Angelastro, 28, of 258 Pine Street, created a disturbance when she ordered them to move. The Schultz woman went to live in the room with Miss Mendenhall Wednesday, Wilkie said.

Wilkie testified both girls had been arrested before. Judge Liberman said if they were found in Camden again they would be given six months. Both girls denied that Angelastro lived at the room they occupied. Angelastro was fined $10.

Wilkie Embraced and Bitten By Woman 'Cutting Up Capers'
 Notebook Cop Finds Suspect Clinging to Porch Rail
at Fifth and Cooper Streets; Charges Her with Mayhem

 Kindness to women should be a part of the code of ethics of every police officer, with certain limitations according to Acting Detective John V. Wilkie, Camden's notebook sleuth. 

Sometimes they get unruly, and allowances can be made for their conduct, Wilkie believes, but when they start biting the hand that tries to guide them out of trouble then it's time to take action.

And action it was when the detective encountered Johanna Hyde, 40, of 1607 Diamond street, Philadelphia, last night. 

Wilkie and Patrolman Henry Leutz answered a police radio summons to go to Fifth and Cooper Streets, where a woman was reported "cutting up capers."  

Arriving at the spot, Wilkie observed the woman clinging to a porch rail in front of a Cooper Street home. When he questioned the woman, the detective said, she embraced him and imbedded her teeth in one of his fingers. At police headquarters she was charged as drunk and disorderly.

A charge of mayhem also was entered on the docket. She will be arraigned before Police Judge Lewis Liberman today.

MYSTERY WOMAN FOUND HURT IN FALL
Friend Identifies Victim and Tells of Accident Near Railroad Here  

A severely injured woman, who was found lying in snow near railroad tracks at Front and Division streets early yesterday, was identified last night as Ida Bernardi, 31. She mumbled the word automobile when she was found and after regaining consciousness at Cooper Hospital she mentioned the name of Samuel Alersi, 215 Federal Street, a friend. Police first thought she had been struck by a train as she was suffering from a compound fracture of the leg among other injuries.

Detective Sergeant Joseph Carpani, Acting Detective John V. Wilkie and Detective Robert Ashenfelter questioned Alersi, who said the woman fell on the ice and he had to walk to Second Street and Kaighn Avenue to get a telephone to call police. He declared the woman had been removed to the hospital by police before he could return to the scene.

Wilkie said an examination of the scene revealed that her foot had become wedged between a gas pump and a high curbing, causing a fracture of the leg as she fell.

Alersi's statements were corroborated by Frank Losito, 42, of 331 Benson Street. The two men said they had been companions of the woman on a drinking party during the night. Neither was held.

The woman gave her address as a taproom at 221 Federal Street.

FORMER BONDSMAN HELD PROBE OF LARCENY

Thomas Morris, 27, former professional bondsman, and sportsman, was under arrest last night on suspicion of breaking and entering and larceny.

Morris was arrested by Detective John V. Wilkie on complaint of Mrs. Sarah Kilderry, of 32 Market street.

Mrs. Kilderry is owner ot the Lenox Apartments, 22 Market street, which were rented by Morris. Because rent payments were alleged to be in default, the owner placed a lock on the door of the building.

Morris allegedly forced entrance to the building and removed furniture owned by Mrs. Kilderry. He is being held pending further investigation. Morris gave an address of 562 Carman Street.

Wilkie Stars in Role of 'Mountie' on Trail of 2 Missing Girls
'Note-Book Cop' Gets His Men as Four Are Held For Investigation; 
'Finds High School Students, 15, at Sicklerville

Members of the Northwest Mounted Police have nothing on Acting Detective John V. Wilkie.

When he wants a man he gets him, just like the Canadian boys.

Last night he got four of them In investigating the disappearance of two Woodrow Wilson High School girl students. He also located the girls.

All are held at police headquarters pending further investigation by Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando.

The girls are Lorraine M. Snuffin, of 229 South Thirty-fourth street, and Eleanor Haley, of 205 South Thirty-fourth street. Both are 15.

Fourth Man Not Involved

The men seized are: Peter Henley, 25, of Sicklerville; his half-brother, William Meddings, 18; Harry Ryan, 19, of 611 Pine Street, and Harry Wood, 23, of 4003 Myrtle street.

Wood, police said, is not involved in any charge that may be filed but is held as a material witness.

Frantic parents of the two girls reported them missing early Tuesday after they failed to return from an automobile ride with Henley. None of the parents knew Henley's address.

That didn't bother Wilkie, who with Patrolman Henry Leutz, was assigned to investigate disappearance of the girls.

Wilkie learned, he didn't say how, that Henley once lived in Camden. That was all he wanted to know. If Henley had lived here, Wilkie figured, someone knew where he lived now. 

Takes Hours of Quizzing   

It took hours of incessant questioning, moving from here to there and back again, but eventually Wilkie got the information he wanted through Wood.

Wood not only knew where Henley lived but would show Wilkie the way. The way led to a bungalow near Sicklerville and when Camden's famous "note book cop" reached there, Henley and the two girls, along with Ryan and Meddings were getting ready for a chicken dinner. 

Wilkie let them eat their dinner and then brought them all back to Camden.

The girls told Wilkie they went to Henley's house of their own accord and denied they were held their against their will. They said it was all "just a lark."

Patrick Haley, father of Eleanor, and Mrs. Edna Snuffin, mother of Lorraine, however, refused to dismiss the matter as being so insignificant. .

Wilkie Scents Plot to Release Prisoners as Two Tires Go Flat

Policeman John V. Wilkie doesn't mind getting a flat tire.

But when two tires on a brand new car go flat within a block of each other Wilkie goes to work.

Especially when the notebook cop is transporting three prisoners in his radio car.

Whether the tires were deliberately cut by friends of the men under arrest who meant to follow Wilkie's car and effect the escape of the men when he stopped, or whether the tires went flat accidentally is something which Wilkie means to ascertain.

The tires blew out on the White Horse Pike between Kings Highway and Station Avenue, Audubon, while Wilkie was taking tour prisoners and two other men to the Berlin bar­racks of the state police.

The men in his car were: Peter Hanley, 25, and William Meddings, 18, both of Sicklerville; Harry Ryan, 19, of 611 Pine Street, and Harry Wood, 23, of Myrtle avenue, Pennsauken; Edward Haley and John Snuftin. Hanley, Meddings and Ryan were being taken to Berlin to answer charges of contributing to the delinquency of minors; Wood was a material witness, and the others were fathers of two girls who caused the arrest.

The girls are: Lorraine Snuffin, of 229 South Thirty-fourth street, and Eleanor Haley, of 205 South Thirty-fourth street. Both are 15.

They are students at the Woodrow Wilson High School and were found by Wilkie Wednesday night in the company of the four men in a bungalow at Sicklerville. Wilkie made the arrest during an investigation of the girls' disappearance,

When Wilkie reached Station Avenue and found his tires were losing air he notified Policeman John B. Shaw, of Haddon Heights, that he had the prisoners in his car and asked him to get help. Shaw summoned Mayor William J. Dallas and Police Inspector Burton M. Rodgers, who stayed by the car until a mechanic arrived from Camden to repair the tires,

The prisoners and witnesses were transferred to a car operated by Corporal George Small, of the Berlin state police barracks, who aided Wilkie in his investigation.

Meantime, Detective Henry Lutz, operating another car with the two girls and Mrs. Snuffin as passengers, drove to Berlin unaware Wilkie's car had been disabled.

"The tires on my radio car were all right when I had the car in front of police headquarters this morning," Wilkie said. The mechanic told me that they were cut on the sides and while the car was standing still would not lose air, but as Soon as it was moved the tubes would be cut.

"I think friends of these men may have cut the tires with the intention of taking them away from me when I stopped to fix the tires. The men face seven to 10 years in jail.

After the tires were fixed, Wilkie took the men to Berlin where Meddings, Ryan and Hanley were held without bail for the grand jury by Justice of Peace Milton D. Schweizer. Wood was released.

Wilkie in his report to Commissioner of Public Safety Mary W. Kobus said he believed the two tires had been cut deliberately by someone using a penknife.

Commissioner Kobus promised an immediate investigation and thanked the Haddon Heights mayor and policeman for assisting the Camden officer.

After serious rioting in Camden, N.J. in which half a dozen persons were injured, police guards were increased at the Victor plant of the RCA manufacturing company. This picture made as a policeman and a strike sympathizer came to grips.

Labor trouble continued at the Victor plant, culminating in another small riot at the Victor plant on July 7th. John V. Wilkie, who is depicted at left, was charged with assaulting a strike sympathizer. 

On August 12th, 1936 the charges were thrown by Judge Liberman after the accuser failed to appear in court for the tenth time. 

Camden Courier-Post - August 4, 1936

...continued...

Beringer's Cafe - Club Royal - Arcadia Cafe - Broadway - Federal Street
John V. Wilkie - Gus Fortune - Lewis Liberman
Harold Clark - Fannie Mazer - Freda Beringer

Camden
Courier-Post

August 8, 1936

Camden
Courier-Post

August 8, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - August 12, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - August 13, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - August 14, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - August 18, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - August 19, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - August 19, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - August 31, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - October 3, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - October 3, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - October 10, 1936

Camden Courier-Post - October 17, 1936

Police Judge Lewis Liberman yesterday found Anthony Mentine, 23, of 316 Clinton Street, guilty of failing to list himself with the criminal registration bureau but suspended sentence.
     Mentine was arrested by Patrolman John V. Wilkie for driving without a license last week and was fined $25 on the charge in traffic court Thursday night. The additional charge of failing to register then was lodghed against him.
     Sgt. Rox Saponare in charge of the identification bureau, admitted that Mentine called to register last August but that he was too busy to see him and told him to come back the following Wednesday. Mentine said he forgot to return. 

Camden
Courier-Post

October 26, 1936